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A Cup of Coffee: Business Style
[July 29, 2014]

A Cup of Coffee: Business Style


By TMCnet Special Guest
Ilya Bodner , Partner and Chief Revenue Officer, The Shipyard
 

Over the years, I have become increasingly familiar with the popular invite for, "a cup of coffee." I outline everything below in a cheap attempt to be humorous, although those that know me understand I'm a terrible jokester.  Coffee…..It's a particular request-there are breakfast meetings, lunch meetings, dinner meetings and drinks meetings we have all been invited to as well, and all have their own specific, subtle meanings and unwritten rules. So when the "cup of coffee" invite is extended, it usually means at least one, if not more of the following:



- A business matter needs to be communicated outside of the formal setting, or perhaps this is just the wedge to get in the door with possible follow up

- Both of the two parties agree that the matter isn't pleasant or is still too risky for dinner and certainly not lunch-worthy


- It needs to be discussed soon, if not immediately, and "over a beer" is too casual

So, once the "cup of coffee" is agreed upon, the two parties name a time and place. See, the beauty of coffee meeting is that it can be literally at any hour of the day. Coffee can be consumed at any time and coffee doesn't necessarily mean coffee-juices, teas, sodas, even water works, as long as the beverage or beverages are non-alcoholic and are ordered from a place that can serve coffee, which could literally be anywhere. But I digress-they meet, and the following series of events will usually happen, regardless of the topic to be discussed:

- A forced joke will be delivered, as well as the basic pleasantries, followed by one party talking about his or her day, which will then lead to the other person commenting on it in a humorous way or returning the favor by talking about their own day

- Each party may or may not get an actual coffee, as this is not always necessarily the first thing that is done as entered into the coffee shop. Often a short business discussion starts, a brief preview of what is to come, and coffee is introduced after the topic is initially addressed

- Then some small talk, say on the theory of life, before a conceptual discussion takes over, leading both parties to either espouse their own philosophies or placate the other party by pretending to agree with them. Sometimes, though very rarely, both parties will actually agree and a bond will be made, which may help the business they intend on doing well down the road.

Then, all of a sudden, right before the end of the 30 minute pow-wow, one party mentions why exactly they are meeting. Sometimes that leads to a technical business discussion-something that one could actually call a meeting that employees might have in a conference room or with their co-workers, where decisions are made and work actually gets done-but often it does not. The last minute or two of the coffee meeting is often hyperactive and busy, both because the caffeine from the coffee, or whatever caffeinated beverage has actually been consumed is now kicking in, and because both parties want to feel like they have actually done something productive before they part ways. The following events will usually happen in rapid-fire succession:

- The meeting will be finalized with a call to action, then either a follow up set in smart phones, which will consist of another meeting, a conference call, maybe a dinner or even a lunch, or something more business formal (i.e. the review of a contract, a look at a proposal, a deadline with the infamous "get back to me by" a certain date order)

…And that's it! Both parties go their separate ways to whatever it is the rest of their day demands of them, feeling as if their coffee meeting was incredibly productive for what it was… or just a great way to have a break from their actual day while not really calling it a break.

Of course, there's more to the dynamics of the coffee meeting with business associates and each one is different. I'd love to go into it more deeply but, sorry - I gotta go meet an old friend for a cup of coffee.




Edited by Maurice Nagle

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