Lunch For Success

Successful Business Lunching Means Being a Good Host

Posted on 05. Jan, 2009 by Craig Peters in Uncategorized

Occasionally, we come across people who have a hard time with the idea of learning about and preparing for a business lunch. It feels manipulative or false somehow. Many people can’t really put a finger on it, but I think I understand where it’s coming from.

Meals are personal. Think about how many meals we have in our lives. Now think about how many business meals we have. Unless you’re in a very unusual situation, that second number is much smaller. So, most experience that people have with sharing a meal is a personal, non-business experience.

Even during the business day, lunch is often the time when you go out with co-workers and you don’t talk about work; you’re social with each other. At home, meal time is often the only time that everyone is together. You go to dinner on a first date. Some people propose marriage over a meal. I could go on - the point is that meals are personal and special.

Structuring and preparing for meals makes some people uncomfortable. It’s understandable that some people feel uncomfortable when we take something personal and apply a concrete approach to it. There’s an emotional sense that it’s manipulative to plan out an interaction like that.

Here’s a new way of seeing it. I’m calling it out this explicitly because I want you to be clear that you don’t have view it in this light. Instead, conducting a positive and successful business lunch is very similar to treating house guests well. It’s just like being a good host.

Check out some of the guidelines that Brett lays down in his post at The Art of Manliness called How to Be a Gracious Host.

How to Be a Gracious Host (from Brett’s post)

1. Be on time to pick up your guest.
2. Stock up on tasty treats.
3. Make your abode as clean and pleasant as possible.
4. Cook for your guests
5. etc.

Brett’s list is useful because it’s simple and direct. The end result if you’ve been a good host is that your guests will feel comfortable and leave with a sense that it was a good way to spend their time.

Business Lunches are the same. It’s the same with a business lunch: you want your guests to feel comfortable and leave with a sense that it was a good way to spend their time. You also need them to want more – more lunches with you, more business with your company, etc.

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Tags: host