Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.
(Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken“)

A short while later today, Hugh McLeod published a drawing with the slogan “I don’t have a career. I have a blackberry.” – inspired by people like us, I guess, who stand around at airports and yack away at their BlackBerries. He wonders what work really gets done in those moments…

This is enough. Apparently, it needs to be said. Out loud.

YOUR BLACKBERRY IS NO EXCUSE FOR BAD EMAILS!

That means:

• Still, one-line emails are not considered polite
• Speling mistokes are still bad form
• The recipient should not notice a difference in the way you reply to his/her mails, regardless of what you typed them on
• Nobody cares that you are at the airport, in the taxi or on the loo
• There is no law that says that an email answered shoddily from the BlackBerry is always better than a delayed reply

So you should:

• Get rid of this stupid footer line – or do you think that people find it cool that you have a BlackBerry???
• Only reply to an email on the go when you have the required concentration and time to write it in correct grammar, in a polite and complete manner (if you would only write “Hi Jim! Yes, we got the deal. Regards, Peter” on your computer in the office, that is of course still fine!)
• Refrain from the “VP style” at all cost(not addressing the recipient, not saying thank you, not punctuating, not using UpperCase letters, etc.) – it really is just bad and unrespectful, I can’t say that often enough!
• Instead of writing a bad email, when under time pressure, CALL the recipient, or send a short message telling her that you will answer her request when you get to the office ->remember, there still are people out there who DO NOT get their mails on their mobile devices, and they somehow manage to survive!

That’s it. Easy, right?

Now go out there and be good!

Nah, ‘course not. Most of the time, the Powerpoint slides you do never end up being projected on a wall, but rather emailed and printed. And, I hate to brake it to you, there are weeks when you don’t have a sit-in at the CEO’s office. He still calls you, of course, but that’s just a given. (If you haven’t noticed the tongue-in-cheek yet, for all its worth, go become a banker)

Still there regularly are occasions when you get to actually present. For those times, the right tools can kick your performance up a notch. There’s no use in gadgets without solid preparation – both of the material to be presented and the performance itself – but let’s assume that you did your homework for now.

Think about one of the last keynote presentation Steve Jobs gave. See what you don’t see? Right. He doesn’t stand there hunched over his laptop, clicking the slides forward.

He’s got a remote. You need one, too.

Maybe not the exact same one – that one costs you around 500 EUR minimum. It’s a great piece of tech, but for 99% of the settings… a bit over the top. But fear not, there are many affordable options out there.

What you want is a device that advances the slides on the push of a button, remotely. There are many option out there, the cheapest I saw cost about 25 EUR. I got myself a Logitech Presenter (about 60 EUR), mainly just to pamper myself, but there are some features I like:

• It has a built-in timer that gives you  a countdown, an indication which quarter of your time you are in, and buzzes when you are about to run out of time: This saves me looking at the watch, plus I can glance at it relatively unnoticed.
• It has buttons to get the presentation started,  to blank the screen and a switch on the side to control the volume of the computer – great when you are showing embedded video/audio files and the sound level is not perfect from the start.
• There’s a laser pointer embedded. I mostly use it to fool around, but it might come in handy.
• It has a three-level battery indicator which reduces guesswork
• The USB dongle fits inside the remote, so risk of losing it is minimized.

The basic feature set you are looking for, anyway: Slide forward / slide backward, a button to blank the screen as bonus. Don’t go for anything that just submits “left mouse click / right mouse click” – especially in consulting presentations, you almost always have to get back a few slides when questions pop up, and it’s worth nothing when on a right click the context menu pops up. Too much hassle.

What is in it for you?

• You can move about freely. Most often, you still look at the screen of your laptop to see the slide that is shown behind you, but now you don’t hunch over it like a hen protecting its eggs. This leads to…
• Better presence on stage. Your posture is a big part in how you are perceived as a presenter. Plus, it has a feel of professionalism to it when you don’t have to glance over to your colleague to have him click to the next slide or do it yourself.
• Last and most importantly: You are more relaxed while presenting. This cannot be paid in gold. When you are in front of the client, presenting the results of that big, expensive consulting project – you need all your mojo on the content and on your performance.

