For as long as human beings remain “social animals” (the degree of which will always vary between individuals) we will always have a need to “belong” – to connect with other people. Whilst digital technology has made it more convenient to connect with others – particularly those living a long distance from ourselves – I believe that the strongest connections able to be established between people (both now and into the future) are those that are formed and fostered face-to-face.
Face-to-face interaction is so powerful – particularly where groups of people are concerned – largely due to the emotions that are exchanged between people sharing the same space, plus the speed at which communication between individuals can take place. “Emotion” adds considerable “colour” to interaction, whether people show happiness/ joy, sadness, fear or anger when in the company of others. Emotion helps us to read the “actual” feelings of someone in relation to issues that are being spoken about – as does body language.
As a Business Advisor in the Hawkes Bay region I used to recommend to clients who had commercial connections with suppliers outside this region that they should make the effort to travel to those locations where at least key suppliers are based, to visit them in person at their own premises – and even take the opportunity to perform a formal annual review at their premises during the visit. Why ? To revitalise the relationship, to show the supplier the importance that you as the client place on the relationship, and to properly reconnect with them in a way which simply is not possible via digital screens.
I used to practice this very discipline as a CEO. On an annual basis I used to travel to the premises of what were termed “Preferred Suppliers” (who were located all over New Zealand) to meet with the principal/s of each such supplier company to perform an annual review of the commercial relationship between their company and those of the stakeholders who I used to represent. Some of the meeting timeframe would concentrate on reviewing KPI’s, some on new developments that each party was working on, and some on addressing any problematic issues and identifying opportunities for improvements to be made in the relationship. These annual review visits used to be valued greatly by both the suppliers concerned and the directors who I would report back to following each review round.
I am concerned with how digital screens are being used to “hide” from others – to filter communications between people. If you want to preserve long-term transparent working relationships with other people then connect with them as often as possible (and is affordable) face-to-face.