Every year around this year I fly to Arizona and attend the
IAB Annual Meeting, a confab of 1000+ executives in the interactive media business. Yes, it’s a rubber-chicken boondoggle – what ballroom-based warm-climated event in February isn’t? – but I go because I get to catch up with dozens of colleagues and friends, and I usually connect to a handful of interesting new folks as well. I hate the travel and despise most hotel rooms, but on balance, well – I keep going. (And yes, I think
the NewCo model is even more productive, but more on that in another post).
I find the best connections happen over dinner or drinks – perhaps that’s my own convivial nature, but I sense I’m not alone. So I want to tell you a story of a chance meeting at a bar, because it evokes a larger lesson in business: you’re only as good as your relationships – and those relationships often exist outside traditional boundaries of time and space.
If you’re scratching your head, stay with me. I hope to clarify.
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