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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, my favorite Katey Segal series is 8 Simple Rules, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. Of course, my favorite show that she made an appearance in is LOST, but I’m guessing you already knew that.
I guess you could say the first out of state business trip I ever took was to Lubbock, Texas in 1999. The company was moving me there later that year, so they flew me out early to find a place to live. That was also my first time flying in an airplane. I was 23. During my time as a store manager and a buyer, I traveled a few other times to Kansas City, Orlando, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Nashville, Grand Rapids, and Anaheim. In each case, we flew in, checked into the hotel, ate, attended meetings, and flew home. Occasionally we’d visit competitor stores, but that was the only “extra” thing we did.
I enjoyed most of the travel we did and I loved getting to see new cities from the air. But I always left each city a bit disappointed that I’d gone to a city without really seeing the city. I mean, I could tell people I’d been to Nashville, but in reality, I’d only seen the inside of a hotel, rental car, conference room, and hibachi restaurant.
My boss was one of those guys who worked non-stop. He showed up to the office each day, said hi as he walked by into his office, only emerged if he wanted to tell you something related to business, and left at the end of the day, telling you bye if you were within earshot. He never ate lunch unless it was with a visiting vendor. When we traveled, he worked the entire time we were at the hotel too. He never turned on the TV or picked up a book. He was on his laptop, dialed into our company’s VPN working until bedtime. He didn’t chit chat. He didn’t ask personal questions. He was all business.
Then in 2006 I took a position in the company as the director of ecommerce. When I took that position, my travel schedule changed a bit. Previously, my travel consisted of visiting stores in our chain, flying out to meet with one of our four biggest vendors, or attending our industry’s semi-annual trade show.
In my new position, I only attended the summer variant of our trade show. However, I also attended conferences by Amazon, eBay, and the annual Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE for short.)
My first trip in my new position was to Seattle. There was a conference for Amazon resellers that was supported by, although not sponsored by, Amazon. My boss, the company president, traveled with me. After the first day was completed, we drove to downtown Seattle and found a place to park. We spent the evening walking around Pike Place market. We visited the first Starbucks, watched them throw fish, and enjoyed the ambiance of all the people and shops.
There was a Barnes and Noble a few blocks away. Since they were a competitor of ours, he wanted to check out what they were doing. We got turned around and found ourselves at the base of the Space Needle. I wanted to go up to the top so badly, but I wasn’t sure if I should mention it. Sensing this, my boss looked over at me and said, “You wanna go up?” “I’m up for it if you are,” I said. He was up for it too.
The timing was perfect. The evening sun was lighting up the bay and city brightly enough to see for miles. To the west we could see across Elliott Bay and see Bainbridge Island. To the south we could see the football and baseball stadiums. In the far distance, we could see Mount Rainier. It was beautiful. Soon, before I knew it, the sun had set and the landscape surrounded us with the sparkling lights that only a major metropolis can provide. It was amazing! In case you’re wondering, once we were back on the ground we found our way to Barnes and Noble.
The next summer I attended our industry trade show in St. Louis. With business meetings scheduled all the next day, I ventured out on my own the evening we arrived. Of course, I had my sights set on the Gateway Arch. Much to my surprise, when I arrived, I ran into my boss. He took my picture standing in front of the arch, which I was grateful for. He’d already been up, so we each went our separate ways for the rest of the evening. Once again, the view from the top was amazing.
That same year I attended my first IRCE in San Jose. I was the only person from my company attending, but one of our sister companies also sent a representative. I didn’t really know much about her and we each had our own agendas, so we didn’t spend much time together. I asked her if she had any plans to see anything while we were there and she indicated that that wasn’t something they did. Not wanting to push my luck, I stayed at the hotel each evening rather than venturing out.
The following year IRCE was in Chicago. Once again, I was the only attendee from my company. However, that same sister company sent 3 or 4 people. One of them was a member of the family that owned all of the companies, one was the same lady who had attended San Jose the year before, and the other was someone else who worked with them. I don’t remember their names, so we’ll call the lady Jennifer, the owner guy Frank, and the other guy Jim. We were staying at the Hilton Chicago, which is not only the hotel where the final scenes of The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford were filmed, but it’s situated right across from Grant Park.
I asked Jennifer if she or any of her coworkers had plans to go walk around town or visit the park, and she once again indicated that they don’t do that. Disappointed, but not wanting to do something that Frank might deem as out of line and report that back to my boss, I elected to stay in as well.
The next morning we all met for breakfast and I was surprised to her Jim talking about his walk through Grant Park. I asked him when he had visited the park and he told me he’d gone out on his own the night before and walked around town. He told me that the park was the location of the famous Buckingham Fountain. I didn’t know what he was referring to. He asked me if I’d ever seen Married…With Children and told me that it was the fountain featured in the intro of that show.
What!? I couldn’t believe it! As a teenager watching that show, I never really paid much attention to the fact it was set in Chicago. I think I assumed the fountain shot was a location out in Hollywood. But there I was, right across the street from it, and I’d missed my chance to see it. That had been our final night in the city and we were scheduled to leave later that afternoon.
Here’s what I learned.
On business trips, business comes first. Whether I’m traveling on my dime or someone else’s, a business trip is for business purposes. Take care of business. But I also learned that it’s okay to get out of the hotel and enjoy the sights of a city while you’re there. I should have realized this by the behavior and encounters I’d had with my boss, but it took this encounter with Jim to help me fully realize it.
Over the next few years I made two trips to Boston, and three more to Chicago. While in Boston, I took the subway to the nearest station to Bunker Hill, and then I walked The Freedom Trail all the way back to my hotel, which was a block from Boston Common. It was late in the day so the historic cemeteries were already locked, the last tour of the USS Constitution had ended, and Paul Revere’s House was closed, but I still took in all that I could and enjoyed my evening. On my second trip to Boston the conference let out earlier, so I was able to make the final tour of the day for the USS Constitution and visit the cemeteries.
When I returned to Chicago, I visited Grant Park, enjoyed part of a Blues Festival, saw the Bean, and of course, Buckingham Fountain. By that time our ecommerce business had grown to the point that others from my company came with me to the conference. One of the guys and I took the El up to Wrigley Field and enjoyed authentic Chicago hot dogs.
When I went into business for myself, I continued this practice. While in Orlando for two conferences, I took the day between conferences and went to Disney’s Hollywood Studios; my first visit to a Disney Park.
The following year while in Anaheim working the NAMM show with a client, I booked an extra day on my own dime and visited Disneyland. Just like my trip to Hollywood Studios, I was by myself, but that didn’t bother me. It was my first time visiting Disneyland and I was going to take advantage of the opportunity. I did it again the next year too.
I have found that getting out of the hotel, enjoying the local cuisine, doing touristy things, and walking the cities can be beneficial in more ways than one. Of course, it’s helped me feel like I’ve actually visited a city once I leave. Traveling can be a grind, especially when traveling for business. For me, taking an evening stroll around town, through a park, or finding a high place to view the city is refreshing and peaceful. It takes away the grind of the trip and helps reset my mind for the next business day.
Staring at the four walls of a tiny hotel room for days is not an enjoyable experience, and it sucks my energy. If you’re one of those who gets out of the hotel to get fresh air and rejuvenated while you travel, great for you! But if you’re not, let me encourage you to do so. Maybe you’re afraid of your boss’s reaction. I’d encourage you to chat with them about it. Maybe you’re the boss. Are you aware of how your influence might be actually hurting your employees during travel.
Either way, get out there, enjoy your travel, and make the best use of your time. To me, nothing’s worse than having visited a city but not having seen a thing.
I’m Darrell Darnell, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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