Management Craft

Fireside Chat with Dan White - Cactus Eaters

Is an epic journey in your future? Maybe a longer journey separated into smaller chunks? Listen to get inspired.

Note: Dan will be in Seattle, reading from The Cactus Eaters, this coming Thursday at 6:30PM. Details on this and other readings on his blog.

During this 30 minute podcast, I chat with Dan White, author of The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind- And Almost Found Myself- On The Pacific Crest Trail. This is a bit of a departure from the usual management and leadership podcasts. But as we head into summer, I thought it would be a great time to talk to Dan about pilgrimages, how travel transforms, and how we never seem to leave our work ways out of our leisure lives. I absolutely recommend The Cactus Eaters, it's a great story and very funny. And tragic, at times, too.

You can listen to my podcast with the Dan White by clicking here:

You can also download an MP3 version of the podcast here.

And just a reminder.....

Here is the Podcast Feed for the entire Fireside Chat podcast series:

To see the complete list of podcasts in this series, select the Podcasts and Webcasts category on this blog or see the list on my main website here.

You can also find this series on iTunes (and several other podcast sites), just search under my last name for Fireside Chat.

Travel Accessories

Here's a cool website that writes about and offers great stuff for travelers. Hat tip to the Written Road.

New Zealand Pictures and Trip Recommendations

In case you are interested, here are some pictures from my recent trip to New Zealand.

My pictures on Flickr

Bill's pictures

I would like to recognize a few places that I would recommend to others traveling to New Zealand. These are just a few of the places we stopped and they are, in my mind, the best of the best (this does not mean fancy, by the way).

Bethell's Beach Cottages - Near Auckland and right on the Tasman Sea. Trude and John are great. Trude's family has been in this area for generations (she is a Bethell). Spend a bit more to get the large cottage that faces right out onto the sea - it's amazing.

Okarito Kiwi Tours - Ian takes people out into the woods at night to search for kiwi birds in their natural habitat. Seeing a kiwi in the wild is very rare. They are endangered and the Okarito Brown Kiwi is the most endangered subspecies (only 250). But Ian knows their territory and is the only one with a concession from the government to take people into kiwi territory. It's a great experience (nice night skies, too). We saw one male kiwi named CC - 15 years old. Did you know kiwi can live or 50 years?

Sea Kayaking Marlborough Sounds - We did a three day kayak trip that included a stay at Lochmara lodge (see below). It was a highlight of our trip and this company had real nice kayaks.

Lochmara Lodge - This place is really cool. You can only get these by boat (kayak) or by foot. We stayed there two night in conjunction with our three day kayaking. The lodge is on Queen Charlotte Sound, which is one of the Marlborough Sounds. There are several nice hikes and it's a real nature lover's experience (but the rooms are very nice and modern).

The Springs Bed & Breakfast - This is the place we stayed in Rotorua. The couple that own The Springs does a great job at thinking of everything. The rooms are very well equipped. The full hot breakfast is wonderful and we loved sipping sherry in the evenings in the large sitting room. Each room includes a book with restaurant and tour recommendations.

Franz Josef Helihike - We took a helicopter up to the Franz Josef Glacier then hiked around with a guide. It was a bit challenging, but very fun.

Holiday Inn Crown Plaza - Queenstown - I don't generally like staying in US chain hotels when abroad, but the HICR has simply the best view and is right in the heart of Queenstown. You can walk to everything. Ask for a room overlooking the lake. While in Queenstown, we ate at the Wai, which was very good (get the spaghetti and meatballs appetizer - trust me, it is very unique and tasty, as are their oysters).

Bill enjoyed trying the Possum Pie at Pete's. This place was very amusing. Kiwis are quick to point out that their possums are nothing like those found in the US. They are soft and furry and good eatin'.

The George - Christchurch - This boutique hotel was very nice and the restaurant (Pescatore) was tops. They offer free internet on two lobby computers and a nice atmosphere to relax. The hotel is situated on the Hagley Park (a nice park to walk in) and a few blocks from the center of town. The service was excellent throughout our stay.

While in NZ we got turned onto Icebreaker - merino wool active wear. simply the best. A bit expensive, but they apparently last a long time. Super fast drying and odor resistant. They have a US distributer and you can oder online.

Five Rivers Cafe (and art gallery), south of Queenstown, was a group favorite.

Heading to New Zealand

Tomorrow Bill and I head to New Zealand for 21 days. I have a few blog posts loaded up to share with you while I am gone, but I will not be answering comments - chat with each other! I will have very limited access to internet cafes and I am not bringing a laptop, a blackberry, or a cell phone.

It's time to unplug.

I have picked up a fresh Moleskine to record a few thoughts

No worries.

Enjoy the holiday season!

Two Backpacks – One’s Not Like the Other

This will be the last post on Management Craft for two-weeks except for an awesome podcast with Brendon Connelly that I have cued up for next Monday. See you after Labor Day!

Caption: Cat Paris considers which backpack would be more fun to to jump into. Pick red.

I was packing for a two-week solo trip to New Mexico and noticed I was packing two backpacks with very diverse things inside. The trip is not really a vacation; I am doing research for a book I am writing about New Mexico. I know - tough job - but someone has to do it!

