Why in-person time still matters

Why in-person time still matters

I had the pleasure of a short trip to London last week. It was essential time to reconnect with people and do some in-person problem solving.

At heart, management consultants are group problem solvers, and so are most effective teams. There is something deeply satisfying about gathering around a gnarly issue with a big piece of paper and working it through together.

Even in the rain, London remains one of the most beautiful cities. I found myself reading a mystery set in Victorian London while taking the bus across the city, letting it spark my imagination. I also love reconnecting with the energy of innovation and excellence there. You can feel that people around you are learning, stretching, and quietly raising their own bar.

On the flight back, I noticed how many planes were heading to Geneva for the World Economic Forum. Davos is set to be a record year for attendance. Whatever your view on its relevance, it is hard to ignore the pull of in-person gatherings, particularly at a time when the global context feels more complex and unsettled than it has for a while, with fewer clear directions and more competing forces.

It made me reflect on why these gatherings matter at all.

The power of proximity

From my experience last week, there is something uniquely powerful about meeting in person.

Throughout history, peer groups have strengthened each other through proximity. Ideas move faster. Trust builds more easily. You see this in creative clusters, in scientific communities, and in strong teams inside organisations.

I felt this acutely during my time at Virgin Media. We had one of the strongest team cultures I have experienced. We worked hard, but we also spent time together, played, argued things through, and solved problems collectively.

I remember one Tuesday morning meeting when sales were down. Instead of retreating into silos, the team became genuinely creative. We explored new campaign ideas and product angles together. The collective energy shifted the quality of the thinking.

What remote work cannot fully replace

A small but amusing moment last week brought this home again.

I caught up with an old colleague from those days. She is now working as an independent consultant and told me about a recent client engagement where she was the only person in the office. At one point, she found herself waving her arms around just to keep the motion sensors from turning the lights off.

It made me smile. And it reminded me that while remote and independent work bring freedom and focus, there is still something irreplaceable about shared space, shared effort, shared learning, and shared thinking.

This is not about nostalgia. It is about recognising where human connection still does some of its best work.

I am curious: where have you noticed in-person time making the biggest difference in how people collaborate?

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