Taking Care of Business… on the Course

It’s meeting time at the office. Go ahead, picture it in your mind. Bored co-workers trapped in a room, dreaming of a way out with none in sight. There is some productivity, occasionally, but there has to be a better way.

Now, picture this… It’s meeting time again, only the conference room is replaced by the first tee, there’s lively banter and no one’s wishing they were anywhere but here.

These days the office isn’t the only place to conduct business, in fact the golf course might just be the perfect place for your next business meeting. Too good to be true? The boss would never go for it? Not so fast. Michael Andrew Smith, author of Business-to-Business Golf: How to Swing Your Way to Business Success, says the business world heads to the links to conduct business quite a bit.

“Despite all the instant messaging and email, and even in the era of Facebook and Twitter, the face-to-face meetings and discussions are still very much up there in importance, particularly when it comes to business relationships,” Smith said. “If you want to get to know somebody a little bit better, the cardinal rule is to have a meeting, and golf is the natural vehicle for doing that.”

People are out of the office, looser and more themselves. Think about how much a break from the routine is welcomed in other parts of your lives. Or why kids love a snow day here and there. It’s a getaway from the day-to-day and makes getting back to the usual routine seem not-so-routine.

A golf meeting is a chance to recharge with some friendly competition and make connections with co-workers and associates you might never see outside of the office. It also makes you, your co-workers, and your company visible.

A golf outing is fun a way to gauge your co-workers, employees, bosses, etc. How a person plays the game reveals a lot about their character, as well as how they deal with stress, success and problem solving.

Think of it as a personality profile of your co-workers in an environment that can be far more revealing than any boardroom.

Plus you never know who will be at the course, who you might connect with, or who the local club pro or course super knows.

So put away the flowcharts and Powerpoint presentations and pick up your driver. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy for a reason. But if Jack played golf and set up a meeting at the local course, he’d be the man.