As a Thirties something that has been working as a software developer and IT Consultant for nearly a decade I'm somewhat a freak of nature. I can't put my finger on why and in the end I even took it as a badge of difference, but I never acquired the taste for coffee or tea. Whilst unheard of in my industry it is even more astonishing given the Melbourne Cafe scene.
After a number of situations over the past month or so I've decided that while its a quirky conversation point for 15 seconds it might actually be a professional deficiency. A hot drink with a new acquaintance is the de facto professional ice breaker. A meeting over a coffee allows people to relax and get to the point of the matter rather than skirt around the issue with awkward formalities.
A project I've recently joint also has it as a staple morning tradition. In an organisation where your overall worth is in direct proportion to the strength of your personal network of colleagues its career suicide to neglect attending these informal peer bonding sessions.
It is with this in mind that at the ripe old age of 30 I'm bucking the tread of my brethren and instead of cutting back on my coffee intake I'm planning to ramp it up. I've taken the girls blouse approach with a mocha in the morning, however at a recent company social dinner I even manager a weak caffe latte at the end of the three course meal with my dessert notching my first ever dual cuppa day!
Combining my current aspirations to improve my golf game - a work in progress a blog post or two on there own - with my will to socially and professionally drink coffee, all I need to master now is public speaking and delegation and I've got management written all over my forehead ;-)
A final word or warning to the newer coffee drinkers among us, "If it's gone cold but only a mouthful remains, don't do it, it's not worth it, throw it out!"
All I need to do know is master the lingo a world in itself ...
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