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MARCH 23, 2001

FACTORY DAYS
By Lisa Bergson

Planes, Trains, and Sensible Heels
When business trips have you living out of a suitcase, it pays to make sure that it's a well-packed one


By Lisa Bergson
Lisa Bergson

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Ski season is over for my husband, Jerry, and me. Soon I'll be back on the road for real, with three separate business trips to Europe, one to Denver, and another to Boston between now and mid-June. Mind you, this itinerary is peanuts compared to what many business travelers face. A Belgian friend gets itchy feet after two weeks if she's not going somewhere. I have two friends in the million-mile league who are on first-name terms with the skycaps and gate attendants at their local airport. I don't envy them.

Now, it's true that, for decades, I've religiously clipped and filed in alphabetized folders assorted travel articles on exotic and intriguing places. But, even with a chronic case of wanderlust, I generally find business travel far from glamorous. Instead, I foresee a succession of long, grueling workdays, terminating in soulless, lookalike rooms, where it's all I can do to press my clothes and cop a few hours of badly needed sleep.

Nonetheless, based on talks with peripatetic friends, as well as my own accumulated experience, allow me to offer some tips to at least make the trip less arduous:

-- Get in Shape. People who travel a lot need to be healthy and build up their immune systems. The long flights, alone, with their stagnant air in close quarters, are enough to make you sick. Take vitamins. Also try melatonin to help with jet lag. It really works, although too much will make you dopey.

-- Dress the part. Adhere to convention. I can go just about anywhere (Asia, Europe, Oklahoma) with subdued, well-cut jackets, stockings and pumps, a really good bag, pearls, and a nice, soft cashmere turtleneck or shell. In Europe, add a scarf. My goal is to look elegant and successful, but not at all off-putting. Remember, I'm talking to engineers not CEOs. So, follow the protocol of your market, location, and audience. What you wear afterhours is your business, of course.

-- Learn a language or two. Otherwise, you'll be limited like me. Even though people speak English almost everywhere, you still miss out on so much. And, when you're conducting business, you can't afford to miss out on anything. (Not to sound paranoid, but do you ever get the feeling people are talking about you?)

-- See the sights. The really hardcore business travelers I know make a big point of checking out their particular nonbusiness interests wherever they go. Tom Loeb, the cultured chairman of Mellon Capital Management in San Francisco, explores art and architecture as he ricochets around the world. Jennifer Humphries, the restless, young international regional sales manager for Blumenthal Print Works in New Orleans, just visited Ayer's Rock -- now known by its aboriginal name of Ularu -- while on a business trip to Australia. As for me, I shop.

-- Specialize. Whenever possible book into the same hotel chain and fly the same airline -- they're all about equally bad -- to build up enough points to upgrade. As I write this, my husband and I are on an emergency trip to New Orleans for a funeral. Given the short notice and the fact that the NCAA Playoffs are going on in New Orleans, we had to fly an alien airline. As a result, we're seated in center seats in separate rows in coach. I'm a size 4, but I can hardly move. Since the man in front of me put his seat back, I can't even unfold my laptop to write on it.

Upgrades are the only salvation. Acrue miles and use them to make the trip bearable. Note: I also recommend joining airline clubs. What a difference it makes to have a pleasant place to work, free snacks, and beverages, comfortable seating, and staff with more than a passing notion of service!

-- Know yourself. You may play better in some markets than others. As a woman, for example, I'm generally well received in Europe and a good ldeal less so in Asia. My biggest competitor asks me repeatedly how I landed a prize account in Paris. "The French like women," I tell him. I'll know he believes me when he puts a female account manager on the Continent.

In Europe, I'm also helped by the fact that I'm president and CEO. They never really got over the royalty thing, and, unlike us, remain very hung-up on titles. I've even had some insist that my sales engineer must be a PhD because he's so knowledgeable.

-- A few things to remember who you are. Look, I'm not saying take a teddy bear -- although I would never condemn anybody who did. A favorite book, pictures of loved ones, a pretty shawl to drape over a mundane, modern chair -- these are the things that help to keep you feeling centered and cared for. A mystical friend believes that, as we travel, we risk fragmenting and losing pieces of ourselves -- like so many forgotten toothbrushes. Tokens -- personal totems, if you will -- can strengthen your core while you are whirling to adapt to new cultures and social situations.

Stay single.-- The time differences and the time away take a real toll on relationships. If you insist on marrying, find someone who understands up front what they're getting into with you. That person needs to be flexible and understanding. If you plan to have children, then your mate must be prepared to function as a single parent, sometimes for weeks at a time. It's tough. It works for us because we don't have children, and my husband is an executive with the wherewithal to meet me in different parts of the world. Our rule: Never be apart for more than 10 days straight.

Call AT&T.-- Send your e-mails through local phone lines via AT&T Global. (You will need to customize the number to get through the hotel's switchboard, usually by adding an 8 or a 9 before the number.) Also, AT&T will give you a little business-sized card that gives you the access line to the U.S., so your overseas calls are local, too. You can indulge your work-a-holism by extending your business day -- and your business calls back home -- earlier or later, depending on the time difference. Or you can even call home.

Not incidentally, I believe in lists. I make a special packing list for each trip to use in tandem with my "standard" list, covering generally necessary items. That way, I never forget my passport. (Don't laugh, my husband barely retrieved his in time for our honeymoon.)


Before joining MEECO in 1983, Lisa Bergson worked as a business journalist at BusinessWeek and freelanced for many business publications. She received a Masters in Journalism from New York University and received Columbia University's Walter Bagehot Fellowship for economics and business journalism. You can visit her company's web site at www.meeco.com, or contact her at lbergson@meeco.com.
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