194. I’ve been everywhere (Condition #42: Geography)

Of all the things that have been turned on their heads since we’ve gotten used to virtual meetings, maybe the most significant unsung benefit is our ability to accommodate a variety of geographical locations in the same meeting. Remember how hard it used to be when we thought we had to choose between finding that elusive sliver of the calendar when we could get our board members from around the world in the same room at the same time, or else have the dreaded old school blended meeting of in-person and (gag) conference phone? Thankfully, we’ve embraced some better alternatives. But geography matters for other reasons, too. If you have directors in different parts of the world, for example, what if you tried bringing board meetings to them every once in a while? It would be a good faith gesture *and* potentially an inspiring change of scenery for the board. If you have operations or impact around the world, what if you planned board meetings in locations that enabled the board to witness what’s going on in real life? What about a short trip to cottage country or a bougie excursion to a tropical beach, or a subtle shift to the other side of town. New sights, new sounds, different restaurants, different stuff to do on break, new people to meet. And don’t try to pretend like this stuff is just boondoggles. A different environment, even subtly different, will have an impact on the way people show up.