In a world where work can’t start until a cat is ejected from someone’s keyboard, private in-person business meetings are as rare as carbon paper. But a chat behind (real) closed doors is something that should not be lost entirely to the mists of time.
In pre-pandemic 2019 I was an accidental witness to a job interview; an encounter that its very public setting – the lobby bar of a conference-center hotel – did little to improve.
In this piece for the American Evaluation Association’s daily blog, I distilled two lessons from the scene for independent evaluators and their clients. First, the consultant makes the best “pitch” in a get-to-know you meeting by providing the client with ideas that have value, not reciting her CV. And second, the philosophers need your bar stool, so, if you’re the client, find a better place to converse.
