Banter Without Borders

Tips for the overextended international and domestic traveler

Globetrotters, World Travelers, Road Warriors, Jet Setters, International Business agents, we've all heard the terms and have worn the banners in today's business environment.  I am sure many of you have the additional battle scars of long nights, delayed flights, long international flights and jet lag and wall as important time away from your homes and family.  Long gone is the 8 hour business day and today's technology makes us work 24 x 7 x 365 and sometimes x 366 days a year.  Your body takes a tremendous toll and the wear and tear, often, goes unnoticed until it's too late.

So how do you stave off the accelerated aging process, the added weight gain, the shear exhaustion that wreaks havoc with your biological clock?  There are steps you can take to ensure you maintain your health and maybe, even more importantly, improve your health.  Yes, it's true; you can actually improve your health and well being with a few precautionary steps and most importantly, remain consistent once you develop this routine.

First things first, create a budget.  Create a budget?  You will need to sit down, push all your work aside and admit there is a problem.  We've been there, in the hotel room or airport lounge with a few minutes to spare and more often than not, you get that glazed look and fall into a trance listening to...nothing.  TV background noise or music fills the room which just numbs the senses.  Or, sometimes you just sit there blankly thinking, "What am I doing here?"  It's ok to feel that way.  What you discover is that this a great time to think about your health budget.  It's really fairly easy and may add years to your life, bounce to your step, and sometimes increase you overall well being.  But, the key is, you need to admit there is a problem and you want to do something about it.

            On your budget, how much time will you allocate for exercise and more importantly, what type of exercises will you do.  Here is a hint, keep it simple, but start.  Starting is always the hardest part. 

Your Routine

1. Once you roll out of bed and get a bit warmed up, do a set of sit-ups. Initially, only do one set of 10, if you can. Don't be embarrassed, no one is watching, but more importantly, you're trying. You can increase the repetitions later as you gain strength. http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Sit-Ups
2. Leg Raises: Complete one set of 10 leg raises. While you are lying on the floor from doing sit-ups, you can transition into leg raises. Remember, do them slowly, deliberately and maintain proper position. http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Leg-Lifts
3. Crunches: While still lying on the floor, complete one set of 10 torso crunches. You do this by putting your hands, laced, behind your head and then do a sit up and bring your knees up at the same time to meet your elbows. Do not pull your head up with your hands. This is a bit more difficult and will fell awkward at first, but it's a great exercise for the abs. http://exercise.about.com/cs/abs/ht/Crunch.htm
4. Let's get up off the floor and do some torso twists. Compete one set of 20 torso twists. With your arms extended slowly twist in one direction, and then twist as far as you can in the other. Do these SLOWLY and deliberately at first. You can increase speed and intensity at a later date once you gain more strength and elasticity. http://www.ehow.com/how_2283064_do-torso-twist-core-exercise.html
5. Moving to the legs, do some squats. About 10 will do for a start. If you haven't done these in a while, you may want to position yourself next to a chair to help you with your balance. Do about 10 squats. http://exercise.about.com/od/exerciseworkouts/ss/howtosquat.htm
6. Find a large book, usually a thick phone book will do and place your front part of your feet on this book and do some calf raises. What you want to do is stand straight and lower your heels to the floor. Then, slowly rise up on your toes. This extends and flexes your calves. Do about 10 reps of those. http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Calf-Raises
7. Let's move to the upper body and arms. Let's work your biceps. Do you have a briefcase or large purse? If so, use that for weight resistance and complete a set of 10 bicep curls, again maintaining the proper position and movement. http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightlifting/l/blsamplebicep.htm
8. Reverse bicep curl. Instead of your palms being in an upward facing position, do bicep curls with your palms facing down. It's feels weird at the beginning, but it works the muscle group differently and you now have pretty much hit that bicep from all directions. There are other variations, but let's keep it simple.
9. Triceps extensions. This nicely tightens up that flabby floppy muscle under your upper arm opposite the bicep. Do this one very carefully. With your weight resistance, raise the briefcase, or other item, over your head and then lower it behind your head to about neck level. Then, slowly raise it about your head and repeat for 10 times. Ouch...feel the burn. You will if you haven't done this one before. http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/standing_triceps_extensions.htm
10. Ok, return to the lying position. This is a nice one to finish with. These are simple bench presses. They are good for your chest and a bit of your shoulders as well. Grasp your briefcase/bag firmly with both hands. Hold it about your chest, lower it to your chest and press it up again. Do this in slow deliberate motions. Take your time and remember form is important.

