Trust Us, We Graduated 163 Days Ago

As many of you know, I teach a portfolio class at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Two of my 2013 students, Priscilla Cutri and Olivia Maramara were hired as Junior Copywriters on my team.  This week I asked them to write a guest blog post. “Tell everyone what the real world is like,” I said. “Give them tips on what they should know, things they don’t tell you in school.”  

Below are 5 thoughts. I think they have an incredible insight on what it means to be successful at a large advertising agency. If they follow their own advice, they can go very far. Enjoy. 

You may think you’re ready for the proverbial “real world” once you graduate. Let us save you some time: you’re not. There’s so much more to this industry than designing three posters and an app.

You’re not a team player until you understand there’s no such thing as “my idea”; your great work ethic will be put to the test when your boss asks you to stay late; and your communication skills are challenged when your partner doesn’t like your brilliant concept. This is the real world, kids, and you have to prepare yourselves. Here’s what you should know:

1. DO WHAT YOU’RE PAID TO DO. THEN DO MORE.

Come in early. Stay late. Work weekends. Drink a gallon of coffee. Eat a bag of stale honey wheat pretzel sticks for lunch at 4:13PM. In school we were told all the time that this was the industry standard. We saw Mad Men. It was the “pitfall” of advertising, yet we all so badly wanted to be Don Draper. Here’s the thing: when you love what you do, you lose track of time, and 9pm doesn’t seem so bad.

Ask, “Can I help with anything?” Ask a hundred times. Bother people. Be proactive about learning and work on everything you can get your hands on.

Be that copywriter who can draw or the art director that can write. Don’t let your job description define your abilities. Show off. The more valuable you can make yourself, the more people will want you on their team.

2. GET WEIRD

Lose your inhibitions. This leads to creativity, which is why we’re all at this party in the first place.

Say your worst ideas out loud. Every bad idea has the potential to drive the thought process to an insanely brilliant idea. Don’t be afraid to get weird. And don’t think for a second that everyone else isn’t weird, too.

3. SPREAD YOUR LITTLE SOCIAL BUTTERFLY WINGS

Don’t be shy. Working in a large agency, you tend to regularly see a face you don’t recognize. Change that. Say hi to everyone in the hallway/break room/elevator/restroom. Chances are they won’t bite. Even better chances are that you’ll make really important connections.

Hit up happy hour. Connections are easier to make in a more casual environment. And it’s okay to have a beer with coworkers. Just don’t get up on the bar to do the robot.

4. BE TIGHT WITH YOUR SQUAD

Find your team synergy. Eat/work late/laugh/stress together + make weird nicknames for each other + have each other’s backs = create amazing work together.

Get excited about your stuff. Present your team’s ideas as if they’re going to change the world. 50% of the creative process is convincing other people that your idea will work. 100% of convincing people is believing in it.

5. FALL IN LOVE WITH YOURSELF 

Make choices based on your own opinions. Don’t listen to anyone when they tell you healthcare is boring or something is not for you. Experience it for yourself, and then decide.

Believe that you’re an adult. You may not feel like one, but you’re getting paid and trusted to be. The only way people will take you seriously is if you take you seriously. And that doesn’t mean you can’t break the rules once in a while, because let’s face it—everyone loves a badass.

Questions? Comment.

-Privia

[Priscilla Cutri + Olivia Maramara]

11.01.13

Let me introduce you to ‘Brian’ from the Hotel Skylar

Did you ever meet someone who instantly ruined an entire experience with their attitude? You know, someone in a position of power who thinks it’s their job to tell you they’re in charge? If this sounds familiar, then you’ve met someone like ‘Brian’ the front desk clerk at the Hotel Skylar.

Yesterday, I was in Syracuse, New York to speak with the advertising students of Syracuse University and help them learn from my experience and provide some wisdom about advertising. Tips on how to get a job. Introduce them to the wonders of healthcare advertising. You know, helping them see what’s possible in their future.

My first meeting with the students was at 5 PM. When I arrived at the hotel at 2:05 PM, Brian informed me that I couldn’t check-in, since check-in time began at 3 PM.  He didn’t look to see if my room happened to be ready. He didn’t even ask me for my name. He just saw someone approaching the front desk with a suitcase and decided that I must be trying to check-in.

