It's All About the Face-to-Face

There is still no substitute for personal interaction, and these road warriors go to great lengths to get it

By Tom Lowry and Frederik Balfour, with Dean Foust, Jena McGregor, and Michelle Conlin

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MTV's Roedy travels the world to bring the network to varied cultures Jude Edginton/Redux

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Some road warriors fly commercial. Others take the corporate jet. Some pack their own bags. Others keep complete wardrobes in major cities. Some work through the entire plane ride. Others sleep. But if there is one thing these globetrotters agree on, it's that there is no substitute for face time—with the Abu Dhabi moneyman who holds the key to the future; with the underling who is AWOL on e-mail; with the spouse and kids, who have been a little sullen and exasperated of late.

Schmoozing, humoring, hammering the table—all must be done in person. "I don't want to sound like a whirling dervish," says Paul Calello, Credit Suisse's (CS) investment banking chief. "But in a global world you have to get in front of your employees, spend time with your clients, and show commitment when it comes to joint ventures, mergers, and alliances. The key is thoughtful travel—traveling when necessary."

Yes, many predicted the end of face time. But, paradoxically, the great work diaspora unleashed by technology is making physical connection all the more important. As companies open more outposts in more emerging markets, the need to gather intensifies. That's why executives increasingly feel the inhuman pull of having to be in two, three, four places at one time. The road warrior's art is all about finessing the strategic calculation of where to be when; of what bets to make with one's time. How do road warriors do this? By knowing cultures, organizations, and who has the power. Their jobs may be global, but their understanding must be local. It's not just companies' operations that have gotten bigger. So have these jobs.

Not so long ago it seemed as though technology might make business travel, if not obsolete, then a whole lot rarer. We're not talking about teleporting—just simple things like smartphones, corporate wikis, and videoconferencing. Coca-Cola's (KO) president and CEO-designate, Muhtar Kent, has been flying around the globe for Coke since the late 1970s. "I thought 10 or 15 years ago when the concept of videoconferencing first came out that it's really going to take the place of travel," he recalls. Of course that didn't happen, and he now spends about 150 days a year in the corporate jet.

OUTREACH PAYS

Kent considers travel key to meeting new people who might one day prove useful. Several years ago, he was eager to open a bottling plant in Albania but frustrated that Coke couldn't get the approvals it needed from the rudderless young government. A friend urged Kent to visit a doctor who was well-versed in local politics. He found the man's patients sitting on tangerine boxes because there were no chairs in the waiting room. "I'm interested in investing in your country," Kent recalls saying during the chat. Three years later, the doctor was Albania's first elected President, and 24 months after that Coke opened its first bottling plant in the country. The doctor-turned-President, Sali Berisha, cut the ribbon.

Kent has never forgotten the lesson. More recently, Coke was hoping to win the rights to the Vitaminwater brand from Glacéau, the U.S. beverage maker known for its so-called enhanced waters. Kent knew one of the company's minority owners was Ratan Tata of Tata Group. He'd never met Tata. So during a business trip to India, Kent requested a dinner with him—no agenda, just to get to know each other, he said. Oh, and by the way, was it O.K. to bring along a Glacéau executive? It was. "And 72 days later, we closed the deal."

Meeting the right people is all very well, but road warriors who haven't done their homework on the local potentate can run into big problems. Few understand this better than Bill Roedy, the chief of MTV Networks International. His job requires getting often risqué programming into as many countries as he can without offending local sensibilities. A history enthusiast, Roedy is pretty good at figuring out the local scene.