Florian in travel mode - Copyright: Malin Schulz, 2008

I know I mentioned this before, but for those of you who didn’t catch it while in print: Zeit Campus recently released the article they did about me and (mainly) the content of my suitcase on their website.

So, in case you were wondering what the heck a consultant has in the black trolley, this is your chance to get the inside scoop.

“Der Typ mit dem Koffer” (Zeit Campus online)

Thanks again to Inge Kutter and Malin Schulz from Zeit Campus who made this a really pleasurable experience, and to Achim from my employer’s press department who gave me this fun opportunity.

One word: Hilarious.

So much for the fun part. The book got that down pretty well.
But wait, there is more! Every consultant should consider this mandatory literature… because it teaches you a hell lot about what to do and what not to do when dealing with airline personnel, and I take it you all do this more or less every bloody week, enjoying it or not. This book might just save you from getting the worst seat in the airplane, or having your coffee spit in. Not that I assume any of you do behave in any way that might tickle such behavior. Of course you don’t.
But maybe you have a cousin – you know, that bloke who behaves really badly sometimes, especially when it is 6am on a Monday morning and he just wants to get on that f’ing flight and really has no time to be friendly or stuff, and happens to be a consultant. Just by chance, of course. Then you should really recommend this book to your cousin.

On a sidenote – yeah, I am back. I really had no nerve for blogging in the last months, but the skies are clearing now, so let’s kick this thing back into gear, shall we?

For those of you who are wondering if there are some rules to follow when packing your bags – well yes, there are! My heroes at Manager Tools recently started covering travel-related topics, and as luck has it, they cover packing your bags first. You find that podcast here.

1. Get the plastic
   Every car rental I know of has a bonus card. The standard ones are usually free for everybody and only carry your details, so that you don’t have to provide address, etc. every time you rent. The better ones (“platinum”, “privilege”, etc.) often entitle you to free upgrades. You get them by either simply renting a lot of cars (just a matter of time) or, if you are lucky, your company already has a deal with them, so that you not only get a special rate, but also that desired piece of plastic. Check with your colleagues when you are new – everybody plays this game, so it should not be hard to find someone in the know.
2. Build a relationship to the people at the counter
   This works great when you are renting in smaller airports / train stations / cities, where the crew at the desk of the rental firm does not rotate too much. In the best case, there is always the same person there when you arrive, half awake, on Monday morning. This is your chance! Those at the desk have, most often, direct influence on what car they give you. The hold, so to speak, the keys to your rental luck. Be nice to them. Cheer them up. Don’t be pushy, and don’t force it. The key (again!) lies in making it a positive experience for THEM, so that they can happily reward you with a bigger/faster/nicer car. If not this week, then next.
3. Ask for an upgrade. NICELY.
   The times I got a shiny sportscar while paying for a Golf? That was when the customer before me was a rude idiot who tried to push the clerk at the desk into giving him a big car. Of course, he did not. If I remember correctly, he walked away with a Ford. Serves him right. When it was my turn, we first shared a laugh about that ridiculous guy, and when I gave her my piece of plastic and said that I had a reservation, I just said “something that fits the good weather would be great!”. Her response: “Hm, let me see. Wait a minute!”… off she went to the back office, and when she came back she was almost apologetic – “I am sorry, there was no convertible left… but I think you’ll like it still!”. Let’s just say I was never faster at client side than that day.
   Remember: Asking for an upgrade is perfectly fine. Just be nice and casual about it. And don’t bitch if it doesn’t work – see point two, you might see her again next week!

On a sidenote: I do recognize that it does not matter at all in a real-world-sense what car you get as long as it takes you where you want to go. Still, being a road warrior, it often is a very welcome goodie that makes the Monday-morning routine just a bit more fun.

Never leave your ties tied, and don’t crumble them.
After work, when you switch into something more comfortable and get rid of the leash tie, undo it. NEVER leave the knot it. Your tie will hate you for that, and go all ugly way too soon. When traveling, fold it or roll it up and store it so that nothing with edges can cause the fine fabric (your ties are out of silk, right?!) damage.

