Face to face meetings as a general concept is not something that is likely to disappear from the corporate landscape anytime soon. These types of meetings continue to have significant value, regardless of the type of business or businesses in question. No one is really disputing whether or not face to face meetings are important, or if they are going to continue being important for the foreseeable future.
What people are instead discussing is what face to face meetings are designed to accomplish. Some believe face to face meetings are logistical exercises. Others see them as more of a strategic initiative. In the end, who is correct?
The answer is an intriguing one. However, as you’re going to quickly realize, the answer isn’t quite as straightforward as one might prefer it to be.
The Function Of Face To Face Meetings
The truth of the matter is that you can make the case for face to face meetings being something that is capable of accomplishing a great deal on a variety of fronts. That is to say that face to meetings can be a logistical exercise, a strategic initiative, or even both of these things at the same time. The variety of ways in which one can have a face to face meeting should be kept in mind. From there, you can apply the different types of face to face meetings to the various types of goals that often accompany these meetings. Some of these goals can include making decisions, generating proactive discussions, gathering information, breaking down information, making plans, putting together new ideas, generating solutions, establishing agreements, developing policies, building team connections, and much, much more. When you consider the multitude of reasons as to why the corporate world relies on face-to-face meetings to such a significant degree, you can begin to see how face to face meetings are capable of being a great many different things, in terms of intent.
You could make the case that face to face meetings are more strategic initiative than logistical exercise. However, when you begin to study either of these concepts in greater detail, you can begin to see the ways in which each of these concepts can be found in the form of a face to face meeting. In the end, your main challenge is to look for ways in which you can implement the established face to face meeting concept in the most productive, beneficial fashion you can possibly put forth.