In between 6am alarm snoozes, I noticed some new text messages on my iPhone.  They were tweets from my boss (yes, I have my boss’s tweets texted to my phone…) saying that our big company had been acquired by an even bigger company for X amount of dollars.  Now, if that doesn’t make a person wake up, I don’t know what does!!  I fired up my laptop and read the news via email from our CEO, various links on twitter and our official press releases.

As I attempted to wrap my pre-coffee brain around this, I started to go through all the emotions: surprise/shock, anger, fear, acceptance, a glimmer of optimism and hope.  The first images to pop up in my head were similar to the aforementioned ones and were mostly doom and gloom.  That’s when the questions began swirling in my head…

What Does This Mean For Me??

First, my mind was fixated on questions related to, “What does this mean for me??”  Immediately I wanted details on how this would change my world.  I was asking things like: Will my job be eliminated?  Will my benefits change?  Will my salary change?  Will I still work in the same place?  Will I still work for the same person?

After a shower, I realized these questions were completely futile until a few weeks had gone by.  There was truly nothing I could do right at that moment.  I’d done well in my previous role and was showing promise in my new one.  I told myself to have confidence in my performance and know that I deserved to be a part of this gigantic conglomerate.   Positive Note: this even bigger company has operations in way more countries and does all kinds of different things which could mean for incredible job opportunities for me.

What Does This Mean For My Company??

Next, my mind fixated on questions related to, “What does this mean for my company??”  Again I wanted details about things like: Will there be mass layoffs and reorgs?   What will our company’s name be?  Will we get to keep our headquarters building?   Will our founder still be able to come in and eat lunch with everyone????  

As I drove to work, I realized that change in an acquisition is inevitable, but the amount of change in this situation couldn’t be determined until more information is released.  Again, I decided that asking these questions was completely futile at this point in the game. 

Midmorning I went downstairs to watch the companywide call aired on TVs throughout the campus.  The message from our leaders was clear: this is a great opportunity for both companies and we are to carry on like business as usual.  We were acquired not by a competitor but by a company looking to expand their footprint in our market.  By joining forces, we can now better serve our clients and become a global leader in our market.  Positive Note: the potential for innovation in our industry is huge.

I walked away feeling less doom and gloom and more hopeful.  There are going to be growing pains and big changes, but the potential for great things to happen is apparent.  We’ll see where this goes and where I fit in with it…

Acquisition? Let's Shake on That

I want to hear from anyone else who has been part of an acquired company.  Did you have a positive or negative experience?  Did you go through similar emotions?  Did you ask yourself similar questions to me?  Did your leaders assure you things were going to be alright and did they deliver on their words? 

Last December, I had lunch with my company’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO).  I was thrilled to meet the new CMO who would be the healthcare thought leader for the healthcare-oriented IT company that pays my salary.  At the time, he offered me a position working for him which my boss, who had just procured me as a young consultant, vetoed.  I agreed with her as I wanted to build my consulting craft.  The opportunity passed by with little sadness, because I knew it wasn’t the right time for it.

A few weeks ago, my boss texted me that the CMO was interested in me working for him again, and she told me to hear him out regarding the opportunity.  At first, I didn’t know what to think.  I’d been in consulting for nearly a year and had made immense progress career-wise.  I was fine with my current role and was committed to finishing out the project I was involved with.  

I heard him out and cautiously considered my options.  My mind was whirling for weeks with detail-oriented questions: 

• Will I ever travel?
• Will I be stuck in a cube again? 
• What will I do every day?
• Will I be miserable? 
• Will I just be a glorified assistant??

That’s when I took a step back and stopped the negativity madness.  I thought of it more in these terms:

• I’ll be gaining amazing exposure to the highest leaders in my company
• I’ll be working for a powerful physician who has been doing great things for our company
• I find my potential new boss funny and relaxed (a critical lesson learned from other bosses)
• Due to his relaxed nature, this job is what I make of it – totally up to ME
• I’m not IN LOVE with my current role—a lot of my tasks are “glorified assistant”-esque anyways
• I’ll be involved with projects around marketing, speaking engagements, his book deal and goodness knows what else
• My life-situation flexibility was something I was so proud of…why not actually use it??
• This is not permanent!

My final, deal-making thought was that I didn’t want this opportunity to slip by…again.  This time it was on my terms and my boss was supportive—how often does that happen?  Sure, it might suck some days and it might be a disaster; however, I wanted this to give this a real chance and explore a different world working with him. 

I finally felt ready to decide and pulled the trigger: I quit freaking out about the details and said yes! 

My advice to anyone in a similar position is to be realistic but give the opportunity a fair chance.  Consider the positives and negatives while listening to your gut.  You have to do what is right for you and live without regrets.  Most importantly, don’t forget how blessed you are to be tossing this around in your head!

