After four years of annual requests, I finally accepted the invitation to speak at an international transportation conference in London, UK. The request was simply to showcase the completion of the 4-year project I led and to share with the attendees some lessons-learned. I was also asked to participate in a follow-on panel for Q&A. As a speaker, my invitation included the conference fee, flight and hotel. I ask the organizer if a ‘press pass’ can be arranged for my 15 year-old daughter as an observer. I thought it would be a nice treat to buy her a companion airline ticket so she can see her old man work in a venue other than home office or downtown.
Upon arrival, I asked my daughter, as I have done since she was little, to lead us to where we need to go in the terminal and navigate transit to our hotel using common carriers (it was after all a conference on public transportation!) She had some trouble with the massive sprawl of the underground tube. She wasn’t the only one! Even though we took the red-eye flight, her eyes were wide open soaking up the new environment.
We got to the conference hall, checked- in and placed our lanyards around our necks. I wasn’t speaking on the first day so I had looked forward to the opportunity to network on the convention floor. It was uncanny, but within 30 seconds of my entering the premise, I heard my name being called and was warmly greeted by people I have only met virtually on a computer screen! I wasn’t expecting to know a single person in this foreign country but was I wrong; the rest of the day unfolded with lots of handshakes and networking.
She was inspired to work harder when she returned to school after the trip. In her mind, the horizons became endless yet reachable!
On day two, I waited for my slot and delivered my 10-page slide deck. I talked for 20 minutes, answered a few questions. When my segment ended, facilities quickly added comfortable chairs for the panel which immediately followed. It was interactive and following the moderator’s last question and round of answers from the panelists, the session ended in applause and individuals from the audience approached for more specific questions.
I networked a little bit more and engaged in discussion with a Spanish delegate on ride-share platforms substituting public buses in small municipalities. My daughter was half listening and half not but she couldn’t believe a 30-minute conversation on the topic of bus stops was possible! She definitely found out that she was not interested in working in the transportation industry!
“So dad, they flew you here, put you up on a hotel, fed you and all you did was talk for 20 minutes?” Well, if you put it that way, it was actually 60 minutes since the panel was 40! “Wow! That’s it?!? You’re done after an hour of work.” Yes, but remember that 20 minutes of content is drawn from 20 years of experience. She let that idea sink in.
I’m glad my daughter came on this business trip with me. She got to see a completely different side of my work: away from Teams meetings and endless emails. She got to see the personal side of work and the power of networking where analysts talk to CEOs and sales reps having unfettered access to operational managers. She witnessed how people usually separated by continents embrace each other so quickly in discussion and idea exchange.
We set aside a few days to play tourists and visited extended family in South London. My daughter’s eyes were opened to the study and work opportunities that were only a couple of years away.
She was inspired to work harder when she returned to school after the trip. It was visible how locked down she was because in her mind, the horizons became endless yet reachable! That was definitely worth the cost of a companion ticket!