I told him I would wait, and sat quietly in the corner of the lobby reading and responding to e-mails.

After 10 minutes, he came over and asked if I’d like something to drink or eat. I thought, OK, maybe he’s not a total jerk. I told him I’d love a bottle of water. He pointed to a little room, where they sold drinks and snacks. “Water? We sell that, help yourself and I can charge it to your room.” He continued, “we also sell premium coffee or you can have the cheap stuff for free.” Isn’t that special. He’s trying to up sell me on drinks while I’m waiting to check in.

“Ahhh, no thank you.”

It’s now 2:20 PM, Brian comes over again and suggests I walk around campus while I’m waiting. “Wouldn’t you like to stroll around campus? It’s just outside the front door.” I once again declined. I was happy to sit and read e-mail. Even though I was getting very thirsty.

Fifteen more minutes go by. 2:35 PM. Brian comes over and informs me that my room is now ready for early check-in, if I’d like to check-in now. I told him I’d be over in a minute, once I finished reading e-mail.  At 2:40 PM I came over to the desk. Filled out the paper work. Got my room key. Then Brian said something incredible.

He said, “Mr. Levy, we’re going to waive to early check-in fee for you today.”

Excuse me? You were going to charge me an early check-in fee for 20 minutes? Really? I can’t believe how kind he was. I’m shocked that he had the authorization to make that call on his own. Perhaps we should check with senior management at the hotel just to make sure we’re not getting poor Brian in trouble.

So I decided to call the 800 number to check the policy.  Sure enough, the woman on the phone told me that there was indeed a 3 PM check-in time and there would be no exceptions. But then I asked, “Lets say I showed up at 2:30 PM and the room was available, could I pay to check-in early?” She thought for a moment then said, “Sir, I’m sure if the room was available, we’d let you check-in” And the cost? “Sir, there would be no additional cost to you.”

So Brian, what were you trying to pull? Did you think that by giving me something for nothing, I would feel better about my experience? “Wow, that guy let me check-in 20 minutes early, and didn’t charge me.”

I can’t let this go. Brian, I can’t let you waive the mysterious check-in fee. So, I’m going to pay for my 20 minutes. Since the room was $189/night – with a check-in at 3 PM, and check-out at 11 AM – that means the room is mine for 20 hours.  That’s $189, divide it by 20 hours, and you get $9.45/hour. Since I’m only using the room for and additional 20 minutes, you divide again by .33 and get $3.12.

Yes Brian, I’m sending the Hotel Skylar a check for $3.12. I will write you a personal note of apology. I don’t know what I was thinking, you know, trying to check-in early.

I also plan to write a little review on TripAdvisor.com and any other website that asks for hotel recommendations. So how was the hotel? It was fine. How was the service? Do you really need to ask?

Oh, and by the way – I think my speech was great.

R.

10.02.13

 

800 Post-It Notes. 75 Campaigns. 6 Countries. 3 Days.

What happens when you get creative teams from six countries in a room together and ask them to solve a global creative problem?

In a word: magic.

For the past few days, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredibly talented people. We gathered in a conference room at the Westin hotel in Hamburg, Germany. Creative teams from the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Brazil and Argentina were represented. Planning and Account from the USA were also on hand. I was the host and session moderator.

We began with a simple briefing. Our creative brief was easy to understand and everyone instantly got it. The charge was given. Then the exercises began.

We began with a post-it note exercise that everyone felt was silly. We did this for what seemed like an eternity. Nobody was sure what we were trying to accomplish. “Trust the process,” I kept saying. “It will all eventually make sense.”

Next we took our 800 post it notes and divided them into categories. The stranger the name of the category, the better. Think outside the box. Stop thinking logically. There was lots of laughter. An equal amount of confusion. “Trust the process,” I asked. “It will all eventually make sense.”

Next we chose random post-in notes and wrote stories. The stories were interesting and revealing about the type of work we would create. My favorite story was titled “The Silence of the Dolphins” about a woman who works with hearing impaired dolphins.  Almost 20 stories were written. “Trust the process,” I said again. “It will all eventually make sense.”