 

This should get you started in a good routine and budgeting your time for you.  Slowly but surely you will start to see improvements.  Your stamina and energy level will increase.  Remember this is a start and you will need to increase reps, weights and duration over a period of time.  And, as always, check with your personal Physician before starting any exercise program.  

The other important thing to do is alter your diet.  Eat healthier, smaller portions.  And, you will find out that you can actually eat more often, if the foods are those which are higher fiber.  Increase fruits and vegetables.  Decrease your intake of...snacks.  What you will learn is to budget your intake of foods and you know which ones are the right ones.  We all do.  In short, follow your exercise plan, change your diet and do it logically and moderately.  If you take the time, you will find yourself rejuvenated and your family might discover a new you as well.  Remember, draw up your budget, make your plan, implement the plan and do it comfortably.  The bottom line is that you will see physical as well as mental benefits from your plan.  This doesn't make the trips any shorter, but you will find, once you return home you'll recover a bit quicker and find time and energy to do the more important personal things in your life.   

Last, but not least, check out some of the other travel sites for additional tips on security, relaxation, stress, jet lag, expenses, hotels, offers, and all the hotel and travel freebies and benefits.  http://www.roadwarriortips.com/

Protocol fosters international relationships

Mind your manners and make millions...so reads the headline of Stefan Stern's review (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5300a858-7c9f-11de-a7bf-00144feabdc0.html) of a new book, The Cost of Bad Behaviour, by Christine Pearson and Christine Porath. Having spent many years teaching executives how to mind their manners (http://www.etiquetteinternational.com/), especially if they go abroad, I can attest to the veracity of the authors' message. Companies can lose millions in revenue because of the behavior of their executives and representatives.

Good manners lubricate relationships whereas bad manners can lead to client attrition, bad press and investor revolt, not to mention a toxic workplace. A few sniping cliques or an arrogant manager will result in staff ineffectiveness and high turnover. There's an old saying that employees join companies and leave managers. It should be obvious, then, that management training with 360 assessments, especially in the area of Emotional Intelligence, should be compulsory. However, too many companies are penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to addressing these ‘soft skills', especially in this economy. When times are tough, relationships can be a deciding factor in a company's success or failure. 

Global coaches and consultants are acutely aware of the value of good manners in fostering international business relationships. Yet companies still send managers abroad as a way to remove them from a toxic situation in the home office. Adding the cultural component to an already toxic manager is a sure-fire speedway to failure. Relationships in business are crucial overseas where an executive can be judged harshly on his appearance, attitude and actions, and that can undermine the trust necessary to build successful relationships.

Before an executive goes abroad, extensive efforts should be made to ascertain that he or she is the right person for both the job and the culture. That person should be given all the support needed to help make the cultural transition. Why is this so important? Simple. A company won't lose just one or two clients or employees, it will ruin its reputation permanently in that market. All the time, effort and money that had gone into opening the market will be lost.

Unfortunately, as Stern writes in his review, "the book is a bit short on what the victims of unpleasantness should do about it." Etiquette writers are very good at telling you how to act properly; they seldom teach you how to react properly when you have been treated badly. Role-playing serves in this scenario to both to forestall negative situations and to correct them, and is an integral part of the learning process. When simultaneously combined with ongoing coaching efforts, the client making the necessary changes is supported overall. To dismiss either the coaching or the training component, especially where cross-cultural challenges are involved, is to increase the likelihood of incurring the "Cost(s) of Bad Behaviour."