DOING BUSINESS IN PALM SPRINGS

Working and living in Palm Springs since August has brought some interesting insights and reminders about how varied the United States is in form of geography, climate, and social norms. Even though I have traveled a great deal, the past two month have served as reminder about how much I do not know.

The Coachella Valley is a desert. Lawns are mostly white gravel and mountains surrounding the valley are barren and reflect the sun at various stages during the day. No matter how often you look up at the surrounding mountains, you cannot help but be in awe. The street that follows the edge of the airport gives one a majestic view of mountains on both sides of the valley. I take it as often as possible.

Last week I was to present at a formal meeting of the General Managers of the major resorts in the area an update on the Palm Springs Wild West Fest http://www.palmspringswestfest.com

I met my colleague in the lobby of The Parker Palm Springs http://www.theparkerpalmsprings.com When he saw me he said; “Now you got it, the Palm Springs look.” He was referring to my outfit that was flowing, classy and business-like. Quite different then my customary Northwest business attire that is fitted, much more conservative, though always contains a splash of color.

We were directed to the site of the 8:00 a.m. meeting. It was a beautiful morning. I was “surprised” to see that it was entirely outside. The patio was beautiful and surrounding gardens served as an outstanding backdrop.

Upon reflection, I have to laugh; of course, they hold meetings outside all the time in Palm Springs. My mind had not switched to the fact that I was in Palm Springs in October not the Pacific Northwest. In fact, now that the summer heat is behind us, apparently, people pretty much live outside.

This is an interesting assignment and with great anticipation, I welcome each day and marvel at how much I can learn by keeping my eyes and ears open.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TIP:

It is proven that men and women’s brains are different. Men think to talk. Women talk to think.

AIRPORT WAITING ROOMS

Last week was unusual for I was in and out of five airports. I have a Priority Pass http://www.prioritypass.com so I have the good fortunate of being able to use airline boardrooms or lounges at most airports. In those facilities, I can grab an espresso, find the local paper, and relax with my feet up on the numerous footstools that are scattered about the room. Clocks and airline schedules for arrival and departures are numerous.

It is time for me to gather up my stuff and head to the gate. Arriving at the gate, I notice there is very little room left to sit. I spy a seat between two people, so I settled in until boarding time.

Then I noticed something. The only people talking are parents working to keep their two-year old under some semblance of control. The scene included four people reading the newspaper, three people reading books, four people on laptops, and five people on cell phones and six people checking their emails.

People were communicating to some degree-across the country to love ones and colleagues are connecting, yet, they were only using words. The tone and body language of the communication was lost. I truly felt like an outsider peering into the private worlds of individuals….hard to explain.

Then I turned to the man next to me who was sitting there waiting. We began a conversation about life in the Midwest were I was from and where he was heading to visit a friend. The next thing I knew we were laughing and sharing our experiences with each other. He is an engineer that lives in Alaska that works on fire prevention on the Alaska pipeline.

When it was time to board, we smiled at each other and shook hands. It truly was a pleasure meeting and learning about someone’s life in his own words--tone and body language included.

Going to remember on my next trip to connect with more people….there is so much I do not know and what a great arena for stretching your mind.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TIP:

On business trips, take along plain white envelopes. Makes it easy to organize business and personal receipts.