I arrived home in Orlando late last night with a gazillion or two excited tourists ready to embark on the attractions. Our airport has four concourses, each with its own tram that connects to the main terminal. Last night, the trams were packed. After boarding, I realized that I was standing next to a lady on crutches. She was with her family, and working her way through the crowd must’ve been a hassle. When the tram came to a stop, I instructed her husband: “just wait here for a few seconds”. While everyone else was rushing out of the tram doors on the left (picture a subway in New York at 8:15 in the morning), we stood there for five seconds until the doors on the right opened. They typically open for passengers getting on the tram to head to their gates. At 11:45 pm, no one is going in that direction. So, while a couple hundred people rushed out the “exit doors” of the tram, this family of four and I casually strolled out the “entrance doors” by ourselves. The woman didn’t have to battle the crowds while on her crutches.
Her husband thanked me, and asked if I worked at the airport. I explained that I didn’t, but that I fly quite a bit. He thanked me again, and I realized that I had an idea for a blog post…
Below are 16 ideas and tips for business travelers. I admit that one or two of these ideas are slanted toward a male’s point of view, but there is a lot of relevance for women, too.
- Don’t go cheap. If you think you’re impressing your boss or clients by staying at the Roach Motel or flying on Wal-Mart Air, you’re wrong. Of course, they don’t want you to spend money frivolously, but don’t go cheap – it only cheapens you, and your brand. Fly on the standard four or five airlines, and stay at reasonable hotels. You’ll never go wrong at a Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard Marriott, or Hyatt Place.
- Check the coffee inventory and iron when you check into your room. Many of you are nodding your heads right now because you’ve woken up at 4:45 to a choice of three types of decaf and an iron that won’t work.
- If you’re not married or don’t have kids, then become a tourist. I’ve been to 23 Major League Baseball parks, toured every major city in North America and most in Europe, and have visited countless museums and other tourist attractions … all while on business travel. Take extra time to see these things now – you never know if you’ll be able to return.
- If you’re married or have kids, then work every waking hour. Thankfully I did all those things listed in the bullet point above. Today, I just work while on the road, so I can get home and have time with my family. I turn five day trips into three days, and have my reports done so I can cut out of the office early and hang with my wife and daughter. I don’t care as much about seeing the rest of the world any more – I’d rather be home.
- Work out. About 20 years ago, I drove down to Baltimore from Philadelphia to attend an Orioles game with a client. Even though he was meeting me at my hotel in less than an hour, I decided to do a quick workout in the hotel gym. The gym was awful, and I only had time for a 15-minute workout. I explained my frustration later to my client, who taught me a lesson with his comment: “The difference in a 15-minute workout and doing nothing is all the difference in the world – especially when you’re on the road.” He changed my thinking in relation to working out while on business travel. My philosophy today is to work out – regardless of quality or time, I make sure I mix in my workouts.
- Research the local Uber situation. If you’re an Uber person, then make sure to understand the rules and pick-up locations at the airports. You can find this information at https://www.uber.com/airports/.
- Plan work on the plane that doesn’t require using your laptop. I believe in working on the plane. I get some of my most creative results while I’m 35k feet in the air. However, I try to plan work that doesn’t require my laptop. Some examples: reviewing presentations on my tablet, closing out emails on my phone, or whiteboarding ideas on a notepad. Opening my laptop, living in fear that the person in front of me is going to take a nap and crush my screen, and having to position my typing elbows is so cumbersome that I may choose not to do it. However, if I have more convenient ways of completing other tasks that don’t require my laptop, then I’ll knock it out while in the air.
- Make sure the rental car location is near all the others. If you find a rental car option that is 20% the price of everyone else, make sure you check the location. Many of the discount companies share land with off-site parking lots, require you to call them for their shuttle, or take 45 minutes to get there from the airport. If you need to be cheap, rentals cars are usually the way to go; but make sure you’re not having to take a bus to another county to get your car.
- When dining by yourself, eat at the bar. This is such a good idea that I wrote and entire blog post about it last year. To read it, click here.
- Get your shoes shined in the airport. There’s no practical reason to do this – it just feels cool. Sit up high like you’re the boss, open the newspaper wide so no one can see you, and act like it’s 1941, and you’re checking the paper to see if DiMaggio got a hit last night.
- When spending personal time with your boss or customers, don’t be overly transparent. Drives from Dallas to Odessa, waiting on delayed flights at an airport Chili’s for five hours, or having cocktails and dinner with an extroverted client can lead to some great conversations. You’re forced to get to know your boss or clients in these scenarios. Beware though. No matter how open or transparent they get during the conversation, do not share the story about spring break in 1998, or discuss your secret fascination with Dungeons and Dragons. Don’t misunderstand me – you should be open and vulnerable to build meaningful relationships. However, there are some things your professional associates don’t need to know.
- Pack an extra dress shirt, cuff links, collar tabs, etc. These things don’t take up much room, but will save the day. If you travel more than four nights a month, I promise that you’ll thank me for this idea one at least once a year.
- If you’re younger than 35, act like you’re older than 50. It’s simple: don’t get hammered at night, and be on time to everything. Your boss and your customers have low expectations for young people. Blow them away by acting more mature while on the road … like you’ve been there before.
- If you’re not super-duper platinum on an airline, then fly on Southwest. When I was 28, I sat in first class every week. Today, I never get upgraded … and I fly just as frequently. So, two years ago, I became a Southwest flyer. Today, I’m a Southwest geek. Here is my argument for Southwest: if I’m going to fly coach, then I’m going to fly in comfortable coach on an airline that allows me to make changes with no fees… and all the other cool things about Southwest. If you live in Atlanta, Chicago, or Philadelphia and do 300k miles per year on Delta, United, or American then ignore this. Everyone else, think about it.
- No matter how busy you are, accept dinner invitations from customers or bosses. This one is tough for me. I’m task-oriented, and I have insecurity about proving myself to others. I worry about not delivering my commitments. So, when I have a proposal or debrief due tomorrow and a client asks me to dinner, my heart starts to pump a little faster. However, I do it. I always do it. I’ll wake up at 4:00 am to finish my proposal if I must, but I don’t turn down opportunities to dine with a client. Careers, friendships, memories, and lives are made over dinners. Read that last statement again – careers, friendships, memories, and lives are made over dinners. This has been true throughout our written history, and it will be true for the next 500 years. (I’m only good for 500 years of prediction – not sure about anything after that.)
- Every now and then, crash in the room. Sometimes, pizza delivery and the remote control are my best friends. About three years ago, I headed back to my hotel at 5:15 in the afternoon, ordering pizza, and watched The A-Team movie. Yep, I admit it – I actually paid to watch that movie. Sort of. I was asleep by 7:00. The next morning, after 11 hours of sleep, I felt great. BTW, this story was held in Las Vegas! Sometimes, we just need to crash.
That’s it. No empirical data to prove these are good ideas, but I’ve got a gazillion stories to validate them. Try out a couple, and let me know what you think.
