I Had His Number, But I Missed the Meeting

The Setup: A warm email exchange

Hi Mr. Bigshot,

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are doing well.

I am writing to reconnect...

xxx

Sincerely,
Xingxin

[cc: Admin Team]
Hi Xingxin,

Great hearing from you! BTW, I will be in Hong Kong this week for xxx.

Mr. Bigshot

[cc: Admin Team]
Hi Mr. Bigshot,

That is wonderful news! Welcome to Hong Kong!!
[I proposed Option A: Coffee in Wan Chai]
[I proposed Option B: Lab Visit at HKUST]

Enjoy the xxx!

Best,
Xingxin

The Pivot: The Golden Ticket

Hi Xingxin,

Thank you for your email. Please text me via WhatsApp and we will try to coordinate:

+x-xxx-xxx-xxxx

Best,
Mr. Bigshot

The Fumble: WhatsApp

Xingxin: Hi Mr. Bigshot! Xingxin here. 
Mr. Bigshot: Hi Xingxin!

Xingxin: Welcome to HK!
Mr. Bigshot: Thank you!

[... Silence for 48 hours ...]

The Reflection

Looking back, the mistake seems obvious. But in the moment, I was paralyzed by a polite assumption.

I thought: “I just sent him a detailed email with options. His admin is CC’d. He knows the plan. I don’t want to bother him with a wall of text on his phone.”

I was wrong.

I learned a painful lesson about “Context Switching”. When a busy person moves you from email to WhatsApp, they are leaving their cabinet crew.

By giving me hiss number, he wasn’t asking to chat. He was handing me the steering wheel. He was effectively saying: “Ignore the admin. Ignore the email thread. I am giving you a fast lane. Just dial in!”

Instead of driving, I parked the car. I ended the conversation with a period (“Welcome to HK!”) instead of a question mark (“Are you free for that coffee tomorrow?”).

I waited for a busy man to manage my schedule, instead of making it easy for him to say “Yes.”

I missed the meeting. But I won’t miss the lesson: When the door opens, walk through it immediately!