Travel Is A Hygiene Factor

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A common question when I’m discussing what I do for a living is whether there’s much travel involved. My answer is always that, yes, there’s a moderate amount of travel involved. 

Of course, the term “moderate” means different things to different people. There are those who feel being on the road once a month for a couple of days is a lot. And then there are folks( in consulting, for example) who get on a plane week in, week out, flying out on Monday AM and flying home Thursday or Friday PM. 

That was actually my schedule in the late nineties and early 2000s and, over the past 15 years, I’ve moved to what I consider to be the moderate column - I’m on the road roughly every other week for 2-3 days. That’s an average, of course, because there are often 6 week stretches where I’m on a plane every week and then there might be a 2-3 week stretch where I’m not. For the most part, though, i consider that moderate and it’s a pace I’m pretty comfortable with. It’s very doable and - more importantly - very necessary. 

It’s funny because I remember when I took my first business trip, I wasn’t at all comfortable with the idea of being on the road, but what I realized was that there was a value to it that you still don’t get - regardless of the incredible technological advancements we’ve seen over the last couple of decades - unless you’re sitting face to face, across the table from someone. It doesn’t matter if it’s a potential recruit, a colleague, a prospect or a customer. 

In fact, especially if you’re in Sales, I don’t see how you can’t spend a decent amount of time living out of a suitcase. Yes, I’ve done deals with clients I’ve never physically met, but those relationships aren’t the same unless (and until) we’ve shaken hands, shared a coffee, and put a face to the name. How else will they know they can trust me? How else, if I’m doing something for them, or if they’re doing something for me, will I be comfortable putting myself out there for them? 

I feel many tend to consider travel to often be a luxury or that modern technology has negated the need for it. That’s only partially true. Yes, technology has certainly flattened the world, but it hasn’t done away with the need for human relationships. That’s a part of who we are, it’s not optional. 

And more often than not, it’s the discomfort of it that bother us: the time away from home, our creature comforts and our habits. Many times, there’s an unwillingness to put the effort in that it demands, to put yourself out, as and when needed.

It’s these points of view that are luxuries now, at least in my perspective. Because business travel is not a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity. It’s that essential lubricant that, for our dispersed, global relationships, can’t be effectively and equivalently replicated by any other means.