But now the fun part began. Take everything we’ve created. The categories. The brief. The stories. And whip them into a brand manifesto for our product. I could see it in their eyes. It was beginning to make sense. Everything we had created to this point had a purpose. To add dimension to the brief. To give it a tone. To give it language. To give it passion. Now, we were about to give it a point of view.

The teams went off to work. Over dinner that night, we read our manifestos to each other. We drank wine. We sang opera. Reading manifestos in a 17^th century, candle lit, wine cellar in Germany was surreal. You could feel the passion. You could feel the stake being planted in the ground. You could feel ideas beginning to be created.

But most of all, you could feel a team coming together.

Over the next 36 hours, we created over 75 campaign ideas. They came from the brief. They came from the categories. They came from the manifestos. But mostly they came from the  brilliant minds of the teams.  But not just the creative teams. Our planners jumping in with teams to create. Our branding director drew ads. The account leads wrote headlines, too. And yes, even I threw in an idea or two.  We laughed. We worked. We presented. Eventually we voted.

15 campaigns made the next round. We refined a little. We pushed. We pulled.

Then we presented to the clients. Nine clients from four separate global regions. We presented for almost two hours. We talked. We agreed. We disagreed. And in the end, we all aligned on 5 concepts to move forward.

We all stepped back and said, “The process worked.” I smiled as it all really did make perfect sense.

At the end of the three days, we did more than create a lot of work. We created global bonds that will help us stay on course as the work progresses.  There is a lot yet to do. The timeline is very short. But we’re confident in where we are heading.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Thank you to everyone who worked over the weekend to help out.

And thank you to our client who trusted a process that they have never done before.

It was a fun few days.

R

9.26.13

SIDE BAR:  A meeting like this is impossible to coordinate. We brought in a professional meeting planner from our of our companies. Everything ran like clockwork. Amazing job. Holly – if you’re reading this – you were the secret weapon. Thank you so much!

 

 

 

Too Funny For Words

OK – maybe this is funny because I know the person who created it. (She works with me at the agency)

Maybe this is funny because is so weird.

Or maybe, this is just funny.

The creator showed this to me about an hour ago, and I’m still laughing. In fact, her entire group was around me looking for my reaction. Everyone had to watch it more than once.

Click on this. Watch it. Rate it. Comment on it.

And yes, the star (not the cat) is an interactive art director at the agency. Please don’t steal her away.

Enjoy.  Oh, and crank up the volume.

01.15.13

Finding a Way to Talk About a Disquieting Condition

By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN

Published: January 7, 2013,  New York Times

A NEW print ad by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America shows a closed bathroom stall, with the gap below the door revealing the enormous clown shoes of the occupant. “I.B.D. is no laughing matter,” says the headline.

“If you have inflammatory bowel disease (I.B.D.), life can feel like a three-ring circus,” continues a block of text. “Chances are, you know one of the nearly 1 in 200 Americans who suffers from the debilitating pain and constant disruptions that come with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.” 

Other stall-door ads show a shin-to-floor view of a woman in a wedding dress (“I.B.D. gave her a day she’ll never forget”), Santa Claus (“I.B.D. doesn’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice”) and a young girl whose feet don’t reach the floor (I.B.D. can make growing up a real pain”).

While the photos and headlines sound a note of whimsy, the text below the ads is decidedly serious, all of them noting, “The physical and emotional toll can be devastating.”

The public service ads encourage readers to learn more about Crohn’s disease by visiting a microsite, EscapeTheStall.com, which has been created for the campaign. The pro bono effort is by the New York office of DraftFCB, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

In a commercial for the campaign, the viewer hears, “Chances are you know someone with I.B.D.” The voice turns out to be that of the actress Amy Brenneman  (“Judging Amy” and “Private Practice”), who says near the end of the spot, “Someone like me.”

The organization hopes that the public service announcement will run widely on television and in movie theaters. Other elements for the campaign include billboards and ads online and in airports. Ads printed on transparent adhesive film will even appear on mirrors in public restrooms.

