Why We Eat Well
I’ve made the joke before (and I will absolutely make it again) that one of the biggest risks facing Permanent Equity is our cholesterol. This is in recognition of the fact that if you come to visit us or we come to visit you, no one will go home hungry.
What’s no joke, however, is how much actual credence we put in the practice of sharing a great meal with past, present, and future partners. But why?
Providing a substantive answer to this simple question is more difficult than it might seem on its face. What does one get out of a meal that one can’t get out of a phone call, Zoom, meeting, or coffee?
First, it’s inclusive. Everybody eats.
Second, there’s no agenda. You’re there to have a meal. Other topics might come up and if they are germane, great, but if they’re not, that’s great too. We’re there first and foremost for the food, and we can get to business later.
Third, it’s a shared experience. That’s important because those are all we have to fall back on when circumstances inevitably get difficult. If you’ve shared a great meal with someone, you will always have that in common.
Fourth, it’s revealing. What and where people eat and drink tell you a lot about what they value and where they’re coming from. And if the meal doesn’t go well, it’s a red flag. If you can’t engage in conversation or treat people well while dining on delicious food, what’s going to happen when the stakes are higher than steaks?
None of this is to cast any aspersions at any type of eating or drinking. A meal doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive or long to be great. We get called heroes, for example, when we show up with donuts for everyone in the warehouse. And we don’t go to California and not get a Double-Double animal style. But, yes, there are some fancy meals that we’ve enjoyed too.
The point is that it’s through food that we have been able to build our most meaningful relationships both personally and professionally. Which is why being well-fed is a competitive advantage (and why meals should go back to being 100% deductible).
Have a great weekend.
– By Tim Hanson