More business talk
I don't recall if I've had this conversation with youse business types,but I have a brother-inlaw who I have talked to about it and the question was"With todays internet and visual conferene kinda stuff they have today,why do you need to do so much business travel?"His answer was"Because some things just get done better in person".I of course thought this was the stock answer as a front for a partyboy getaway but due to recent developments have changed my mind on the subject.
You see our children's school has a new principal this year and he insists all comunications be made by E-mail.He works in the same building as everyone else but never leaves his office.He sucks at his job and it has changed the way I look at the whole face to face thing.
LATER!!!!
This is a very interesting topic and the source of much research and discussion at many levels.
Firstly, Mike is right about the sales aspect of face to face. Much of what I get involved in is cross culture selling (which adds another whole dimension to face to face vs remote contact) plus the sales is typically $millions, and it sometimes involves teams of people on both sides many months and even years to negotiate. For that, there is no question - only face to face works.
At the lower levels of contact, you can only do so much over a phone or on email. People also have varying affiliation needs - some require constant company and others are loners and happy with their own company. Others are all points in between.
Difficult conversations are also best done face to face. Firing people by text is a no-no
But also telling people face to face that they are doing a good job needs f2f too.
Same as long or complex issues.
Video conferencing is still crap - not enough bandwidth and it requires discipline to get it right. Teleconferencing, which I do a lot of, also needs tight discipline to get it to work right. You listen, don't interupt, say what needs to be said and then wait for the feedback. It is not the same as a call between friends or family.
Especially with more people on the call.
The Principal example you gave is a study in bad management. He is either afraid of human contact or has a very low affiliation need AND poor self awareness.
Chuck's example is how to get the balance right - some degree of humankind contact with a mix of arms length calls and email.
Business is best done between people, not spreadsheets, forms and email which is why the airline industry will continue to charge top dollar for business type flights
Lecture over
