My mad dash to the catch the ferry at 5pm started my 24 hour journey for a 2 hour meeting. I felt like Steve Martin in Planes, Trains & Automobiles as this connection to build a new business relationship began. An hour and a half on the ferry, red eye to Atlanta, change of planes to Nashville. I picked up my rental car, drove to the hotel, quick shower. Three hour drive to my meeting. A talk for 2 hours, 3 hour drive back - crash; ah sweet sleeper bed.
Do people really do this anymore? Wouldn't it be better just to send an e mail, video conference, web-ex? It's called one to one - we did all of the virtual stuff. But the opportunity wasn't "real" until the planes, boats and automobiles proved I was serious.
It never ceases to amaze me how little things have changed - yet how much. In our 2 hours talk, we discussed the use of the net to build connections and communities in industry specific Connected Market Spaces. "It's how we found out what you guys are up to" I said.
Of course, the typical conversation that always comes up with a President or CEO arose, "I'm just not sure how much our customers are really on the web looking in our market" as my new friend spoke his cell phone went off, he checked for an e mail, watched caller ID on his office line and visited a web page. I promise you they are - we are all connected I stated as I watched him move about between on line and our face to face "off line" connection.
I nodded off last night after watching a few minutes of an interview with Bill Gates at the end of this very long day. Bill was explaining that he decided to drop out of Harvard because he couldn't believe that the PC industry that was emerging would be there if he stayed in for another 3 years. So he quit to devote full time to Microsoft. He just couldn't believe that the whole world didn't see what was up. I know how you felt Bill, I know how it feels.