I just returned from a five day trip in Phoenix where several hundred engineers involved in my particular industry come together and work on standards that honestly affect everyone of you.

During the pandemic, these meetings were virtual, and in theory, the results would be the same, but in reality, they’re not. People are meant to be together, and it’s that presence facilitates both conflict and consensus. It may sound crazy, but you have to have each one of those for success.

I’m not saying there aren’t personal events that are a waste of money, because there are. The debacle of people coming together, crying about climate change while flying private aircraft halfway around the world certainly seems a little bit ironic but I would suspect many of them recognize that irony, but understand they need to be face-to-face sometimes.