I should have my own parking space at JFK and LaGuardia. Many industries are like mine, you need to get on a plane to see a customer, work a trade show, evaluate a factory, research a new opportunity, train a sales force or just be present at an industry networking event. There is little you can do about the distance from your family but there is something you can do about making your trip comfortable and productive! I will break it down from booking the trip to arriving home…..
First and most important pick an airline you can fly everywhere and stick to, my preference is American (easy to book, easy to achieve and earn status and upgrades and they are very friendly) Earn your miles and use them for family trips in the future! If you don’t auto upgrade then pick the second set of seats in the exit row, they recline. The seats (at least the window seat) in the first set do not for safety reasons. If you are waiting for an upgrade than make sure you check in online as soon as you are able to, it helps your “place in line” since they go by status and check-in time.
Then pick 2 hotel chains, I go with Marriott and Hilton for the same reason, earn your rewards! Once you have achieved silver status with either you can ask for silver upgrades which are complimentary. Ask also to be put on the concierge floor or have access to it, there are a lot of perks like free breakfast, cocktails and appetizers! They also have great beds. In my opinion most important part of my hotel stay is a super comfy bed with lots of pillows. When you book everything put all emails in one folder in outlook so you don’t have to go searching for confirmations. Check if they have an airport shuttle or rent a car. Cabs are such a rip-off. Another reason to rent a car though is if there is some emergency like 9-11 and they ground all planes you will have a car to get home to your family and not get stuck (assuming you are in the continental US, I would not recommend renting a boat hee hee)
Packing: We all know it has become a pain in the neck to go through security in the airport so think of this before you go…..i don’t recommend flip flops unless you don’t mind going barefoot across the nasty airport floor……check your airlines website for the latest and greatest security measures before you go. If you are traveling on a connecting flight I highly recommend packing 1 change of clothes, essential makeup and toothbrush in your carry on, I could not tell you how many times I got stuck without my luggage and had to wash my underwear in the sink and do my makeup with 2 shades of lipstick and a lip gloss (it was pretty impressive I must say!) Then you should be careful and pack an N95 mask in your carry on also. Sadly it is the world we live in. on the way home: Pack your sneakers on the outside flap of your bag so you do not have to wear heels after your meeting through the airport. Pack all heavy books and binders in your checked luggage for an easy way home. Let’s be honest at this point you are all “worked” out. Turn your brain off and read, listen to music get some me time.
Hotel room musts! Don’t stay in the following rooms:
1. Any room at the end of the hall by the stairs, not safe
2. A room by the elevators, soooo noisy
3. A room by the ice machine. Do I really need to explain?
4. A room that does not look clean
Seriously, be nice when you ask but don’t be shy about asking to change rooms…..people do it all the time, but it does help if you bring all of these preferences up when you check in and they assign your room.
Eating while traveling, I am going to do an entire blog on this in the future but a quick tip for this blog…..go low carb, easy to do when you have a menu in front of you every meal!
See something!
I go to so many great cities and so often I am packed with meetings or stuck in a convention center for days but there are those times when there is a few hours here and there…..don’t just sit in your hotel room unless you need to get “can't wait work done”. GET out there and see at least one interesting site in that city. Not only is it a great way to spend your downtime but it adds to your “interesting factor”! I have my next blog planned around increasing your “interesting factor” but the jist of it is there are many things that can make you a more interesting person to be around (helps in networking and party situations) and one of them is to be well traveled. If your work brings you places, soak in the city, have the local specialty food, see the local sites, learn something about where you are!
What do I mean….here are some examples:
New York – Pizza, Italian food and a museum
Dallas – Steak, Grassy Knoll
Philly – Cheese steak, liberty bell, historical sites
Ask the concierge or front desk what would fit the bill in that city if you’re not sure.
Arriving home:
Take a travel day and work from home the next day. Make up for lost time with your family and give your body a chance to bounce. Travel takes more out of you then you know and if you push it your body won’t be able to fight off all those fabulous germs you acquired on the flight.
