The Story of the Distracted Distributor: If you are present, be PRESENT!

This week I had a client in town that travelled across the country to meet with one of his key distributors. This client also happens to be the owner of the company and brand and makes these kinds of “market visits” just a few times a year.

Well we had a two-hour meeting planned yesterday, with three folks from our extended team participating, and two or three key executives from the distributor. While we had a short presentation, the primary objective of the call was to discuss opportunities to improve retail execution and performance; literally we needed to have a very open and candid dialogue about underperforming markets and retailers and to develop tactics, tools and incentives to improve the current performance trends.

As the meeting began, I sensed we might have some challenges when the senior exec from the distributor set up his Ipad AND IPhone on the table. He encouraged us not to be distracted, but that he needed to “keep an eye on a few fires” during the meeting. Sure enough, fifteen or twenty minutes into the discussion he starts responding to text messages and tells us “don’t worry, I am a good multi-tasker.” While it was certainly a distraction, we tried to plow forward. After another five or ten minutes his cell phone rings (yes the ringer was ON), and he walks out of the conference room and takes the call. Long story short, this combination of text messages, emails, and calls literally shuts down the meeting; not only do we not accomplish our objectives, my client leaves the distributor offices feeling unheard and disrespected…. Not a very good combination.

Unfortunately this story is not unique. There are too many instances where technology has enabled us to be “wired in” at all times, tempting all of us to be distracted from the primary topic at hand as we handle the texts and emails piling up every hour, every day. There is a lot being written about the dangers of “distracted driving,” and the trends of the rise of “distracted driving “ deaths since 2005 in the United States are staggering! In a related sense, the reality of a distracted work place is also dramatically on the rise. While certainly not as lethal as being distracted while driving, the outcome from our meeting yesterday certainly was not positive. I can’t imagine that the distributor’s senior executive came into the meeting with the objective to disrespect and ignore an important customer that had flown to Atlanta primarily for that two-hour meeting!

While the story seems extreme, I think we all need to reflect on our actions in past meetings and be careful not to emulate the distributor’s actions and impact. If we choose to lead or even to attend a meeting, we need to put the technology down and be present; not just physically in the room but completely present. We need to play an active role, advancing the topics and positions at hand and using the “two ears, one mouth” adage to listen twice as much as we talk. I highlighted in a past essay, “Selling: the art of the question,” that the best sales people I have ever been around are actually the best questioners. It’s important to be reminded by my story of the multi-tasking distributor that it is hard to listen or ask questions when you are distracted by multiple texts, emails and calls. We should all work hard to be fully present in those types of moments, respecting others who have taken their time and resources to be with you, and if there is a crisis (and they do happen) excuse yourself from the meeting to FULLY deal with that issue so when you return you can be FULLY present and active to the issues and topics at hand.