The first backpack, I will carry onto the plane. It’s my electronics backpack and in it is:

ibook laptop and cord
Cordless mouse
Freshly loaded ipod Nano, holder, cord and DC charger
Digital camera, charger, and cord
M-audio Microtrack Field recorder, mic, 2 cords
External hard drive and cord (to hold all the digital pics and field podcasts!)
Ethernet cord
1 Gig thumb drive
Extra memory card
Cell phone and charger
Moleskine reporter notebook
Pens
Book for the plane (Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros)
Three pairs of prescription glasses (regular, reading, sun)
Travel docs
Few extra batteries

Good grief that’s a lot of stuff! I better not lose it.

The second backpack – I will call the fun sack – will be packed inside a larger suitcase with all my clothes and such. In the fun sack, I have:

Guidebooks and map.
Rain gear (it is still monsoon season)
2 Nalgene water bottles.
1 Box of GU – Chocolate Outrage
2 Hiking poles
1 Compass
1 Whistle
1 First Aid Kit
1 Flashlight, with 2 batteries taped to it
1 Hat
1 clippy thing for clipping things (probably more of a fashion statement).
1 Smaller bag that attaches to my waist belt for the camera and field recorder.

The only items that are likely to visit both backpacks are the three pairs of glasses, digital camera, ipod, and field recorder. Perhaps the cell phone, but it’s not likely to going to work anywhere I am going.

There are a few items I will buy once there like mosquito spray, pepper spray, sunscreen, and a case of water.

If I were traveling purely for pleasure, I would try to leave the gadget backpack at home. It’s a good thing I have a big trunk on my rental car!

If you are interested in New Mexico or would like to follow along with me on my trip, subscribe to Chile Pepper High. I will be loading pics using Flickr and posting podcasts using Hipcast.

OK – Here’s something you can use against me one day. As I am writing this, I am in a good mood. Why? Sure, I am going on a great trip. Yep, life is good in general. But what has me particularly bubbly is the music I am listening to from – are you ready – Yanni.

Before you unsubscribe from my feed because you couldn’t possible read a blog from someone who listens to Yanni, hear me out. I challenge you to go to itunes and download the songs, For All Seasons and Nostalgia from the new Yanni Live album, and NOT get a little pumped. Nostalgia (where Yanni’s fingers shine) is my favorite – I love all the crescendos (might be the new Bolero?). Listen to all 12 minutes and 44 seconds and then tell me you aren’t a bit happier. It’s the best therapy 2 bucks can buy. If you don’t feel it, check for a pulse because you might be a Martian.

See ya later – I am going to go get high and full on chile peppers.

Lively comments about Airplane Etiquette

I have been getting a lot of interesting comments about my post on airplane etiquette (or lack thereof) over on the ThirdAge blog. Check it out and join in. I know you all have great stories!

Tortoise-Hippo Love

Check out this post on travel expert Scott Ahlsmith's blog. The pictures and story are wonderful. Involves a Tsunami, a baby hippo and a grand old tortoise. So cute.

Listen up business hotels!

I am on my box today.

Notice to hotels courting the business traveler: Get the little things right or perish.

I just got back from a day trip to Vancouver, BC. I stayed at a very upscale downtown hotel. On balance, I would not stay there again for business because they a couple of the important little things wrong (EVEN though they also got a lot right).

What they got right:

The room was fabulous and came with free chocolate - big plus!
The bed was great.
The room had a nice sized desk (often they are too tiny to hold a laptop).
Parking was a breeze and I had my choice of self parking or valet, with no pressure to do either.
The hotel had a variety of food options, including a restaurant, food in the lounge and 24 hour room service.
The service people were pleasant, efficient, and (for the most part) proactively helpful.
The food was good and fast.

What they got wrong:

They have dial up internet in the rooms, but no wi-fi. For this caliber of hotel, I expect wi-fi.
They had wi-fi in the lobby for free, but the signal was very weak and was either slow or not connecting (one to two bars max). Personally, I would rather pay for strong wi-fi in my room, than be among the desperate people huddling in the lobby hoping for another bar so the email will download.
Parking was too expensive and there were no choices.
Cell coverage was weak. If you have no control over this, tell me where in the hotel I can expect a strong signal. Nobody uses the hotel phone for business calls, so do what you can to make cell phones work.
If I am sitting in the wrong spot in the lobby to get a good signal, please tell me! Better yet, have the information for me upon check in. Anticipate my needs and questions. The guide to hotel services in the room did not even mention internet - dialed up or wi-fi.

If you want the business traveler, you need to make it easy for him or her to do business. If you are not able to provide wi-fi in rooms, then create a business center area with 3-5 small sitting areas for guests to use and have a strong and fast signal. You can charge if I get great wi-fi in my room, but not if I have to come down to the business center.

I know a lot of hotels use secret shoppers, but are these folks also busy business people? I don’t think so. The surveys to not ask the right questions, either. Was my food good - yes! Was the staff friendly - yes! Missing question: Did we make it a breeze for you to conduct business?

Hire me to be a secret shopper - I will tell you exactly what you need to do to thrill you business guests!