That’s it for tonight!
Driven Chick ;-)
Follow me on Twitter @ Drivenchick
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Life Lesson 6- Work, Life JUGGLE!
Many like to call it work, life balance…I think it is more like juggling! It is not just the job and family pins that are up in the air…there are MANY more. In my world I have the baby, the husband, the house, the career, industry boards I am on, my friends, social networking, blogs and me time. If you sit back and look at it is will make you dizzy. I have decided that the only way I can functionally get through a day and be a rock star at all of these is to juggle them and be completely present in the moment. What do I mean by this? When I have a certain pin in my hand (we are assuming I am juggling bowling pins like a circus performer right now, just for the visual) I am so completely concentrated on that pin. If I am at work, in a meeting, on the road or just in my office doing emails I am completely focused on work. I am the director of marketing of my company and no one else (unless of course the husband or babysitter calls, then I juggle the pins and pay attention to my family). When I am home I play by the same rules. I am MOM and WIFE. I won’t lie, I sometimes catch up on emails at night after the baby is asleep and the hubby is watching baseball but other than that I am present and accounted for! I have now added the new pin of blogging and social media to the mix so that adds just another pin to toss! Sometimes it is overwhelming to manage all of this and like anyone else I occasionally drop some pins…..but what I have learned is that it is REALLY important to realize why the pin dropped, pick it up and learn from it. There is no choice but to do this, and if you keep dropping pins you need to take a long look at your line up and make the decision to take one out. I have removed a few in my time and given myself a much needed break. It is of course something superfluous and expendable, and yeah I missed it, but priorities are a must if you are going to be successful! Take your life and rate the pins, family should always be first (jobs come and go but your family is your life) then work, then your “me time” and then fill in your social activities and associations. DO NOT drop your “me time” without it you will become a really annoying person to be around!
Want to know what I have dropped?
1. Coaching a high school team
2. Cleaning my house, no its not filthy, I hired someone
3. Going early to a sales meeting to play golf, dropped that one after the baby
4. Staying at the office late, now I leave-put the baby to bed and finish work after
5. Going to the gym after work, now I go at lunch, power lunch rocks!
Evaluate your pins, juggle like a pro and be present in the moment!
Driven Chick.
Want to know what I have dropped?
1. Coaching a high school team
2. Cleaning my house, no its not filthy, I hired someone
3. Going early to a sales meeting to play golf, dropped that one after the baby
4. Staying at the office late, now I leave-put the baby to bed and finish work after
5. Going to the gym after work, now I go at lunch, power lunch rocks!
Evaluate your pins, juggle like a pro and be present in the moment!
Driven Chick.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Life Lesson 5 – Industry Mapping, how to do it and why it’s important.
I don’t care what industry you work in there is a common thread as to how to Map, participate and work the industry. I have been in the Healthcare supply industry for over 10 years now and I am so wired in, connected and in touch that you would be hard pressed to find a single company that does not have at least 1-2 employees who know me personally. That is critical. You want to broaden your network within your industry past your customers and past your immediate acquaintances so that you can reap the full benefit of the industry.
I have spoken a bit about networking which relates to this but it goes beyond just being social at a party or gathering peoples contact info…..you need to become a fixture, a voice and a presence in your field and industry.
First, from a personal perspective, it keeps you very employable and you should, if done correctly be able to find a job within a week of losing or leaving you current job. Second, from a company perspective, it gives your company visibility and opens you customer base 10 fold. Your visibility translates to visibility for the company.
First Step – Sit down and draw a map of your industry. Imagine this will look like a bull’s-eye. First identify the core Industry association. The one that handles govt regulation, holds the annual trade show, manages a membership that consists of the main players in your industry. That will be your center or bull’s-eye. Next outer circle will be the immediate BTB groups. In my case it is medical manufacturers and distributors of the manufactured goods. You should fall into one of the two groups in the inner circle. The next layer, the outer circle will be the end-user. In my case it is physicians, hospitals, consumers, spas.
