In business, it is easy to overthink it. Many businesses grow stagnant for the simple reason that the people involved start to overthink strategies and decisions. I was in a meeting earlier this week, and it was something of a strategy session for 2015; it involved everything from logos to sales pitches.

I have a fundamental believe in business that clients hire who they like and trust. Even if you know the client, it is always beneficial to get face-to-face again. Sure, email and conference calls are great, but when you go to the expense of time and money to meet, I find that the real opportunities come out in that setting. In business, there is something special about being face-to-face and reading the eyes, facial expressions, and meaning behind the words spoken. In emails or conference calls, you miss all of that.

In the movie, “We Are Marshall,” about Marshall University, the college football team was flying back from a road game in 1970 when the plane crashed and almost everyone on board died. In the movie, produced in 2006, Matthew McConaughey starred as the new head coach of Marshall University. It began with the last three players that were not on that plane. NCAA rules at the time stated that a college could not play freshman; Mathew McConaughey asked the University President to go to the NCAA committee to ask for a waiver so Marshall University could recruit and play freshmen players. Playing freshmen was the only choice they had if they were going to save the football program at Marshall.

The University President sent three letters to the NCAA and was denied all three times. There is a scene in the movie where the University President and Matthew were standing in the gym holding the third rejection letter from the NCAA. Matthew looks at the University President and says something very, very important. He asked the president if he was married. The University President said yes. He asked him if he proposed to his wife in a letter. The University President said no. He then asked if his wife accepted his marriage proposal over the phone. The University President said no again. The University President realized that Matthew was asking him to physically go see the NCAA and not just write a letter. Long story short, the University President drives to Indianapolis to physically meet with the NCAA board and gets approval to play freshmen ball players and basically saved the Marshall University football program.

My point is to never overlook or overthink the power of meeting face-to-face. In business, it is so easy to complicate strategies and to think that texts, emails, websites and conference calls will grow the business. They will help, but they will never replace making an appointment and shaking someone hand who knows you took the time and the money to come see them.

All business growth plans should include a face-to-face strategy. One of the main ideas that came out of our meeting earlier in the week was to plan to go see the top 100 hotel companies in the first 60 days of 2015. Lofty goal and maybe not practical, but even if we met with only 50, our business would be rewarded greatly in the 2015 year.

So in business, the point I am making is not to overthink what you should do, rather keep it very, very simple and just go do what your competition won’t do. KT