By Arianne Cohen, originally published by Korn Ferry in Briefings Magazine
Lights and video gear are strewn around Liz Lathan’s desk, which resembles a television studio. She’s in preparation mode. “I’ve got great natural lighting from this eastern-facing window, but the sunlight changes throughout the day,” she says, as she decides how many lamps she needs. She’s choosing between a ring light and side lamps, which she says she often relies on for late-night meetings with clients in Asia. “I try to make sure I that don’t look like a grayed-out robot. Or like the shadow of Watergate ‘Deep Throat’ guy.”
She raises her standing desk to a point marked on her wall, checks her sound levels, and plays familiar Motown tunes into a waiting room where she tracks arrivals, welcoming each attendee and letting them know that the meeting will start shortly. She opens the main meeting room and says hello. “There’s constant communication,” says Lathan, who runs Haute Companies, a creative agency. “In that first three to five minutes, you have to give that feeling of acceptance and belonging. Otherwise people never engage.”
