The Art Of Global Travels

I've just spend the past 2-3 weeks travelling around our globe; making pitstops in places such as Oxford, Beijing, Taipei, Chicago, Napa Valley, London, Kowloon and Hong Kong. I've travelled by fot, by air, by cab, by bus, by train and by tube / subway. I've had dumplings, thai, all kinds of chinese, japanese, italian, british, french and american food. I've met old friends and made some new.

Travelling this fast and far gives you access to a new dimension. The time to reflect is very limited - it all comes down to first impressions and instinct. You don't have time to give people the benefit of the doubt. If something is broken it needs to be fixed. Solutions become more important than the problems.

Language plays a huge roll in understanding a culture. Communication in English only opens up the door, makes the connection, creates the contact. It all comes down to how your counterpart is 'translating' his thoughts into English. That process can be very different in his / hers mother tongue. The thought / output relationship is very seldom 1:1. It takes patience and a lot of follow-up questions to understand the core content. This creates a challenge in cultures that asking 'too many' questions could be percieved as rude or prawling.

Assumptions drives behaviour and is always a good starting point. I've yet to develop the global managers 5-minute guide to assumption analysis. But a lot of understanding can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. I'm using coffee breaks, lunch and dinners to raise 'softer' issues, to make the human connection that brings people from a corporate mindframe to just being themselves. It's all about building TRUST, to associate your brand with truth, influence and deliverance.

My Top 5 Favorite Travel Accessories:
1. Blazer - Enough pockets to keep phones, keys, passports and tickets organized and makes you look good even after 20 hours on a plane.
2. Treo 600 - Outstanding gadget that puts Address Book, Voice, IM, SMS / MMS and Emails in the palm of your hand. Necessary to stay in contact with HQ.
3. iPOD - 20GB of music that makes you rock in the air or in your hotel room.
4. Bose Headphones - This noise-cancelling headset reduces the jetlag by filtering out irritating noice as well as creating your own high quality audio system.
5. DVD's - I usually bring 10-20 DVD's so I can watch my own favorite movies while travelling. The airline's choice of movies is to mainstream.