Now you should also fill in within those layers if there are off-shoot or related groups. In my case in the bull’s-eye is a professional women’s group for my industry. Also in the outer circle I would fill in the GPO’s (group purchasing organizations) that serve as negotiators for hospital purchases.
Second step - you should throw a dart right into the bull’s-eye! Contact this association, if you do not already have a contact and get one. Find someone in the organization as high up as you can and pick their brain. Find out if they have advisory councils, member surveys, volunteer groups or events that you can be a part of. I have been on multiple advisory councils and volunteered countless times. Every person in the organization knows me. Then if your company has the finances find out what sponsorship/advertising opportunities there are executive conferences for management they hold and smaller conferences they hold in addition to the main annual show. THEN JOIN, GO, TAKE PART! You will gain instant and important connections.
Third Step – List all of the companies in the inner circle in two columns. (Bull’s-eye group can get you a directory) one being the supplier, one being the customer. Then circle every company that you have 1 or 2 contacts at. Feeling pretty unconnected right now! You should! You should set a goal of being able to circle at least 5 companies a month as you go forward with your mission. And for goodness sake try to make the right contacts……befriending the mailroom manager is not going to do you much good. It should be someone at the company who is also visible in the industry and who holds a management or assistant to management position (don’t overlook a good assistant! They are often either the gatekeeper or a future executive!) You can meet these people at dinners, events, conferences or tradeshows. Seek them out, get attendee lists, find a reason to meet with them if they are not a customer or supplier. I will go into more detail in a future blog on how to do this……
Fourth step – learn the outer circle. It is your knowledge base for what makes the inner circle tick. If you do not understand your customer’s customer then go home now. If you cannot speak their language and understand what challenges they face then you cannot be a contributing part of the inner circle or the bull’s-eye.
I was lucky enough to work for a distributor before going into manufacturing so I can comfortably relate to both factions of the inner circle but I am not the norm. (Though given the opportunity everyone should test out the other side of the industry, you will be in high demand afterwards with your broad knowledge base!) So I understand the outer circle but if I did not I would make it a point to set meetings, do research and know who the key players were.
Now you have a start, Map your industry and get involved, in touch and visible.
Time for bed, on the road in St Louis, big meetings with the outer circle tomorrow.
Drive yourself to a better career!
I have spoken a bit about networking which relates to this but it goes beyond just being social at a party or gathering peoples contact info…..you need to become a fixture, a voice and a presence in your field and industry.
First, from a personal perspective, it keeps you very employable and you should, if done correctly be able to find a job within a week of losing or leaving you current job. Second, from a company perspective, it gives your company visibility and opens you customer base 10 fold. Your visibility translates to visibility for the company.
First Step – Sit down and draw a map of your industry. Imagine this will look like a bull’s-eye. First identify the core Industry association. The one that handles govt regulation, holds the annual trade show, manages a membership that consists of the main players in your industry. That will be your center or bull’s-eye. Next outer circle will be the immediate BTB groups. In my case it is medical manufacturers and distributors of the manufactured goods. You should fall into one of the two groups in the inner circle. The next layer, the outer circle will be the end-user. In my case it is physicians, hospitals, consumers, spas.
Now you should also fill in within those layers if there are off-shoot or related groups. In my case in the bull’s-eye is a professional women’s group for my industry. Also in the outer circle I would fill in the GPO’s (group purchasing organizations) that serve as negotiators for hospital purchases.
Second step - you should throw a dart right into the bull’s-eye! Contact this association, if you do not already have a contact and get one. Find someone in the organization as high up as you can and pick their brain. Find out if they have advisory councils, member surveys, volunteer groups or events that you can be a part of. I have been on multiple advisory councils and volunteered countless times. Every person in the organization knows me. Then if your company has the finances find out what sponsorship/advertising opportunities there are executive conferences for management they hold and smaller conferences they hold in addition to the main annual show. THEN JOIN, GO, TAKE PART! You will gain instant and important connections.