The nonprofit group projects that it will secure from $20 million to $23 million in donations of broadcast and print advertising over the next year. But it did not initially want to show bathrooms in its campaign.

“We really started this campaign by saying we wanted to stay away from the bathroom, because we thought the bathroom would underrepresent our disease,” said Richard Geswell, the president of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

Along with needing to evacuate frequently, symptoms of Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, fevers, weight loss and extreme fatigue.

“I was worried that our patients might think it was too lighthearted, and some aren’t in public restrooms because they can’t even leave the house,” said Mr. Geswell, who added he was won over by the new campaign, which he said struck the right tone and would spur awareness.

Rich Levy, chief creative officer of DraftFCB Healthcare, said, “When we first started this project, the last thing we wanted to do is what I’d call bathroom humor.” But he said that although the campaign was set in restrooms and had whimsical notes, its impact aimed to be more profound.

“What was the universal truth was that behind those doors are thousands and thousands of people who are suffering, and you don’t know who they are, but they know who they are,” said Mr. Levy.

Although the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation was founded in 1967, only 18.7 percent of Americans have heard of the group, according to a survey commissioned by the group.

As for Crohn’s disease itself, the survey found that 44 percent of respondents knew at least a little about the disease, below the number familiar with diabetes (86 percent), multiple sclerosis (58 percent) and lupus (46 percent).

Mr. Geswell, the foundation president, said that by raising awareness about Crohn’s, his group hoped that along with helping those who don’t know they have the disease, it would help others understand that friends and relatives might be too embarrassed to disclose their condition.

“Aunt Sally who never left the house or came to social occasions” may, far from meaning to snub her family, “turn out to have had Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis,” Mr. Geswell said. Some with Crohn’s disease must visit the bathroom as much as 40 times a day, the foundation says.

Carol Cone, co-author of “Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding” and managing director for brand and corporate citizenship at Edelman, the public relations firm, acknowledged the challenge any agency would face with such an awareness campaign.

“How do you talk about bowels and bowel movements, and do it in a way that’s not so slight and flip that it’s not taken seriously?” said Ms. Cone.

After reviewing the new campaign, Ms. Cone was impressed.

“The way they showed the feet and footwear was a wonderful analogy that Crohn’s and colitis affects anybody in any walk of life,” Ms. Cone said. “This is a sophisticated, hip and modern branding campaign.”

Why I love doing what I do

Recently, someone asked me if I miss ‘consumer’ advertising. He wondered if I missed the challenge of working on big brands with big budgets. I said, “no — I don’t miss it at all.” He seemed surprised. I guess he didn’t realize how much I love doing what I do.  He asked me why I loved it so much.

This is what I said (although not necessarily in this order):

I love when someone presents an idea and they can’t stop smiling. I love when you’re on the way to a client presentation and you know you’ve nailed the assignment. I love when someone reads a card that says ‘and the winner is Draftfcb Healthcare.’ I love when I’m surprised. I love when something that makes no sense suddenly makes perfect sense. I love when I care so much about an idea that I dream about it. I love when I’m interviewing someone and I can see they’d be a great fit for our team. I love that I miss my team when I’m away on vacation. I love watching people grow into new positions of responsibility. I love seeing the new faces. I love winning pitches. I love presenting in front of strangers.  I love when I get e-mail from Dana and it just says “Wheeeeeee!”  I love when someone tells me how much he or she loves a creative brief. I love when someone laughs so hard they do a spit take. I love when someone gets a new nickname. I love when it’s fun. I love when someone gets promoted. I love when in the middle of a meeting, someone makes an obscure movie reference and everyone knows exactly what he or she is talking about. I love when someone has an ‘ah-ha’ moment. I love it when my time sheets are up-to-date. I love it when it all comes together. I love it when it’s all a shit show. I love it when you think you’ll never come up with a solution. I love it when everything that comes out of your mouth sounds smart. I love it when things look darkest, you can find plenty of people to help you work it out.

And that’s when I realized it had nothing to do with ‘consumer’ advertising. It was that every day I have the good fortune to work with an incredibly talented group of people.  Thank you for everything you do. Have a happy holiday.

— Rich

Now, where was I ?

