Leaving the office – why being in the room still matters

My son has just finished a year of study in the US. He was based in upstate New York and wanted to see New York City before he came home.

He told me he didn’t want to do it alone. Although I suspect that meant he didn’t want to pay for it himself.

As luck would have it, the end of his semester coincides with New York Design Week. So I can make it a part-work, part-personal trip.

It’s made me think about the value of getting out of the office. Or, in my case, the home office.

Most of my work happens from home: writing, planning, proposals, training, consulting sessions, follow-ups. And lots of video calls.

It’s efficient. It’s convenient. And, most of the time, it works.

But it’s not the whole picture.

I probably don’t get out as often as I should. Sometimes I even find myself resisting it. Even when it only means making the short train journey into London.

There’s always a reason not to go.

The journey, the time, the cost, the disruption. The work that’ll have to wait until later.

And yet, it’s almost always worth it.

Not because something dramatic happens. Usually, it doesn’t. But because different things happen when you’re physically present.

Most of my trips involve talking about potential new work or meeting people in and around the industry.

Sometimes that means catching up with people I already know. Sometimes it means meeting new contacts. And sometimes it means going to an event where I don’t quite know who I’ll speak to or what will come from it.

I’ve learnt that I don’t have the longest-lasting social battery. I enjoy meeting people, but I also enjoy going home afterwards.

The longer I’ve worked from home, the more important these in-person conversations feel.

Not always immediately. Not always directly. Not always in a way that neatly turns into a next step, opportunity or proposal.

But they matter, because relationships are built in layers.

Messages, calls, comments, meetings, chance conversations, coffees, lunches and beers.

None of those moments is enough on their own. But over time, together, they form something deeper.

Familiarity, context, understanding. Trust.

There’s still something different about actually being in a room together.

Video calls are great. I rely on them. But they flatten things. They’re good for exchanging information, but not as good for getting a proper sense of people, places and culture.

Some of my meetings take place in people’s offices. I always enjoy that. There’s nothing quite like visiting a creative studio in person.

You notice the space, what’s on the walls, and how people interact. You feel the energy. Read the little signs of how the business really works.

You sniff the air, so to speak. Hard to do through a screen.

The same is true of events. The formal content may or may not be useful, but the wider experience often is.

The venue, the people, the side conversations, the introductions, the chance encounters. It’s a small world, but it’s a lot bigger than your desk.

For agency and consultancy leaders, that matters. Especially when so much business development now starts, stalls or stays on a screen.

Many creative businesses have become very good at operating remotely or semi-remotely. The flexibility is valuable, and I wouldn’t want to lose it.

But there’s a risk in allowing convenience to become the default setting for everything.

• Business development is about relationships.

• Reputation is still built by showing up consistently.

• Trust grows faster when people have spent time with you.

• And opportunity often appears in places you didn’t go looking for it.

That doesn’t mean we should fill our diaries with weak networking events, vague coffees and low-value meetings. And it definitely doesn’t mean we should bring back the daily commute.

Now that travel is no longer a routine part of every working day, I think I appreciate it more.

A bit of thinking time, a change of scenery, a break in the pattern. A reminder that work doesn’t only happen on a laptop.

The journey is part of the value – although you can remind me I said that next time I’m stuck at Waterloo with all the trains delayed or cancelled.

For now, I’m looking forward to New York.

Partly to spend time with my son. Partly to experience Design Week. And partly to meet people, have conversations and remind myself what’s gained by actually being somewhere, rather than simply logging in.

Sometimes getting out of the office is not about productivity. It’s about perspective.

And occasionally, it’s about turning your son’s sightseeing trip into a legitimate business expense.


How much of your best business development still happens in person?

Image credit: Aaron Burson on unsplash.com