Things I Carry

LinkedIn recently posted a special feature: “Things I Carry”. There are all sorts of answers from swimming suits to half-eaten burritos. Neither of which I carry on business trips.

These folks are clearly more seasoned travellers than I am, but I still wanted to play. I’m not a ‘regular’ traveller for work, but I have traveled often and far. When I worked at Atos, I was a regular in Paris and Dallas. (France/Texas). At BMC, I’ve been to TelAviv, Madrid, Paris, and Frankfurt. The more I traveled the more I realized what I should bring next time, and what I could do without.

Things I Carry

Food: The further I get from Texas, the more I realize I need back-up food. Protein bars are perfect. If I’m acting like a 10 year old and spreading my dinner around my plate, no worries: I’ve got a snack in my suitcase. Mints count. (Yes you can eat them for dinner in a pinch.)

Hearing aid: I can’t hear out of my right ear, so I have a hearing aid. When travelling international, it’s important to hear as best I can. Otherwise, I don’t use it near as often as I should. Fun fact: I lost my hearing after one day of shooting guns at a barn door at my brother’s pond. I blame him.

Scarf: You never know when it’s going to be cold or hot. Carrying a scarf helps. It can be smashed in your purse when you don’t need it, and it’s perfectly acceptable to be worn wrinkled.

Notebook: I’ve actually tried using my iPad for notes, but I just can’t do it. I love my Moleskin notebook. I got my first Moleskin as a gift from the US Olympic Committee in 2009, and I’ve never looked back. I like the fact there is no spine to get hooked on anything and they are all the same size. I’m a doodler.

Two Phones: I’m a weird-o that hasn’t combined my work phone and personal phone. This is the first job I’ve done this and I love it. I promise to put down work on weekends, and with separate phones, it’s much easier to do. I secretly check and respond to emails at night but don’t tell anyone.

Macbook Air: When I travel, I take this little gem with me everywhere. I realize an iPad is smaller, but the Air is just as lightweight and it has everything and only takes seconds to boot up if I need it. I need life-size keyboards. It’s a must.

Lip gloss. I pretend that I need chapstick and just can’t find any, but I’m addicted to lipgloss. It makes me feel fancy.

Big Camera (optional). I am a fake photographer. Meaning, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I love taking pictures. If I am going to a new place, like Jerusalem for instance, I’ll bring big bertha along. Sure – she’s a little overweight in the days of iPhone, but you just can’t bet her photos. And after the trip, photos are all you have!

More importantly… it’s go to things I don’t carry anymore.

My ginormous Coach Bag: I’ll tell ya… I was so excited to buy this for myself. It’s so big and so leathery. Alas, it is also ridiculously heavy. The bag has been retired for weekend trips only. No more toting this guy to and from the office.

Jewelry: I used to have options and cute necklaces and earrings that matched each outfit. Now it’s a wedding ring, my favorite Tiffany Beads, and maybe a watch. Done.

Options: I used to bring lots of clothing options “in case” I wanted to wear something different. Today, I’d rather not carry a giant suitcase. I also realize people don’t actually pay much attention to what you wear. I’m neat, clean, and pretty much everything comes in black, white or gray.

Shoes: Yes I wear shoes, but I’ve had to narrow down business trips to 2 pair. Flats and heels all black, and change with seasons. (Yes there are seasonal black shoes… it’s a thing).

Business cards: They don’t take up much room, but I just thought it was funny to think about. I don’t remember the last time someone gave me a card?

Be Brief. Be Bright. Be Gone.

Have you ever taken an Insights test? I did. I'm red. Like, Super Red. Which means I'm impossible, yet fabulous.

I like this version, because of Insights description, because it's personalized.

You can take your own little "mini" test here: http://www.insights.com/. It's a series of questions that puts you into colour categories. I imagine they use colour so you read the results with an English accent to make the news of your personality profiling a bit more enjoyable.

I like the idea of what my company is trying to do. Since we all work in different locations, some from home, some from different states, (arguably some from different planets)... we don't actually know each other very well, or know each other's communication style. The point of the test is to find out how we each give and receive input, feedback, data, opinions, etc. It's turned out to be helpful in understanding why people act the way they do.

I have always had a bit of trouble working with people who weren't as excited about what was coming out of my mouth as I was. I love spurting out ideas, getting all pumped up, brainstorming on the fly, and making decisions on a snap. Apparently, that's not the way everyone else works...and "apparently" that's not necessarily the best way to work.

Here's another version of the color descriptions. It's endless, really.

The test results actually crack me up. They tell people how best to work with Rachel. What Rachel likes, and what Rachel doesn't like. Here are a few of my favorites:

"...When communicating with Rachel, acknowledge her talent for leadership. Keep up with her pace. Be humorous, but don't humor her. Ask her, don't tell."

