This Can’t Be Happening

Oh, Lord help us.  A company holds a golf tournament to raise money for charity and to bring together its executives and suppliers?  The Wall Street Journal story, “At CVS Golf Gala, Suppliers Pay for Access to Executives” (Sept. 24), reads like breaking news.  Of course, it is not anything close.  Tens of thousands of similar events have been held on U.S. golf courses, at beachside hotels, on Rocky Mountain ski slopes and in Orlando conference centers.  Corporate sponsorships of charitable activities are both traditional and critical. If a company complies with the law, it should not be blocked from nurturing relationships with the groups with which it works. Today’s commerce happens in an increasingly disparate and disconnected manner.  Is it better to make deals through emails and webcasts, or does it still mean something to shake hands with your supplier or customer?  It’s important to remember this:  people don’t do business with a business – people do business with people.