I believe that meeting a business associate during your business lifecycle is a fundamental practice. Nothing can replace the human handshake, which can later be reinforced with a digital one. It creates a stronger bond, so if you take that extra effort to do this, it will gain you a competitive advantage. At MeetSaaS.com we help facilitate the face to face meeting, and empower you, the consumer, with quality and control by moving your meetings out of the coffee shop and into a professional setting which allows for privacy.
Casey, I'm with you on the concern over the impersonal nature of using email or phone, but as Dr. Wright so aptly explains there are definitely more time wasting meetings than not. I'm a big fan of the short meeting ... no more than 30 minutes ... just to put human face and contact with the increasingly digitized realm in which we live.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of technology and as I said in my video contribution to this discussion (I was last Friday's faculty on the subject ), I'm about as deeply steeped in the stuff as anyone. That said, there is no replacement for good old fashioned human contact. It shouldn't be a staple of business, perhaps but certainly a heavily used condiment :)
There is definitely less need today to meet in person, given advancements in technology. However, there is a human element to consider. Sometimes email and phone are too impersonal, and a face-to-face is warranted to ensure strong, long-lasting relationships with clients or partners. Fortunately, leading companies are taking the "only as necessary" approach to corporate travel. Liz Gorman of Cone expanded on this on the Cone blog: http://www.coneinc.com/blog-action-day-2009-the-corporate-travel-budget
Meeting in person the first time is ok, after that, meeting by phone and skype is are good. People waste too much time meeting and then looking at their cell phone at the meeting. The first time the head drops for the cell phone, I declare the meeting over due to that person has something more important going on.
Never...is the answer today.
In today's virtual environment of social media, the paradox of self-directed systems rely on the best leaders for their existence, yet they don't actually need any ongoing leadership to exist. An example would be the Woman Leadership Network at www.WomanLeadership.com where women around the world mentor other women in building leadership capability.
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With technology, you can do some computer trick to manipulate web conference
Computer Tricks
I believe that meeting a business associate during your business lifecycle is a fundamental practice. Nothing can replace the human handshake, which can later be reinforced with a digital one. It creates a stronger bond, so if you take that extra effort to do this, it will gain you a competitive advantage. At MeetSaaS.com we help facilitate the face to face meeting, and empower you, the consumer, with quality and control by moving your meetings out of the coffee shop and into a professional setting which allows for privacy.
Casey, I'm with you on the concern over the impersonal nature of using email or phone, but as Dr. Wright so aptly explains there are definitely more time wasting meetings than not. I'm a big fan of the short meeting ... no more than 30 minutes ... just to put human face and contact with the increasingly digitized realm in which we live.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of technology and as I said in my video contribution to this discussion (I was last Friday's faculty on the subject ), I'm about as deeply steeped in the stuff as anyone. That said, there is no replacement for good old fashioned human contact. It shouldn't be a staple of business, perhaps but certainly a heavily used condiment :)
I don't agree. Surprised as this comes from a person who runs a technology company. May be he hasn't seen the "Cisco Human network effect" ad.
There is definitely less need today to meet in person, given advancements in technology. However, there is a human element to consider. Sometimes email and phone are too impersonal, and a face-to-face is warranted to ensure strong, long-lasting relationships with clients or partners. Fortunately, leading companies are taking the "only as necessary" approach to corporate travel. Liz Gorman of Cone expanded on this on the Cone blog:
http://www.coneinc.com/blog-action-day-2009-the-corporate-travel-budget
Meeting in person the first time is ok, after that, meeting by phone and skype is are good. People waste too much time meeting and then looking at their cell phone at the meeting. The first time the head drops for the cell phone, I declare the meeting over due to that person has something more important going on.
Dr. Letitia Wright
The Wright Place TV Show
www.wrightplacetv.com
Never...is the answer today.
In today's virtual environment of social media, the paradox of self-directed systems rely on the best leaders for their existence, yet they don't actually need any ongoing leadership to exist. An example would be the Woman Leadership Network at www.WomanLeadership.com where women around the world mentor other women in building leadership capability.