Third Step – List all of the companies in the inner circle in two columns. (Bull’s-eye group can get you a directory) one being the supplier, one being the customer. Then circle every company that you have 1 or 2 contacts at. Feeling pretty unconnected right now! You should! You should set a goal of being able to circle at least 5 companies a month as you go forward with your mission. And for goodness sake try to make the right contacts……befriending the mailroom manager is not going to do you much good. It should be someone at the company who is also visible in the industry and who holds a management or assistant to management position (don’t overlook a good assistant! They are often either the gatekeeper or a future executive!) You can meet these people at dinners, events, conferences or tradeshows. Seek them out, get attendee lists, find a reason to meet with them if they are not a customer or supplier. I will go into more detail in a future blog on how to do this……
Fourth step – learn the outer circle. It is your knowledge base for what makes the inner circle tick. If you do not understand your customer’s customer then go home now. If you cannot speak their language and understand what challenges they face then you cannot be a contributing part of the inner circle or the bull’s-eye.
I was lucky enough to work for a distributor before going into manufacturing so I can comfortably relate to both factions of the inner circle but I am not the norm. (Though given the opportunity everyone should test out the other side of the industry, you will be in high demand afterwards with your broad knowledge base!) So I understand the outer circle but if I did not I would make it a point to set meetings, do research and know who the key players were.
Now you have a start, Map your industry and get involved, in touch and visible.
Time for bed, on the road in St Louis, big meetings with the outer circle tomorrow.
Drive yourself to a better career!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Mommy Guilt, the working mom’s nemesis! – Life Lesson 4
Sometimes I think the most difficult part of having a baby is not the sleepless nights, not the crying, not the birth….it is being away from her. I won’t lie, sometimes it is a needed break when I go to work or I travel and get to sleep past 5 am but not being with her outweighs any brief moment of pleasure I have. I do feel that I am a better mommy to her because I work though. That may not be the case for everyone but for a driven chick like me, someone who thrives on competition and her career, it balances me. If I were a stay at home mom I think I would lose a big part of who I am and change, not for the better. I want her to know me, the driven worker who loves being part of building a company. The strong woman who leads a team and someone she can look up to.
I just spent 6 days on the road, came home for 2 and went back out for 2. I am now home for 6 days and then away again for 2…..so needless to say I am stressed about how she feels. My last meeting was for a board that I am on and it is a professional women association. I leaned on the other women on the board who have kids and have been doing this crazy balancing act for far longer than i. They helped put my mind at ease and grounded me. I realize that I am not the first and surely will not be the last to feel this way, I also realize that they bounce easily at this age and I can still have just as strong of a bond with her as I would if I were a stay at home mom. Helps to reach out to others, to talk to fellow driven chicks and get it off your chest.. My life lesson here is don’t keep the mommy guilt inside, talk it out and get the mentoring and support you need!
Just joined Twitter! Follow me at drivenchick on twitter!
I just spent 6 days on the road, came home for 2 and went back out for 2. I am now home for 6 days and then away again for 2…..so needless to say I am stressed about how she feels. My last meeting was for a board that I am on and it is a professional women association. I leaned on the other women on the board who have kids and have been doing this crazy balancing act for far longer than i. They helped put my mind at ease and grounded me. I realize that I am not the first and surely will not be the last to feel this way, I also realize that they bounce easily at this age and I can still have just as strong of a bond with her as I would if I were a stay at home mom. Helps to reach out to others, to talk to fellow driven chicks and get it off your chest.. My life lesson here is don’t keep the mommy guilt inside, talk it out and get the mentoring and support you need!
