The value of face time

I believe in the power of face time. I’m not talking about the Apple iOS app.

I’m talking about actual face-to-face, in-the-flesh, non-virtual, handshaking, air-kissing, back-slapping, five-sensory (ok maybe not taste) meeting people.

A phone call or a video-Skype or Facetime session is a poor second choice to actually sitting across from a colleague, client, supplier or competitor and having a chance to engage in a conversation, whether it is a formal presentation or casual interaction.

The global nature of our lives means that we frequently need to settle for digital conversations and meetings. Just having to cross town in traffic can cost more than 2 hours of time in order to meet in person – and many of us fill that commuting time by being on the phone having digital meetings on the way to non-virtual meetings. Let’s face it – it is a lot easier to have digital conversations with people who you have met in reality.

So for the next few days, I am looking forward to hanging out at the ISP Summit in downtown Toronto.

As a conference organizer [The Canadian Telecom Summit, June 6-8, 2016, Toronto] of course you might expect me to believe in the value of people attending conferences. One of the biggest benefits is that I don’t even know all the people that I might want to speak with – part of the value is just being there and taking it all in. One good contact, one new insight can make it all worthwhile.

I hope to see you over the next couple days at the ISP Summit. But if you can’t make it, plan on joining us at The Canadian Telecom Summit in June. Registration is already open.