Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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When I was in college, I was traveling to Pittsburgh from Boston when I stopped at a Howard Johnson’s for a break. At the table next to me were seated two men who obviously were meeting for the first time and were exploring a business relationship.

What struck me, as an impressionable and naïve student, was how much time they spent in chatting about anything but the potential project. They spent most of the time discussing their backgrounds, education, family, sports, the weather, and lots of irrelevant matters before raising business issues.

Although this should be the common sense way to start any work collaboration, it was a reveal to my eavesdropping. But like the fictional Philip, it has always been a professional challenge.