There are a couple of very interesting blog entries at Small Business CEO and Sales Intensity discussing how a personal meeting can make a powerful impact.  I agree with this concept and believe that well-managed face-to-face meetings, rather than a volley of e-mails or a phone discussion, will usually help reach decisions or resolve many issues both quickly and efficiently.  This is the primary reason why The General Counsel’s outsourced business model provides that our in-house general counsel work out of our client’s offices – so that they become an embedded strategic business partner intimately connected with our client’s management team, sensitive to the business needs and immediately available to respond to their legal challenges.