"When communicating with Rachel DO NOT steal her thunder. that's a good one. Do not try to hoodwink or mislead. What does that even mean? DO NOT appear slow, sluggish or too formal."

 So I read this insights to my family. They laughed at most of it...as well as agreed with most of it. So how do I compute this kind of information? It's not all great, it's not all bad either. For instance, I thought my being able to make decisions on the fly was an awesome capability. However, my "lack of awareness" and "domineering ways" causes me to charge ahead with my own ideas before I consider the team. Wow... that's wrong?

That's ok, I'm also open to learning new things. I suppose admitting you have a problem is the first step. The profile also gives you tips on working with your opposite type. I'm putting these into practice today.

Take time to discuss all the details. Man, that's a tough one. Don't look for immediate answers. tic-toc, tic-toc.... Don't touch him or her. Whoa... I don't hug or touch. That's out of line. Don't feel it necessary to always be the first to speak. OMG. This is the hardest thing ever!

So just when I thought I knew it all, (of course I did, I'm red) I have much more to learn. I do find it much easier to learn new skills than to learn more about yourself. This is completely new for me. Wish me luck! When Blogging with Rachel, Cheer her on. 

Nancy Duarte - How to be a Spice Girl

For the first time, I've met Nancy Duarte. Where has she been all my life? I have to admit, I'm a little pissed that I didn't find her first--but this presentation was shared within our internal sales/marketing community for good ideas on how to present better. Nancy Duarte has clearly mastered the art of dissecting a great speech. Her analysis of The Secret Structure of Great Talks, is clearly amazing and inspirational. I'm already working on how to explore this method when working on my next presentation for our team.

But at the beginning and end of this presentation is where I might have found a little mojo for myself. This was Nancy's self projection in the Suavitos Baking Spices girl.

Nancy says she was born from an economically and socially starved environment. "I chose a different story for my life," she says. How powerful is that?

Because what she was saying was so inspirational to me, I wanted to look up a little more about her. Wikipedia says she is a designer and writer. This really hits home for me, as I'm constantly asked, "What do you want to do, where do you want to go next?"

Like Nancy, my background started in design. I love the art of putting on paper (or on screen) what brilliant people are thinking. A lot of times our great innovators and incredibly intelligent change-makers can't design a presentation to show what they are thinking. But I can. My skills are growing every day and seeing presentations like this one, really change the way you think.

So for me personally, I'm looking for my inner spice girl. Nancy knew right away that she was this Suavitos Baking Spices poster girl.

When people ask me what I want to do next, or where am I going... does this mean I'm not where I should be? Should I be doing bigger and better things? I'm pretty excited about my current job, but I know I can't do this forever. I'll eventually discover, streamline, and conquer it's twisty path to success, and then I'll want something new. But what is that something new? How can I find my poster girl?

"The future isn't a place
we're going to go.
It's a place that
 you get to create,"
 - Nancy Duarte

It's inspiring to see how Nancy has taken design to an entirely new level. Recently, I helped to create some powerpoint slides for a presentation meant to inspire sales to use more marketing materials, and to show WHY we're investing so much in marketing. The presentation was intended to give sales a clear idea of how marketing was here to help, and how it will help their pipeline, and how it will help them make more money. The presentation was a huge success. We had rave feedback from the sales managers. I think it could have been better...and it will surely evolve over the next year as our audience expands.  

The excitement around this project was fun and invigorating. But I was a little confused with myself... Is this what I want to do next? Make powerpoints and find clip art? I started out as a designer back in 1997. Did I really want to go back? I was half embarrassed and half ecstatic. Could this be a full time gig? Are more people needing to find ways to show what they are thinking?

But it IS so much more than that. To be honest, I'm not that great of a designer - there are much more talented people out there for that. But what I AM good at, is helping communicate what YOU are saying.

I feel like this is my spice girl. I fell that the presentations, or whatever mode of communication the speaker chooses, should be a big part of my next path.  I can see what you are saying. It's like my sixth sense. It's my gift. So I will continue down this path. I will continue to learn about different forms of communication, different ways to send a message to your intended audience.

I'm really stoked about this. I feel now that this isn't going backwards. That creating inspirational materials for speeches and introductions can be much more than just a pretty powerpoint. I am creating stories. Your story. Who wants to go next?!

Oh, and here is my vintage poster girl. I don't quite have her body, but I'm kind of like a marketing-girl Godzilla, so I think it works.

Thanks Nancy. (We're on first name basis now, you can call me Rachel. or Marketing Girl Godzilla...either works)