Steve Jobs recently undertook the task of presenting Apple’s new iPad 2 to the waiting world. He did it while ill with who-knows-what, and in doing so taught a valuable lesson to us all.
Developments in telecommunication have made “phoning it in” easier than ever. It’s easier than ever to abdicate the responsibilities of physical presence, but not always beneficial. Pundits from every corner of every discipline and industry have been proclaiming the death of long-standing cultural habits ever since the first computer hit the market (and likely even before that), but the only thing we really learn with each passing generation is that victory goes to the committed.
Commitment inspires intelligence. It inspires creativity. It inspires the walking of extra miles. It inspires clients, thus inspiring wealth. Many qualities are useful, even essential in business. Without commitment, no quality is worth a dime.
Steve Jobs will never be accused of a lack of commitment, and the same goes for the other preeminent business leaders of our time–and any time, for that matter. People that stop short of the prize don’t win prizes; the rest of humanity easily forgets them. We can never underestimate the importance of just showing up, time after time.
There’s always a robust argument for the opposite of showing up. Things come up. It’s not totally necessary. Etc. etc. But know this: personal presence equals personal relationship. Let’s take firing people as an (extreme) example: it’s far more difficult to fire an individual in person than on the phone. It’s far more difficult to fire someone on the phone than via email. And if you never see someone at all, and have no obligation to do business with them versus anyone else on the planet, it’s easier than any of the above to just quietly slip away from a relationship.
Humans are always going to be relational creatures, regardless of the technological moment. So when you’re mulling it over in your head, deciding whether business calls for your presence on stage at an important event, let us put our two cents on the line: just show up.
