It was my second trip to the C2FO Kansas City(KC), USA office this year. This time, I also planned to meet a good friend in Atlanta on my way to KC. Apart from meeting my friend, I was excited to participate in the team outing. It was a 6-day visit with lots of work, hiccups, fun, and excitement. The bonus was the night stay at the NY airport.
Key learnings/reflections from the trip:
- Learnings from disruption(s)– I am a big fan of being organized and getting value from it. At the same time, I experience disruptions in my planned schedule (like flight delays, sudden meetings, health issues, etc). Lately, it got me wondering if these disruptions have any value. To my surprise, it has helped me get better at being spontaneous like figuring out what to pitch on a sudden client call, deciding on a new hotel/flight booking on the go, etc. These situations/decisions seem tactical and not of much value but in aggregation, it has helped me add a vital skill “to be calm in handling the unknown(s)”.
- Besties always remain besties – I went to Atlanta to meet a good friend from my college days. We had great conversations on a bunch of topics, watched a movie, and played tennis after a while (and I lost). The thing I liked the most was getting ‘no filter’ feedback and advice which helped me a lot.
- Podcasts are an important part of continuous learning– Compared to mainstream media, podcasts offer a much more detailed view and practical take on the trends affecting society/industry. They have become an important part of my information-gathering learning process. I operate at the intersection of technology and business and love podcasts in that space. My favorite ones these days are All-in, Acquired, and Invest Like the Best.
- Interaction with other teams can drive exponential value– I have always loved connecting with colleagues from other teams as it helps me sneak peek into their world and develop empathy. Almost all my ideas have been a culmination of learnings received from those interactions (it is a hack for customer feedback).
- Being healthy is a continuous journey– Health is an essential piece of life. I have procrastinated on it for a long time but learned this lesson the hard way. Trying to learn from my mistakes and live a healthy life.
Statistics:
| From location | Toronto, Canada |
| To location | Atlanta and Kansas City, United States of America |
| Purpose | Meeting a friend, Work |
| Trip duration | 6 days |
| Travel time | ~7 hours on each side |
| What did I do on the plane? | It was boring as well as exciting. I used the time to read emails, watch a few movies <as I was stuck at the New York(NY) airport>, and sleep a little bit. |
| Interesting moments | Operations offsite in KC was super fun and I got a chance to meet the wider team. I had to change the hotel during my stay due to hygiene and hot water issue(s). On my way back to Toronto, I had to spend a night at the NY airport as my connecting flight got canceled due to bad weather in NY. |
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Disclaimer: https://vinaysachdeva.com/disclaimer/. The opinions expressed in the blog post are my own and do not reflect the view(s) of my employer.