5 Lessons from my NoCal (San Fran/Big Sur) Trip this Weekend

I had the pleasure of enjoying a varied long weekend in northern California this past 4 days. Varied in that it ranged from city touring in San Francisco from to trekking through remote areas of the Big Sur coast. Here are 4 things I learned this weekend (sorry, couldn’t pull off a 5th one), and some photos:

1. We are but a dot in time and space.

There’s nothing like a weekend in a place like Big Sur to make you feel insignificant. Not in a bad way. But in a way that makes you feel like a part of a much larger world than the one in which you normally live your life. The physical beauty and presence of the Big Sur coastline remind you that the Earth is vast and powerful, and has been around a lot longer than us humans. The history of Big Sur with its early pioneers and settlers who loved its beauty, remind you that there were once brave and hard-working explorers that had a much greater appreciation of the earth and a greater sense of adventure than we typically have on an average day, week, or month. The current people of Big Sur still maintain that sense of appreciation and peace with the earth. Being in this tranquil and beautiful place was a great rejuvenator and reminder of our place as humans in time and on the planet.

2. We really SHOULD work out to “Train for Life”.

My personal trainer, Josh Neumann, says that you should work out not to train for a specific event like a triathlon or marathon, but to “train for life”. As I’m doing squats and lunges, and 5km runs around Trout Lake, I don’t particularly think that life is going to present me with the NEED to squat and lunge and run 5km. This weekend, I learned that there ARE situations where this training will come in handy when you are FORCED to run 5km!

On Saturday, my husband Dave accidentally locked the keys to our rental car in the trunk when we were at a beach 2 miles down a “secret” road. And 2 miles from cell phone reception! After we realized this, a nice lady drove me up to the ranger station about 2.2 miles from our car. Where, I was able to make phone calls and it took me about 45 minutes to sort out with Hertz to send a locksmith to us – but Big Sur being so remote, it would take the guy almost 2 hours to get to us from Monterey! $275 later, I realized I had no choice (breaking the window was not an option, I learned, since the brand new Toyota Camry would automatically disable the trunk lever once it was broken into!). In the mean time, Dave was over 2 miles away, with no cell phone reception. And knowing Dave, he would FREAK out if he didn’t hear from me or see me 3 hours after leaving with the nice lady in her car. So, with my big bulky camera over my shoulder and wallet and BlackBerry in hand, I started jogging the 2.2 miles. And this was after doing a 3.2 mile hike earlier that day. I had to run – not walk – because I had to make it there in sufficient time of finding Dave (in case he decided to go down to the beach and I couldn’t find him right away), and in enough time so that I (or we) could jog or walk back to the ranger station where the locksmith was meeting us (he couldn’t meet us down at the beach since it was down an unmarked road that he probably wouldn’t be able to find). So I did the jog and after finding Dave, we did a fast-walk back up the 2.2 mile hill to the ranger station. So yes, I now believe that life may present you with situations in which it pays off to have been “training for life”. I thought of this and smiled as I ran the 2.2 miles…

3. A new word to my vocabulary: Massholes

“Massholes” = “Assholes from Boston/Mass like Ben Affleck with those stupid accents”. As described by some Denver guys we met at a wine party in San Francisco.

And we put this to use on Sunday at the airport when some obnoxious fans were loudly cheering for the Boston Redsox (game on TV): "What a bunch of loud Massholes". Love it!

4. Rundown mobile home cabins in Big Sur cost more than hotel rooms at the Ritz Carleton

We contemplated why our mobile home “cabin” in Big Sur with faux wood walls and bedsheets circa 1970 cost more than our hotel room at the Ritz in San Francisco. Some reasons:

• a. Big Sur is the most beautiful place in North Americas so someone is cashing in and making a killing.
• b. Usable land is scarce in Big Sur, so land costs are expensive.
• c. Big Sur is so remote that it costs a lot to get supplies in to serve tourists.
• d. Tourists only come to Big Sur during certain months, so they have to charge a lot during the high months to make up for the low months.