Shine your shoes.
Those expensive Oxfords you bought? They need a lot of care, and they deserve it. Even when your shoes were not expensive – shine your shoes, at least every week. Go get some good stuff – real shoe polish that you apply with a soft cloth, let dry, and then polish off. Don’t go for the "quick and easy" stuff.  By the way, my shoemaker gave me a great tip: Instead of using the bulky wooden shoetrees, simply stuff your shoes with newspaper. It has the same effect (keeps the leather in form), does not overstretch your shoes (which shoetrees with springs do) and you save yourself weight and space in your luggage.

Any more tips to add? What is your trick to keep your clothes as sharp as you are on the road?

We all sit in taxis / cabs all the time. Now – there is the “standard consultant way” of spending the ride, and there are, in my opinion, many better ways to get the most out of a taxi ride.

The standard way
The standard way for a consultant (talking cliché here, obviously) to behave during a taxi ride is simple. They enter the cab, sit in the back (which is a notable thing only in countries where you have the option to sit next to the driver, obviously), barf the direction, and then a) start calling people about work-related stuff / listen to their voicemail, b) stare at their shoes/out of the window, c) work, d) sleep. Does this ring a bell?

The better ways

• Sit in front (where you can), next to the cab driver. Say hello, smile (!), look them in the face (!). (By the way, the part of saying hello, smiling and looking the driver in the face (even if through the rear view mirror) applies to all the ways.) Start a conversation with the driver – ask them something, tell them something. When in a new town, ask them to tell you something about the town. When you are in a familiar town, talk about what has been going on lately. When you just heard a great joke, tell it to them. You will be amazed how much those little conversations can give you.
• Use the ride for some sightseeing! I am not implying to ask the driver for a route along all sights of the town – but open your eyes, look out of the window (don’t just stare into the sky!). Chances are, you’ll see something interesting. Chances are, the cab driver can tell you something about what you are seeing when you ask him politely.
• Make a quick call to your loved ones to check in with them. For your significant other, tell them you are thinking about them and wish them a great day. Now – from what I have heard, cab drivers don’t mind it at all when you make a phone call… as long as it is not stuff that they really do not want to know. I despised the job calls earlier because, come on, you should take breaks when they are offered to you and you can chose – but making a good deed with a call (which ups your Karma and boosts your energy) is a perfect thing to do. Just…. no dirty talk. No fighting. No excessive swearing. Only say what you would tolerate to hear from others’ conversations in public as well.

There you have it. Go, make your next cab drive something enjoyable – for you AND the cab driver.

And for heavens’ sake – give a tip. Your company is paying anyway, and I have not heard of a travel expense policy yet that slaps you on the wrist for rounding up on cab drives.

The gods of the internets are against me today. And for you. As of now, Xobni is directly available for you to test and indulge - which of course means that there is no real incentive anymore for you to jump through any hoops at the KillerConsultant to get it. Which blows my great idea of some semi-forced audience interaction.

But if you really like the KC, you will tell the rest of the world how you like your Xobni plugin in the comments anyway, right?!]

Hey there,

it is Monday, let’s see if we can get a conversation going. The deal is simple: I have five invites for Xobni to give away.
Xobni, if you have not heard of it yet, is a cool new plugin for Outlook which gives you a whole new look on your email experience: In a sidebar, it shows you all sorts of information about the person whose email you are just reading. When in the day, for example, you get most email from that person, their phone number, their contacts, a list of recent conversations and files received from them. Apart from that, Xobni also does a whole lot of statistics-voodoo on your mail – but that main sidebar in itself really is something you should try. I might go as far as saying that this could make email management fun again!

Xobni is in invitation-only beta right now… and you can get one of these invitations.
There are only one and a half conditions:

• Within a week of receiving the invite, you write a paragraph worth of your experiences with Xobni – what you liked, what you thought was cool, what features you missed, and if you’d recommend it. I’ll publish those short reviews here, of course with your name and a link to your website, if you want.
• The “half” condition: I’d prefer consultants to get the invites, of course – but if in the next days there are no consultants to be found reading this site (darnit!), I’ll open the tickets up for everybody else.

Go, sign up in the comments!
I am looking forward to seeing how you guys like / use / see Xobni.