Are All These Face to Face Meetings Necessary?

Business people the world over have generally extolled the virtues of face time. Going and seeing the client in person, having a direct interaction is seen as more effective than a phone call or email. True perhaps, but when all these meetings take away from your real work – are they really worth it? Especially when you can reach out and communicate with anyone via voice text or video easily – how necessary is face time anymore? And of course there’s the whole issue of the environmental impact of all this travel.

Frequent world traveler Hugh Macleod has some interesting thoughts on how he handles face time in an essay titled “The paradox of Face Time”:

The other part of the equation is knowing when face time will actually pay off. Sure, it’s nice to go visit Mr. Fabulous Client up in New York and have a great conversation over a fine, wine-enabled, three-course meal, but will that actually justify the cost, in terms of both travel expenses and lost productivity? Sometimes yes, but all too often, it sadly will not.

So I try to limit my face time to ONLY WHEN I have something very tangible to offer, something that can either deepen the relationship, and/or evolve the actual work we’re doing together. Or yeah, something tangible to actually sell. For money. I may be an “artiste,” but I still have a business to run.

Digital Nomads: “The Paradox of Face Time”