My computer broke down last week, a trusty but aging laptop reduced to a flat blue screen by some vandal code (and my own negligence regarding the software intended to prevent it). My backup computer, a slightly newer desktop model, succumbed to the same fate, and I resigned myself to a week of diminished productivity and fulminating frustration.
My smartphone provided me with email…which was cumbersome…and thumb-typing led me to recall that the device is also…a phone. There was an even better one on my desk, connected to the rest of the world by, of all things, wires. “What hath God wrought?” I picked up that old phone, and began having conversations with clients, partners, sales prospects, a few friends…
While awaiting a new laptop and a repaired desktop PC, I actually got a heck of a lot of productive work done. I spent more time with people face-to-face, because I was spending much less time writing and emailing. I talked with people to solve problems “in real time,” and created a couple of opportunities that would never have arisen through even a robust email exchange. I am not shy. I have always believed, intellectually at least, that broader human bandwidth is better: sitting down together is better than a phone call, which is better thanemail, which is slightly better than, say, profane graffiti on a restroom stall. But the experiences of the last two weeks have reminded me, viscerally and experientially, of the incredible power of old-fashioned, fully human communication.
Today I drove to Saint Cloud to interview an influential community leader. He was surprised when I proposed to change our phone call to a real meeting. I am certain that I learned more, and that we connected more deeply, because we met face-to-face. I just extended the same offer to a new, prospective client in Rochester.
Earlier this week, Tim Huebsch told us of CoCo’s new “co-working” location on the trading floor of the Grain Exchange Building. It should come as no surprise that bright, creative people benefit from being together in a remarkable, old/new space. The gazillion online leadership discussions in which I participate sometimes yield interesting ideas. Live conversations, where leaders face one another in person to grow and learn, are always engaging and sometimes transformative. It is always worth the time and money to conduct these programs in person. So, why do I personally default to email so much of the time?
I will continue to seek live communication, early and often. I can even show off my snazzy new laptop.
