Traveling Adventures

It’s not something we like to talk about but bad things happen to good people, even good business people who are just out on the road to pursue the prosperity of their company.  But in some cases, there may be some real travel threats on your route to your business destination.  This is especially true today in the age of terrorism where a trip to Europe or the Middle East can mean some very real danger may loom as you travel.

It is our job as responsible adults to think about the dangers that could happen on an upcoming business trip and assess that danger and either approach the business objective differently or prepare accordingly.  The first step if you suspect that your next business trip may be hazardous either from political unrest, bad weather or other reasons, is to do an honest review of the importance of this trip.  If you can accomplish he goals of the trip without putting yourself or your business associates in harms way, that would be preferable to a potential disaster on the road.

If it looks like the trip is still a go, be sure you learn all you can about your destination, recommended safety precautions and the nature of the potential danger.  The US State Department keeps their web site up to date on the nature of potential security risks at http://www.travel.state.gov.

The next step for preparing for a business trip that may be hazardous is to double and triple secure your documentation.  You can make copies and scanned images of your important personal documents such as your passport, visa, driver’s license and other crucial identification cards that you must have overseas.   By leaving copies of these at home where a contact person can access them and uploading digital copies to a public folder that you can access anywhere you can find the internet, you give yourself a safety net should those documents disappear.  Also review the status of your travel documents and get y our renewals done now if there is any chance one of them will expire as you are out on the road.

If you are traveling to one or many foreign countries, make yourself familiar with the location and phone numbers of the US embassies in those countries.  By having that information on your person as you move from country to country, you are ready to move swiftly should you need to call on them to help you out of a jam.

If you do encounter trouble and require medical help, you should have on your person your crucial personal data that can be used to quickly get you help.  You can print up a card with your name, names of who to contact in an emergency, blood type, medical details such as allergies that should be noted, important medicines that you may have that can help you if you are in physical need and anything else a lay person might need if you are in a far away place in critical need.  For even more security that this card is able to communicate your critical data, you can have it translated into the language of the country you are visiting so there is no delay as local health or public service persons work to get you help.

The more you do to prepare for your trip, the better prepared you will be to respond to trouble or even avoid trouble entirely if it occurs.  By understanding the local customs and what to do in an emergency situation overseas, you can respond calmly and quickly to crisis and secure yourself, your business associates and property early and quickly.  Then if danger does rear its head, you will be well prepared to lesson its impact on you.

When you are booking a business trip, there are a lot of important decisions to be made.  Obviously, the important issue is your business objectives and that everything you need so the business you will do when you arrive comes off well.  So you will spend the majority of your efforts on those preparations or so you are well equipped for the trip.

But to use the old phrase, it’s the little things that mean a lot especially when you are enduring the inconvenience of business travel.  You put up with a lot of inconvenience and having to accommodate the needs of others in airports where everybody wants to be comfortable.  Little things mean a lot on a long business flight from how well you eat to the kind of car you rent on the other end.  Just a small surprise or accommodation along the way can set put you in a good mood on the trip and that mood could even influence the outcome of the meetings you will conduct when you make your business contacts at your destination.

Some people do not have a preference where they sit during the plane flight.  But there are a number of issues that can become significant during those hours where you are essentially immobile as you fly cross-country.  Some of those are.

*    If you are claustrophobic, having a window seat isn’t about sight seeing.  It can be a sanity saving necessity to keep you from focusing on the enclosed airplane space.
*    If you wish to work, you need some space to spread out.
*    Some medical needs might require easy access to the privacy of the laboratory, if for no other reason than to take medicine without being observed.
*    If you have close connections and are on a tight deadline, sitting near the front of the plane helps with getting off quickly.

To get some control over the variable of where you are sit en route to or from your business trip, put some thought into the issue up front and see if you can reserve the seat that suits your purposes before you ever get to the airport.  If you use online reservations, you can get a map of the plane, which will show you which seats are open.  This gives you excellent ability to move your seat so you can sit just where you want before you go to the airport.

Some factors to take into consideration are the room you need and whether you need to recline your seat or not.  The seats on the exit row are almost always more roomy.  In exchange for being willing to open the door in an emergency, you can gain twice as much room as you might have had which pays off when you want to work during the flight.

The last row of the airplane does not recline.  The upside of that row is that you don’t have anyone behind you to kick your seat back or bounce the tray table as they do whatever it is they are doing back there.  By the same token, the first set in the section does not have seats in front of it so it can be roomier.  But you may not have a tray table to use to set your laptop on for work.  These are trade offs worth thinking through in advance.

You can have your travel agent know your preferences when they book your flight.  But don’t miss the chance to make changes as late as the day of the flight.  You might spot a row that is not full and be able to grab a seat and have the row to yourself.  And that, in airline travel economies, is pure gold.