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/

Global Relocation: Executive Challenges

Contrary to Thomas Friedman's mantra of yore, the world is not flat. In fact, as the Financial Times commented in an August 28th editorial entitled “Rough and Smooth,”* “reality is more messy. Recent history is littered with tales of CEOs from one culture who, for whatever reason, have not stayed the course when put in charge of a company with deep roots in another.” Stuart Chambers aptly phrased it when he resigned as head of Nippon Glass: “I have learned I am not Japanese.”  

What executives must grasp is that the behaviors and attitudes that got them to the top in one culture would not necessarily translate when they assumed control of a company in another country. Culture does matter, and on several levels. For executives to succeed in crossing cultures, they must realize that the greatest attribute they bring to the table is not their previous successes or reputation; in fact, these can hinder their effectiveness in a new market. Their greatest strength in moving to a company in a different country is their ability to be nimble and adaptible, open to events as they unfold. As the Financial Times article concludes, “…there is no template for how to run an Asian business – or, for that matter, a British, French, or Russian one. Running any business requires political savvy and managerial flexibility, going outside one’s comfort zone simply requires a double dose. Different business cultures are there to be navigated, not flattened into mush.”

Every culture has its own set of values that govern not only management styles, but all aspects of business, from advertising & marketing to sales to R&D. And, the range of stakeholders, their attitudes and their issues may be quite different from anything the executive had previously encountered. Laws and regulations, investor relations, unions, employee behaviors, and corporate structures are seldom identical from one culture to another, and they seldom exhibit any degree of flexibility in the short term. So, it falls to the executive to be able to adapt to a very different environment if he or she hopes to achieve any degree of success in a foreign company.

Often, however, it is not the above-mentioned workplace related challenges, but the family issues that force an executive either to refuse a lucrative overseas position or to abort it. Family relocation issues can, for example, undermine the effectiveness of an executive when his loyalties and time are split between his family in one country and the company in another. The Japanese media often attacks Sir Howard Stringer for not spending enough time in Sony’s head office. Indeed, the importance of the family's success in managing the overseas move was given top billing in a recent Harvard Business Review* article on the subject. Simply put, "You can't be successful in your new role if your home life is in chaos." So obvious, yet so often overlooked.

Corporate boards of directors are surprised again and again by the failure of CEOs who have not succeeded in running a foreign corporation. The onus is on them, the board members, to be diligent in their search for the right executive, one who has not only the name recognition (the “his PR precedes him” syndrome) or the technical skills, but also an attitude of openness and flexibility, a satisfactory family situation, and a willingness to learn about new cultures. While that may seem an overwhelming task for a board, the consequences of not doing the requisite due diligence in their search can be even more daunting. However, finding the right executive for the right job with the right skills for a particular company and culture can send the company to new levels of success.

*http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/673ce6aa-9406-11de-9c57-00144feabdc0.html

*http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/10/three-keys-to-getting-an-overseas-assignment-right/ar/1

Dollar Is Down, Exports Are Up: Cultural Considerations of Exporting

The international business risks of European immigration

As someone who has been described as a serial immigrant, I read with interest the glowing reviews of Christopher Caldwell's book "Reflections on the Revolution in Europe," by Dwight Garner in The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/books/30garner.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=Christopher%20Caldwell&st=cse) and by Fouad Ajami in The New York Times Book Review (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/books/review/Ajami-t.html?scp=3&sq=Christopher%20Caldwell&st=cse). Ajami writes that Caldwell "gives this subject its most sustained and thoughtful treatment to date."

When we were working with a European client last year on issues of risk in their global marketing and advertising, one of the issues that arose was immigration and the way it was changing their marketplace. For most European countries, immigration is an economic necessity because of the aging and dwindling local population. However, immigration brings many challenges, especially to the established, socially liberal cultures.

Legal and illegal immigration has given rise to social, cultural and economic tensions in many western European countries. While immigrants can add cultural value and intellectual property to their newly adopted country, more often they are feared. Many reasons are given to spur anti-immigrant feelings; they take jobs from local workers and lower salaries, they overflow schools and hospitals, they cause disease, and they increase the social welfare costs. They also may be a source of crime and terrorism.

Immigrant populations in Europe from Africa and the Middle East tend to be poorer and not well-educated. The majority of these immigrants are Muslim. They are socially and economically marginalized, religious and tend to live in parallel societies rather than assimilate, as immigrants are more likely to do with the American-style melting pot or even with the Canadian-style ethnic mosaic, possibly because both North and South America have benefitted from immigration for centuries, whereas immigration is a fairly recent phenomenon in Europe.

Few immigrants in Europe enhance their adopted culture; most supplant it. Consequently, many Europeans feel threatened by newcomers who will dilute their culture, undermine their traditional values and cause them to lose their national identities. As a result, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center, large majorities in nearly every European country surveyed express the view that there should be greater restriction of immigration and tighter control of their country's borders. Unfortunately, debate about immigration is taboo in Europe since anyone there who is even remotely critical of Islam is branded as Islamophobic, as Caldwell points out in his book. That is a shame because immigration and immigration reform are topics that should be discussed openly.

The immigrant experience can be jarring, whether it is a temporary expat assignment or whether it is a permanent relocation. Having lived in several countries and having dealt with numerous expatriates, I have come to realize that there are some basic rules that can enhance the immigrant experience. First of all, it helps to make even some effort to learn the language; language does help to understand a culture. And, while it may feel safer to cling to the known, it does help, too, to become an active participant in your new home and culture; it will open new worlds to you. If you prefer to live in an enclave of fellow expatriates, perhaps you should consider repatriating, especially if you constantly continue to refer to the country of your birth as "my country." If that's where your allegiance is, that's where you belong. Equally appalling are people who become more native than the natives; you're insulting both your hosts and your heritage.

My copy of Caldwell's book is on order. I look forward to commenting further once I've read it. Meanwhile, it sounds like a worthwhile read for any executive whose company is doing business in Europe and for whom immigration might be a human resources or a marketing issue.