Missing Out on In Person Meetings
This week, I got a message on LinkedIn that I haven’t gotten in what feels like an eternity:
“Hey Tim, it looks like we know some similar people. Want to meet for lunch or coffee sometime?”
It took a while to process that message. I’ve done all kinds of networking over the years, but COVID has ground it to a halt. The meetings have mostly been on Zoom, over the phone, or through quick emails.
Those digital catch ups are better than nothing, but it’s a far cry from an in person meeting. Sitting across from someone face to face brings a connection that it’s hard to get on video.
There’s a lot to that. Let’s talk extremes and corruption. When we talk about corruption, we usually talk about how power corrupts or money corrupts. Those, of course, are true. People will do a lot for money or power.
They’ll also do a lot for friends, which, yes, in the extreme can include corruption.
Why do I bring this up? Because we talk about getting friends online, but having a person in front of you is a much quicker way to connect with someone, including potentially friendship.
And we’ll do a lot for our friends. I’m not suggesting anything untoward, despite my discussion of corruption. I’m saying that there’s nothing wrong with using these in person networking opportunities to get to know others, develop friendships, and, yes, using those developed relationships to grow your business.
I realize this might be a bit of an odd way to address this topic. It’s just the slow return to in person networking is reminding me of the importance of those connections with others, and why they are so important in business.
So much of marketing these days focuses on how to connect with people online. I can’t disagree that this is a huge part of modern business, and can help a business reach across the globe.
But there’s nothing quite like sitting across from a real person over a plate of Thai food to really get to know them.
The Links
- Every few years, we start hearing a low rumble about the need for a wealth tax. I’ll leave the discussions of if it’s a good idea to others, but I can say it would be a logistical nightmare.
- We talk all the time about the “how” in business. We don’t talk enough about the why.
- Have you been watching CBS’s “Evil”? It’s kind of a mess.
Service Dog Update
Great news! We took Wilson to dog training…and he did really well!
He has done really well many times before, so it’s not like this is a new thing. But the last couple of weeks he just couldn’t stop staring at the other dogs. He wouldn’t walk by them without needing some serious redirection.
Finally, we seem to be getting to the point where he won’t instantly lose his mind at the sight of another dog.
I’ve been having some slow progress with that on our walks, too. He’s finally able to walk by a fence with a dog without trying to do everything to greet his “friends” (he’s just trying to do some in person networking). And he will even sometimes be able to walk behind another dog without pulling on his leash…I mean, as long as the dog is quite a ways in front of him. But still!
Another slow step forward getting this dog service ready.
