Our Civil Discourse
My computer ate my blog. Literally it did! No recovered doc, nothing. So, in my stark fear of Wednesday morning post laptop crash I regrouped. Perhaps this was intentional on some part as it led me to a revised blog for today. Our Civil Discourse.
Like many Americans, I watched the debate last night. I think regardless of party we can all agree it was a HOT MESS. But this is where I will depart any further commentary on that subject. What inspired me this morning as I dig through the ashes of my intended blog was a hybrid. My topic for today was how much I miss travel, and I really do. But last night and my lost blog is like Chocolate falling into Peanut Butter – something new.
As I miss my travel it would seem that business has determined that Zoom or Teams can not only accommodate but replace the idea of face to face meetings. To this I must disagree. There is a point to travel. It’s the human element of standing in the same room, face-to-face and learning more about a person in a 3-dimensional way than a 1-dimension image on a screen.
We are devolving into a society that tweet snipes from behind a keyboard things that would not otherwise be said in person. Our attention spans are shortening to 30 minutes at a time. The personal relationships are falling in number as we stay at home. Between the social media comments and digital traffic conveying bits and pieces of information we are losing the connections that were meaningful at one time.
Business Travel is not just about the meeting, its about the connection. For those of us like myself that traveled over half of the year, it became so much more. The opportunities to see new places, meet new people, experience new cultures, and truly understand the whole person across the table and not just the digital representation. The debate last night was a perfect example of where we are headed if we let Zoom replace business travel.
We have to get back to the time of ritual where conducting business was much like a courtship or dating. The opportunity to meet, learn about the person, establish a rapport and even trust. Close the deal with a handshake. Yes, these may seem like dated references, but they are part of the human connection and honor in conducting business. We need to get back to our Civil Discourse with one another or dare I say, business could become a HOT MESS.