PRWeek’s Alex Bruell interviewed our CEO, Barby Siegel, last week about the agency’s plans to expand its technology capabilities on the West Coast and trends in the consumer space.
The mainstream media has finally surfaced a pet peeve of mine — people sitting in meetings thumbing their mobile devices. The New York Times piece today chronicles the debate between traditionalists who find it both rude and disrespectful, and “techno-evangelists” who “insist that to ignore real-time messages in a need it yesterday world is to invite peril.”
Count me in the first camp. I’m as tethered to my Blackberry as the next guy, and appreciate its utility as the indispensible mobile tool for business. That said, I also know when to leave it on the desk or in the briefcase, like during meetings where I’m supposed to be a paying attention and engaging in the discussion.
I’ve heard all the usual rationalizations (“I’m expecting an important e-mail and must be ready to respond immediately”) but I don’t buy it. 99 times out of 100 a few minutes here or there can’t mean the difference between life and death, victory or defeat, saving or losing a client. If you are expecting something so urgent or important it can’t wait until the meeting concludes, either excuse yourself or remain at your desk and watch your e-mail in anticipation.
To be sure, not all meetings require our full attention all the time, and sneaking an occasional peek when stuck in long, tedious meetings is forgivable, so long as it is discreet. As the Times reports, “There is safety in numbers…the acceptability of checking devices is proportional to the number of people attending the meeting. The more people there are, the less noticeable your typing will be.”
But in small settings with colleagues or, heaven forbid, clients, good sense and common courtesy should prevail. If you can’t bear to leave the Blackberry behind, go ahead and mail it in, out of respect for your co-attendees, if nothing else.
Maybe I’m just an old fashioned crank on this subject, but I don’t think I’m alone. And don’t get me started on people who check their e-mail while driving.
Our agency's namesake, the Greek philosopher Zeno of Citium, used the quote above as one of his guiding principles.
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