A lot has happened since the last time I posted. I’ve been using the excuse that I’ve been too busy to write. The real reason is that I haven’t carved out the time to write. I control my schedule. But lately, I’ve been letting my schedule control me.  I’m changing that. So no more excuses.

Here’s some things that have happened since my last post.

• Most Creative Agency – I’m very proud of this award. Recently, our agency was named ‘Most Creative Agency’ by the leading magazine in our field. This was an incredible achievement and one that every member of the agency helped win. This was the third year in a row that we won. Yes, people were actually using the work ‘three-peat’ for a few days. In an announcement e-mail to the agency, our CEO actually mentioned going for a ‘Four-peat.’ I was hoping to enjoy winning for three years in a row without having to think about next year yet. We were the first New York City based agency to ever win in back-to-back years. (Only an agency in Chicago has ever won it more in the entire history of the award show.)  I’m very proud of the award. I actually think we have a good chance to win again next year. Although I shouldn’t say that. But secretly I think we have some amazing work in the pipeline.

• My Son Kicks My Butt In A 5K – Again. – My 10-year-old runs faster than me. I can’t believe it. My 10-year-old is in better shape than me. I’m in denial. My 10-year-old son is now acting as my personal trainer. I’m thankful.  This Sunday, as a family, we ran the Tarrytown Trek 5k. I couldn’t keep up with my son. I was happy for him. Embarrassed for me. So now the training begins. This morning, my 10-year-old supervised my treadmill session. He kept increasing the speed. He kept telling me I wasn’t going fast enough. He kept choosing the music on my iPhone so I’d run a faster pace. And you know what. I felt great afterwards. He was right. I can run faster. He can push me further. Give me the summer. By the time we’re running a 5k in autumn or late summer, I’ll be able to keep up. Maybe even beat him.  It’s time. No more Mr. Nice Guy. (BTW – as I was typing this last sentence, I actually typed ‘No more Mr. Nice Gut.’ Which is probably more appropriate.)

• My daughter completes her Masters Degree with a 4.0 GPA. This is huge. I’m so proud of her. As I’ve mentioned earlier – my daughter has learned to be a great student. This does not come naturally for her. She has worked very hard. She’s always tired. She’s always working on something. She’s always trying to get to the end. But its paid off. Great grades and a great attitude have helped her land a great position in a terrific school district. She’s thrilled. I’m thrilled. It’s every parent’s dream to have their child succeed. And her success is all due to perseverance and hard work. Congratulations and well done.

• My daughter (and her fiance) pick a wedding date. Less than a year from now, I’ll have a married daughter. Tentative date: June 1, 2013. Everything seems to be falling into place. The site, the band, the video guy, the photographer, the flowers. We don’t have a caterer yet, but that not far behind. I’m so happy. The place seems great. They both seem to really love it. It’s so fun to watch them making joint decisions and loving all the same things.  Ah, a June wedding. How perfect.

• My son passes his black belt test. This Saturday, my son will receive his black belt in Taekwondo. You have no idea how hard he had to work to get this far. For the past 3-1/2 years, he’s been working toward this goal. The test was spread out over three days. First there was an outdoor test. Running. Exercising. Pushing yourself as hard as possible. Next there was an oral exam. The students were tested on their knowledge of all the work they have learned over the past 3-1/2 years. Answers in both English and Korean. Finally, the indoor test. The students had to perform everything they’ve learned since the beginning of their training. The indoor test lasted over 3 hours. The students were exhausted. But in the end – he passed. He found out a few days later the results. He smiled for days.

That’s about it for now. I’m sure I’ll think of more stuff that’s happened. But that will be for tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

6.5.12

Business Travel Is Completely Overrated

I travel a lot for business. And I go to a lot of ‘fun sounding’ places. So there are times when people will assume that these trips are lots of fun. Let me give you a brief glimpse into a recent business trip. Tell me how much ‘fun’ this sounds.

Sunday 3PM – Leave for the airport.  Fighting Sunday afternoon traffic to JFK airport is always fun. Which direction should we go? Is there a Mets game? Is there traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway (there’s always traffic on the Van Wyck – hence the nickname van stuck)? I get to the airport, check in, go through security, head to the gate.