Walking Through an Open Door of Opportunity

We live in a world that teaches us from the beginning not to talk to strangers, and it’s not shocking that when we get older we have trust issues with our fellow humans.  I am usually skeptical of every other person around me and hope they won’t try to rob or sexually assault me (that might be the scared little small-town girl inside of me).  Then there are the times where you let your guard down, and some jerk store takes advantage of you – that’s right, you know who you are car fixer guy in Woonsocket, RI.  On the flip side, I find it hard to trust the people I work with on a daily basis.  It seems like everyone has some sort of anti-you agenda, and this planet is every man for his/herself. 

That is why when I boarded my plane last night from Fort Lauderdale to Dallas I had every intention of sitting down, writing a superb LA article I had promised to Dan (hadn’t a clue what to write) and not talking to any strangers.  Enter: adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman.  She started talking to me about how she was a little nervous about flying.  It seemed harmless enough, so I chatted to her about pretty surface level topics (weather, flying, why we were both in town, etc).  After all, I couldn’t start my article during taxiing anyways, right?

Well, I spent the entire flight engaged in non-alcohol-induced conversation with this woman!  It was fascinating to me how INCREDIBLY open you can be with a complete stranger.  She was in her mid-thirties, recently divorced, recently began reinventing herself and had two sons.  She gave me a lot of frank, good advice about marriage and your twenties.  Divorce is something that terrifies me to my core, and she answered all of my questions.  I told her about myself, and it was delightful to get opinions from someone who doesn’t have a vested interest in my life.  There were no awkward tensions or political agendas (ah work drama) – just straight up here is how I see it.  I got off that plane feeling like I had just spoken with a breath of fresh air. 

I’m not suggesting that everyone should talk to everyone, but I am suggesting that once in a while it is extremely refreshing to have a positive encounter with a complete stranger.  It is nice to know that there are still genuinely good and friendly people out there from whom you might even learn something.  I’d like to give a big tip of my hat to the adorable 30-something Texan blonde woman onboard the 5:40pm flight from FLL to DFW for a great conversation.

Most people imagine the life of a travelling associate is a glamorous one.  Although there are perks, it is pretty far from attractive a lot of the time.  Dragging a controversially large carry-on suitcase around an airport at 5:30 on Monday mornings, sitting in an oddly-smelling rental car in Humidville, FL, eating overly-priced, mediocre room service by yourself, working long hours and spending several hours of your week sitting next to strangers on an MD-80 airplane is reality. 

I recently started on a project in South Florida, and it had been awhile since I’d been a road warrior.  I had forgotten some of my strategies for staying organized and keeping my blood pressure down.  I’m sharing some of my tips and tricks to keeping it all together when living on the road, and I’d love for others to share theirs.  This article is all about organized packing.

For me, carrying your bag on is the best way to go.  Many males are probably chuckling and thinking, “Why would you need to check a bag for 4-5 days of travel?”  I can’t exactly explain it, but I always feel the need to be prepared for any situation which causes me to over pack for trips (what if there is a spontaneous cocktail party??? I’ll need a dress!!!).  The reality of this type of travel is that you won’t be in many situations.  You go to work, you go to the gym, you MIGHT get food somewhere after work and you MIGHT go out one night (I never do, but if you are one of the cool kids…).  I rarely do much shopping during business travel, so the extra space isn’t a problem either.

The best way to be prepared and still condense your wardrobe is pack in one color scheme.  Pack your black dress/work shoes, black suit jacket, black suit pants, black suit skirt, one shirt that goes with black for each day of work and make one of the shirts able to transfer from work to play.  I place the minimal amount of jewelry that I will want to coordinate with the packed outfits in a bag and toss that into the suitcase too.  After all that, you just have underwear, workout clothes, sneakers, a pair of jeans/shorts, a pair of flip flops, bathing suit if you sit in the hotel hot tub and a good book.  Bonus: using only one suit is less dry cleaning! 

Also, hotels have a lot of your needs covered.  You don’t need to pack a hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner and soap which means you don’t have to take up space for those in your small suitcase or liquids baggie.  My carry-on suitcase came with a clear, durable, 1-qt bag.  These days it always contains my face wash products, small lotion, small perfume, small toothpaste, small mascara and favorite lip gloss.  I rarely take them out of the bag, and I store it in the uppermost outside zipper on the suitcase (easy to get out at the security checkpoint).  My other hair products and big liquids I just live without for the week on the road.  Do I really need a bottle of volumizing spray? No. 