Just joined Twitter! Follow me at drivenchick on twitter!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Owning your first home, electrical – Life lesson 3
We bought our first home 2 years ago and it has been full of surprises. About 2 weeks in I asked my husband where the owner’s manual was! We lived in an apartment prior to buying the house so it was a BIG adjustment. It’s funny when you think about the fact that we both grew up in the suburbs in houses with our parents but since your parents don’t typically consult you when a pipe bursts or ask you to check the pilot light on the burner when the heat goes out….we went into the homeowner experience completely unprepared and to be honest at times it is pretty comical! It was funny when we tried repeatedly to paint the ceiling in the master bedroom and it kept peeling and falling on us. It was funny when we called an electrician because our power went out on one side of the house and it was the circuit breaker! Nooooo we are not that dumb but it turned out we did check the breaker box but didn’t realize they could look on but could go another millimeter and fix it. So we paid for a service call for some guy to flip a switch! So needless to say I am going to have a lot of blogs about owning a home and how to prepare and fix the crap that tends to happen.
My first story is about our electrical………it was our child’s christening and we were all getting ready that morning to go to church. It was a mess, my hair was wet, the baby was still in her pajamas and our parents and siblings arrived early to take pictures. No pictures could be had until my husband steamed his shirt (we used a steamer because I have no idea how to iron and we found this to be the solution) and I blew dry my hair and got the baby dressed. Well steaming a shirt and running a blow dryer at the same time on the same circuit is a baaaddd idea! Fuse blew and with all the brains in the house we thought the breaker was flipped correctly. So we went through the morning checking all of the outlets, all of the reset switch outlets inside and outside. Nothing. So we went through the day, the party (50 people at the house) and the next week with no power in the bedrooms. We had extension cords running all over the place. Ridiculous. When the electrician came and showed us the “soft” switch we almost cried thinking of the time we spent flowing extension cords all over the place! Lesson learned. Turned out it was a blessing since while he (electrician) was here we had him evaluate our pool electric system and he found it was not properly grounded!!!! Ouch! That is so dangerous!!! And yes we trusted him, he was not finding work in other places since we knew him……but we got that fixed ASAP. So the way I look at it things happen for a reason and though we did not have a house problem we had a pool issue. He also installed in the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms outlets that had reset switches. Real lesson here, our house inspector sucked. Life lesson, don’t just get a house inspection by a general inspector…..get a REAL electrician in to inspect your potential home because you can use that in the negotiation process and avoid a $1000 bill. Another tip, get a power surge protector for your computer. We have had electrical issues affect our computer and we almost lost our data. Not a big investment but sooooo worth it! Till next time :-)
My first story is about our electrical………it was our child’s christening and we were all getting ready that morning to go to church. It was a mess, my hair was wet, the baby was still in her pajamas and our parents and siblings arrived early to take pictures. No pictures could be had until my husband steamed his shirt (we used a steamer because I have no idea how to iron and we found this to be the solution) and I blew dry my hair and got the baby dressed. Well steaming a shirt and running a blow dryer at the same time on the same circuit is a baaaddd idea! Fuse blew and with all the brains in the house we thought the breaker was flipped correctly. So we went through the morning checking all of the outlets, all of the reset switch outlets inside and outside. Nothing. So we went through the day, the party (50 people at the house) and the next week with no power in the bedrooms. We had extension cords running all over the place. Ridiculous. When the electrician came and showed us the “soft” switch we almost cried thinking of the time we spent flowing extension cords all over the place! Lesson learned. Turned out it was a blessing since while he (electrician) was here we had him evaluate our pool electric system and he found it was not properly grounded!!!! Ouch! That is so dangerous!!! And yes we trusted him, he was not finding work in other places since we knew him……but we got that fixed ASAP. So the way I look at it things happen for a reason and though we did not have a house problem we had a pool issue. He also installed in the bathroom, kitchen and bedrooms outlets that had reset switches. Real lesson here, our house inspector sucked. Life lesson, don’t just get a house inspection by a general inspector…..get a REAL electrician in to inspect your potential home because you can use that in the negotiation process and avoid a $1000 bill. Another tip, get a power surge protector for your computer. We have had electrical issues affect our computer and we almost lost our data. Not a big investment but sooooo worth it! Till next time :-)
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