We were in the lobby of a major client waiting for a meeting when the CEO of the company happened to come through on his way in. Having met previously, we nodded in greeting and got a return nod.
Two others waiting in the lobby recognized him, stood to introduce themselves, and got probably 2 minutes of unexpected face time with the CEO. Valuable time they proceeded to waste.
The younger (35 or so) of the two was on his smart phone the entire time and never made eye contact even while shaking hands. Neither did he speak the entire time that we could tell. The older of the two tried to salvage the opportunity by gradually moving to where his younger colleague was out of view of the CEO. But we think the first impression was already made.
What would your reaction be if that had been your employee? Face to face communications is the most valuable interaction you have with a client. Wasting it by failing to focus on the people in the room with you is rude. Rude is bad for business.
Some meetings seem to be gatherings where people are in the same room at the same time and mostly distracted from the meeting’s purpose by the electronic devices they bring along. No wonder so many meetings seem to be a waste of time. Turn your cell phone off (or better yet, leave it somewhere else) when in a meeting. Playing with it in your lap fools no one. And that computer you might need? Keep it closed until you really do need it.