Also, I keep a makeup bag in my suitcase with non-liquid necessities, such as q-tips, a razor, a tiny sewing kit and deodorant.  I seem to always have extras of those things anyways…  On Monday mornings/Sunday nights, I get ready and throw my tooth brush, hair brush, straightener, thinned out makeup bag (I only need the basics) and phone chargers in my suitcase. 

This may sound like a lot of effort but the organization is worth it, trust me.  When you are able to waltz straight to the security checkpoint, breeze past the people waiting for extended periods at the baggage claims or saunter by those unfortunate travelers at the lost luggage counter, you will be smiling the whole way to your final destination.  I’ve found the minimalist approach to travel can go a long ways.  I went to visit family during a weekend on the road and shocked them by going with one carry-on suitcase for two whole weeks!!!  Granted I was able to do laundry at my brother’s house, but it was still an achievement for me!

In college, free food was like gold.  The promise of free pizza caused college students to sign up for credit cards, attend meetings for organizations they didn’t care about and show up to sorority functions (this one I know about personally).  Even though I have had a steady paycheck for over a year now, I still get excited at the promise of free food.

For traveling I was told that I had approximately $40 per day (or whatever was within reason) to spend on food which caused feelings of extreme joy.  I thought I could eat like a king and drink Starbucks every day with that amount of money.  I found myself saying things like, “Make that a grande instead of tall…of course I’ll have dessert…I’ll take the one with sprinkles and glaze…I can’t take that home so I’d better eat it.” The early mornings in the airports and late nights at the client sites also led me to make poor decisions.  I was going out to eat every night, having a few drinks with dinner, not exercising and running on little sleep.  Like a fool I was hoping my metabolism would ramp up and my hips would be immune to airport fast food.  Not too surprisingly, I was wrong.

If someone had sat me down and given the following advice, I wouldn’t still be trying to get rid of the remaining “traveling weight”.  A quick disclaimer: I am not a trainer, nutritionist, dietician, aesthetician or any other professional related to health or fitness.  I am just a busy girl with an average metabolism and a passion for food. 

My first piece of advice is: remember that being exhausted doesn’t mean it is ok to order whatever you want.  Making healthy choices and knowing your body’s limits are essential all of the time, even if you are at the airport at 5:00am on a Monday morning.  Depending on your airport, client site and hotel location, you may not have a lot to choose from.  Most fast food restaurants have their nutritional information posted on the walls or available in a pamphlet.  Look at it and choose something that is low in calories, high in protein and has some sustenance.  Another great source for nutritional information: the internet. 

Secondly, keep your favorite fuel on your person.   I keep a bag of almonds and several luna bars in my laptop case and munch on them when I’m starving.  If you love a certain kind of protein bar, keep some handy.  There is nothing worse than rushing around and missing meals.  When I am starving, I get cranky and am much more likely to make bad decisions.  Another hunger-fighting tip is to find a grocery or convenience store near your hotel or client site and pick up some healthy snacks and lunches.  A girl can only eat salad bar for so many lunches before you break down and get something sinfully wonderful.  Ironically, I work in hospitals and find it hard to make healthy choices in the cafeterias…

A third suggestion is to take advantage of what the hotel has to offer.  If your hotel has a fridge and microwave, grab some of the healthier frozen dinners.  I’m sure my client is happy if this prevents me from eating room service once in a while.  Also, check out the hotel gym or pool and use them.  It is incredibly important to make this a priority for a traveling associate.  Leave your mobile in your room, go to the gym, work it out and clear your mind.  Remember, it is ok to miss a meal out for a good workout.  If you are morning exerciser like me, go for a jog and enjoy the sunrise in a new city (as long as it’s safe!).  When talking about hotel perks, I have to mention the free breakfasts.  The same rules apply to free breakfast as they do to fast food on the corporate card: it will go to your hips just don’t get carried away. 

A little hiccup (literally) I encountered with traveling on a team is that many associates love that “on-the-road” lifestyle, meaning long working days, dinners out and lots of drinks.  My advice is to know your team and know your limits.  I was following the “when in Rome” rule, but many people drink more than I care to on a Tuesday night.  It is always acceptable to say no thanks and head to your room.  It’s better to retire early than drink too much and embarrass yourself.

My next bit of advice is to keep in a positive mindset.  It is easy to let work consume you, but make it a top priority to do things that make YOU happy.  When you are clear-headed and content, you are more likely to treat your body with respect and be a better worker bee.   Whether you jog, read or watch episodes of The Office on Hulu, keep time on your calendar for it.

Lastly, always call your friends and family.  My mother and grandmother worry about me being in such big cities and traveling alone, whereas my father wants to know what wonderful food I ate at dinner.  Regardless of your situation, family and friends help keep you grounded when you are gone over half of your week. 

Have fun in the different cities you visit and enjoy the food.  Just remember to do so in moderation.