I’ve always had a philosophy to try to do something fun or meaningful when going on business trips. I’ve known so many people who make their business trips solely focused on business — get in, do the meetings/workshops/project, then get out. They eat all their meals at the hotel restaurant and spend their evenings doing work. I think this leads to burnout and it’s a missed opportunity to experience other cultures.
I grew up in a working class family and we rarely took trips. I only flew twice before going to college and the few family vacations we took were within our home state of Illinois or bordering states (Wisconsin and Michigan). In my mid-20s, I was fortunate to get a job as a software consultant, which meant I got assigned to client projects for mostly onsite implementation. This was my first job where I got the opportunity to travel for work. It felt like a perk because I rarely traveled growing up and thought of it as something only wealthy people did.
As a result, I made an effort to find interesting experiences on every trip — a restaurant specializing in local cuisine, a craft coffee shop, or even a ball game (a Twins game the last season they were in the Metrodome during one business trip) or a concert (a bluegrass show at The Station Inn in Nashville). I visited some cities (Omaha, Nebraska and Kohler, Wisconsin) I never would have on my own, since I didn’t have a choice of which projects to take on. And even in those cities, there was always something worth experiencing.
I’ve had business trips to distant locations where I only really needed to be there 1–2 days for actual work but I tacked on an extra 2–3 days because that might’ve been the only time I ever visit that place (Singapore and Sao Paulo). Even on those trips, many of my colleagues just flew in and out.
There’s so much beauty in the world, whether it’s in a place like Singapore or Omaha, Nebraska. I think it’s a huge missed opportunity to not create time and space to experience that beauty when we have chances to visit difference places around the world, even in the places you don’t expect it. On your next business trip, consider eating at a local restaurant or going to a local museum for an hour and let me know!