Sunday 6:55 PM – Board flight for 6 hour flight to London. Of course, I can’t sleep. I watch the movie ‘Hugo’ hoping it will make me tired. It doesn’t. I finally fall asleep 1 hour before we land. I get off the plane a little groggy. But I’m in England.

Monday 6 AM – Head to UK Customs and Border Security. I don’t know what it is about Heathrow – but I can never get through customs in under an hour. Today it was 1-1/2 hours. Standing in line next to people who haven’t slept all night. But I’m in England.

Monday 7:30 AM – Taxi to hotel. I should have reconsidered taking a taxi. First of all, it’s far. Secondly, I hit morning rush hour traffic. Plus the taxi drivers insisted on talking to me the entire ride. He called me “guv’ner” a few times, which I thought was cute, so I let him talk. I have no idea what he was saying.

Monday 9:00 AM – Check in to my hotel. Somehow our travel service placed my reservation in my assistants’ name. So for 30 minutes, the woman behind the counter can’t find my reservation. Only when I produce my confirmation number and a few phone calls to someone did she ask the question “are you Laura?” Clearly, I’m not Laura – but she made my reservation. A few more phone calls, and I had a room. I go to my room. Unpack. Shower. Head down to the conference room.

Monday 11 AM to 11 PM – I’m in a conference room preparing for a meeting the next morning. I could be in any room in any hotel anywhere in the world. The only tip that I’m in England is that I need a converter for my plugs. The room in beige and a little smelly. The food is bland and beige, too.  At some point during the day, I walked outside for about 5 minutes. ‘Look, a double decker bus – I must be in England.”

Monday 11 PM – I can’t sleep. The time change has me in it’s grasp. I know my alarm is going off at 6 AM. I manage to get 3 hours of sleep.

Tuesday 8 AM – Head down to breakfast with the team. We eat a light meal together before walking down to the conference room to set up for our meeting. We’ve been told we can begin setting up at 9 AM for a meeting that will begin at 10:00.  We walk in the room at 9:30 – after standing outside the room for about 45 minutes.

Tuesday 10 AM – We begin our two-hour presentation. We finish and talk to our clients until we get kicked out of the room at 12:30 PM

Tuesday 1 PM – Debrief in the hotel café. We’re all exhausted. We talk for about an hour. We agree to meet for a walk at 3 PM.

Tuesday 3 PM – We decide to go on a little walk around downtown London. Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Oxford Road. We walk around for a little more than an hour. It’s raining. I don’t have an umbrella or an overcoat. My sports jacket doesn’t keep me warm enough. Luckily I have a scarf. But, hey, I’m in England.

Tuesday 7 P M – I have dinner with two co-worker. We actually can relax for a few minutes – with the exception that it’s only 2 PM in NYC – which means I’m still working and responding to e-mails from the office.

Tuesday 11 PM – I have to leave for the airport at 5 AM, so I try to fall asleep. I can’t. I’m still awake. Plus, in New York is the BIG advertising award show. We’re nominated for 5 awards. I’m hoping we do well. Sometime around 1 AM, I fall asleep.

Wednesday 2:21 AM – My phone is buzzing like crazy. Every 20 seconds, another text message or e-mail. I’m thinking, “Something good just happened at the award show,” so I decide to look at my phone. Yes, something good happened – we won ‘Most Creative Agency” for the third year in a row!!! I can’t believe it. I’m excited and can’t sleep now. I start e-mailing people at the award show. I decide to stay up for the rest of the night. We win 3 awards.

Wednesday 5 AM – Leave the hotel for the airport. Check in, go through security, go to the gate, get on a flight to Hamburg, Germany. This part of my day was very easy.

Wednesday 9 AM – Arrive in Frankfurt, buy train ticket, walk 20 minutes to the train platform.  But a bottle of water and something to eat for breakfast. I eat while I’m walking, because I’m afraid I’m going to miss the train to Mannheim.

