I know we all have work to do.  And much of that work is at our desk and on our computer.  And yes, we shouldn't fall behind in the work that must be done at that location.  But, I would argue that most of us spend far too much time with busy work, and far too little time in the activity of strengthening relationships.  In fact, I would dare to say that many of you may be using "desk time" to avoid the work of building relationships, which is the vital nourishment to the ultimate success in the service industry.

Ben and I recently attended two conferences.  The primary reason for attending these conferences was to set up meetings with several interested, prospective clients in order to, hopefully, get them signed on as clients.  Secondly, we used this time to touch base with current clients and further build those relationships.  Unfortunately, we had several cancellations of set appointments, and were left twiddling our thumbs much of the time in the business suite we had rented.

I could have easily used this extra time to get ahead in my writing, catch up with email or numerous personal computer related chores. Fortunately, the very principle of this blog edition came screaming in my conscious mind:  "Nothing can happen if I'm in my room!"

As I ventured out with no particular plan in mind, day after day, I stumbled onto several very old and very new clients, in addition to non-client acquaintances.  Without going into too much detail regarding who I met and spoke to, I CAN tell you that many of these interactions were absolutely priceless.

Being around people, having conversations, asking about families, getting to know their challenges, and then actually helping them, and them helping you, is how most businesses are built.

• Howard Shultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks visits…drum roll please…25 Starbucks locations per week.
• Herb Kelleher, well known natural schmoozer and CEO of Southwest Airlines for 37 years was known to say, "You have to treat your employees like customers."  And by the way, the day of his retirement celebration, Southwest pilots took out a full page ad in USA Today thanking Herb.  That same day, American Airlines pilots were picketing their employer…

If you are a manager of people, or an agent trying to build a business, you cannot miss the importance of this principle.  The priority of rubbing elbows with the people that you coach, manage, hope to do business with, those you've already done business with, and hope to recruit… is irreplaceable.

How important?  I'll use an example in the next blog that might surprise you.

Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.