Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Is Business Travel a Blessing or a Curse?

It’s fun to travel with colleagues.  No, really.  Back when I worked at CA, my whole team traveled from New York City to Las Vegas once a year for our company’s annual trade show.  After the highs and lows only a harried week of work in Vegas can provide, I really bonded with these people.  Many years later, I still keep in touch with many of them.  And I still love Vegas.

Traveling with co-workers, however, involves a set of informal rules of which it’s helpful to be aware.  Here are a few that I’ve learned over time.

1. Don’t insist on sitting together on the plane.

Plane etiquette is tricky.  Some people don’t mind gabbing away the whole time, while others would like nothing more than sit silently with their iPad and relish the calm before their trip’s storm.  Because it can be difficult to ascertain your co-worker’s camp and awkward if you get it wrong, sit apart unless you can’t avoid it.  You can probably use the quiet time yourself.

2. Do use the trip as an opportunity.

During a trip, you will probably have more chances to converse with your colleagues than usual.  Use the time to get to know them as human beings.  Express curiosity about their family and hobbies and be open in answering their questions about your lifestyle.  The closer you become when you travel, the stronger your relationship will be back at the office.

3. Don’t let your guard down too far.

Of course, there is a such thing as getting too close.  Always look presentable and avoid inappropriate conversation topics such as sex, drugs, current personal struggles, mean-spirited gossip, and anything you’d be embarrassed about if your boss found out.  Never use a business trip to launch a physical or sexual relationship with a colleague.  Even if you are both single, this is not the time or the place.

For more dos and don'ts for traveling with colleagues, check out the full post on Intuit's Fast Track blog.

4 Steps for Success Working Overseas

Whether you’re a small business owner or an employee in a cast of thousands, you may find yourself working overseas at some point.

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a  major uptick will occur in the number of cross-national business assignments in the next 10 years. This is an exciting development for some people, and intimidating for others.

But working in a foreign culture is not so different than simply taking on a new role in your country of origin. You have to hone your general business acumen and your communication, language and problem-solving skills.

Check out my post at the AMEX OPEN Forum for four steps to help ensure that you can assimilate effectively.

9 Survival Strategies for Road Warriors

If you’ve worked in the professional world for longer than a year or two, the magic of business travel wears off.  You find that your trips away from the office involve working more hours, not less. You return, exhausted, with a bag full of dry cleaning and a week’s worth of e-mails to catch up on. But for better or for worse, business travel is a part of life for many employees. Here are a few tips to make your trips more bearable:

Keep a bag packed at home.

You never know when you’re going to need to travel out of town on short notice. Prevent frazzled, last-minute rushing around by keeping a travel bag packed and ready to go in your closet. Besides a suit and comfortable business shoes, include toiletries, regular medications, mints, business cards, and power cords for your devices.

Review your itinerary ahead of time.

Go over your schedule to make sure you know where you’re supposed to be at all times and how you’re going to get there. Leave large time cushions in between each activity so that you can make it from one place to the next without having a heart attack.

Print out important materials.

I hear that you don’t want to kill trees, but you never know when your laptop is going to decide to have a temper tantrum. Technology often fails us on business trips, so if you really need something for a meeting, carry both hard and virtual copies.

Assign colleagues to share your workload.

Keep the machine running by making a detailed list of tasks you need covered while you’re gone and delegating each one to a trusted colleague.

Carry snacks and a bottle of water.

In the alternate universe known as business travel, something as simple as eating can turn into a complex task you can’t be bothered with. In case you have to miss a meal, tide yourself over with a granola bar or a health bar. And don’t forget to stay hydrated, especially when you’re flying.

Dress up, not down.

When you’re attending meetings in unfamiliar surroundings, wear business-appropriate attire. Even if the folks you’re meeting with are dressed casually, no one will fault you for being the only one in a suit. Pack your clothes in a garment bag and use the iron in your hotel room to keep your attire looking neat and wrinkle-free.

Fly during business hours.

Inevitably, taking a business trip means working longer hours anyway, so don’t be a martyr and volunteer to take a red-eye flight. You’re already stressed, so why should you be bone-tired too? Also, don’t feel obligated to work during the flight out. Use the time to relax and mentally prepare yourself for the trip ahead.

Pay someone to drive you around.

Even if you take pride in your sense of direction, do you really want to be bothered with navigating a rental car through the bowels of a strange city? If your company will allow it, stick to taxis or corporate cars.

Have dinner with friends or family instead of your colleagues.

Does anyone from your personal life live in the city where you’re traveling? Make an effort to get together instead of hanging out with the same colleagues you see all day. Business travel is a great way to catch up with folks you wouldn’t get to spend time with otherwise.

I’ve logged hundreds of business trips, and I still get stymied by some of these. I’ll never forget the time I arrived at JFK Airport only to find that my flight to Washington was departing from La Guardia. If only I had reviewed my itinerary ahead of time! Learn how to travel smart, however, and your experiences as a road warrior can add a rewarding dimension to your job.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

7 Business Travel Musts

Over the weekend, I hung out with a friend who travels every week for business.  We traded the following tips for business travelers, which will hopefully make your on-the-road life more bearable:

Follow the expense rules. Before traveling, read the fine print. Some companies insist that you use a company smartphone for all communication. Others won’t pay for your lunch because you’d be buying it yourself if you were in the office.

Pack a bag in advance. Prevent frazzled, last-minute rushing around by keeping a travel bag packed and ready to go in your closet. Besides a suit and comfortable business shoes, include toiletries, regular medications, mints, business cards, and power cords.

 Go over your itinerary beforehand. Review your schedule line by line to make sure you know where you’re supposed to be at all times and how you’re going to get there. Leave large time cushions in between each activity.

Carry fuel. In the alternate universe known as business travel, something as simple as eating can turn into a complex task you can’t be bothered with. In case you have to miss a meal, tide yourself over with a granola bar or a Power bar. And don’t forget to stay hydrated.

Fly during business hours. Inevitably, taking a business trip means working longer hours anyway, so don’t be a martyr and volunteer to take a red-eye flight.

Trust in the taxi.  Even if you take pride in your sense of direction, do you really want to be bothered with navigating a rental car through the bowels of a strange city?

Socialize with loved ones instead of colleagues. Does anyone from your personal life live in the city where you’re traveling? Make an effort to get together instead of hanging out with the same colleagues you see all day.