Wednesday 11 AM – Arrive at the hotel. It’s not that nice. But it’s clean. I get a room. I check in the room. Of course, I’ve checked into the wrong room. (See recent blog entry for that story)

Wednesday 1 PM – 10 PM – Prepare for meeting in the hotel conference room. Eat really bad food. Drink lots of coffee. The room is cold, damp and musty smelling. We rewrite the presentation. We double-check everything. Leave the room to go to sleep.

Thursday 2 AM – I finally stop answering work e-mail

Thursday 7 AM – Breakfast with the team before we present at 10 AM.

Thursday 10 AM – 3-hour presentation. It goes really well, so we’re feeling pretty good. Dash for the train station.

Thursday 2:20 PM – Jump on a train from Mannheim, Germany back to the Frankfurt airport. I fall asleep on the train and almost miss my stop. Jump off the train with about 30 seconds to spare.

Thursday 3 PM – Check in at the airport, have 2 hours until my flight. Make a few phone calls, answer a few e-mails.  I’ve seen absolutely nothing of Germany.

Thursday 5 PM – Board flight. Exhausted. But now I don’t want to fall asleep, because I want to be tired when I get home. Get in my seat. Watch 3 movies. Arrive in New York, JFK airport.

Thursday 6 PM – After my 7 hour flight and 6 hour time change, I arrive at US Customs and Border Crossing. The line is really, really long. Two hours long. I’m tired. I’m cranky. I can’t wait to get home.

Thursday 8:30 PM – Arrive home. Hugs and kisses all around.

I flew to 2 different countries; saw the inside of 4 different conference rooms. 8 different taxis, 3 planes, 1 train, made 2 presentations, and slept a total of about 12 hours in 4 days.  Business travel is important, it’s critical to business, but it’s certainly not all fun and games.

5.8.12

Somebody’s sleeping in my bed ….

I had a very unusual thing happen to me last week. And in a way, I really can’t believe it happened.

Let me start at the beginning.

Last week, I was in Mannheim, Germany for a business meeting. Mannheim is a pleasant little town about a 40 minute train ride south of Frankfurt. I stayed in a fine hotel where the meeting was being held. I checked into the hotel around noon. They handed me a key and on the keycard envelope was written the room number — room 527.

I took the elevator up to the 5th floor, walked down the hall, put the keycard into the door, the door opened, and I found a small but clean room with a bed, chair and desk. The very basic business hotel room.
I took the next few minutes to unpack, charge my electronic devices and have a quick shower.

Exactly as expected. Nothing unusual.

After I got cleaned up, I got dressed and went downstairs into one of the conference rooms for an all day meeting. At around 8 PM, I headed up to my room to get something I needed – and I found my keycard wouldn’t work in my door. I tried again. It still wouldn’t work. Convinced I could make it work, I tried a third time, still no luck. Just as I was about to head down to the front desk, a woman walked out of my room. She was clearly surprised I was standing there – just as I was surprised that someone was coming out of my room.

Luckily, she worked for the hotel. In her broken english and my high school german, here’s what we discovered. I was given a key for room 527. Somehow, I used that key and walked into room 528. I didn’t even notice that I had entered the wrong room. Probably I didn’t notice because my key worked in the door. Later in the day, they gave a key to someone else for room 528 – and they went up to the room and announced that someone’s stuff was all over the room.

The hotel spent the entire day trying to figure our who was the mystery person in room 527. Since I was in the conference room all day, I never picked up the message or never went back to my room. I have no idea how long the hotel employee was camped out inside my room. I don’t think for very long.

But it got me thinking – how did that happen? How did my room key work in more than one door? Do all hotel keys work in multiple doors and we don’t know – because as honest people we only try our own door?

And what would have happened if the real owner of room 528 entered to find me fast asleep in their bed? Or I walked in on them showering or getting dresses?

I’ve checked into hundreds of hotels during my career, and I don’t think anything like that has ever happened to me before. But I know it will definitely do one thing differently next time I enter a hotel room. I will 100% chain the door behind me.

Because you never know who may have a key that fits into your door.

I love a good parody commercial

Here are two spots – one by Google called “Project Glass – One Day” and the second is a parody of the same spot.

In some ways, I find them both entertaining. The first is funny because Google is trying so hard to be Apple. The second is funny because it’s so true.

Enjoy.

4.12.12