Either way, if you are going to Big Sur, be prepared to book ahead of time and don’t expect it to be too cheap. Even the places that are “campground and cabins” aren’t cheap. But, Big Sur is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Top 5 Takeaways from Sierra Wireless & Absolute Software

This week, I attended a BCTIA Impact event, a monthly speaker series highlighting winners of last year's Impact awards given to the brightest stars in BC's tech industry. The two speakers were Greg Speakman, VP Marketing at Sierra Wireless, and John Livingston, President of Absolute Software. Here are the top takeaways I took from this event!

1. Make your offering a "need to have" rather than a "nice to have". (John Livingston)
I couldn't agree more - especially in this economy. From my personal experience - when the tech bubble burst in 2001 I was working at a video-over-IP company called Eyeball Networks. The reason I left is because I realized that in the economy at that time - companies were only buying "need to have's", and cutting out all "nice to have's". Video-over-IP wasn't considered one of those "need to have's".

2. When in doubt, just act. (John Livingston)
The culture he has created at Absolute is under the belief that you can sit around and discuss theories and strategies, but at the end of the day - action needs to be taken to get results. So he encourages people to just act! Sometimes, I call this "ask for forgiveness, not permission" in my career.

3. Listen to your partners - especially the ones that are where you want to be. (Greg Speakman)
Both companies have created extremely successful strategic alliances with large companies as part of their go-to-market strategy. Absolute with laptop manufacturers (Dell, HP, etc.) and Sierra Wireless with telco carriers (AT&T, Telstra, etc.). They stressed the importance of listening to your current customers (duh), but also of listening to these types of partners who may be closer to your target new customers. And revise your product and strategy if required.

4. Hire people who have worked at your target alliance partners.
To successfully create alliances with large, complex organizations (like laptop manufacturers and telco carriers) - both of them said that their secret to doing this successfully was by hiring people who used to work at these organizations. In some situations, they even did it after they had established relationships with the partner company (with permission). They know the culture, can navigate the complexities of the organizations to identify the influencers and decision-makers.

In my job, since I've started to work with telco carriers (on our mobile CRM product), this was the key question I wanted to ask. And though we aren't yet ready to hire people from these telcos, I'm doing the next best thing by hiring a wireless telco consultant that is ex-Bell/Telus/Rogers. Thanks for the great advice!

5. Beware of service providers and job-seekers at networking events
I periodically go to BCTIA events, but never before had I been to one where there were more lawyers, bankers, and unemployed people than actual tech industry people! That took me by surprise a little. But I guess this is a sign of the economy where more than the usual # of people are looking for business and jobs!

Top 5 Ways to Channel Jack Bauer at the Office

For anyone that watches 24, we know that Jack Bauer knows how to get sh*t done. If everyone just listened to him, the day would be over in 12 hours, not 24. So I started thinking that some of his way of getting stuff done can be transferred into the office.

1. Be bold to get results, even if it means using a hack-saw to saw someone's head off in a federal office.
As Jack said in Day 2, "That's the problem with people like you, George. You want results, but you never want to get your hands dirty." Sometimes you have to do things yourself, and you have to do the things that other people don't want to do.

2. Break the rules when you really need to, but play by the rules when it makes sense.
So far (I've only watched Day 1, 2, 3), after all the people that Jack has killed and internal protocols he has broken, he has somehow eluded jail. This is because after he breaks the rules, he then plays by their rules. He breaks the rules when it really matters in achieving the end goal, and then succumbs to the rules afterwards. On Day 3, he comes clean with his heroin use and leaves the decision to the higher ups.... seemingly ready to face whatever penalty they will give him. It gives the higher ups the sense that they still have control over Jack, even though Jack will continue to play by his rules when it really matters.

In business, sometimes you may need to break away from "how it has always been done" and break the tradition to get results. Easier done in a smaller, entrepreneurial company. Other times it makes sense to follow the corporate culture to get things done - particularly if you work for a bigger company or a Japanese company, as I have. Know when to use which tactic.

3. Use a commanding voice - people may not like it, but it gets results.
As Chloe said to Jack on Day 3, "I'm working on it Jack, but your tone of voice isn't exactly a morale booster." But in the end, Chloe gets it done. None of my staff have ever said that to me, but it would be funny if they did.

4. Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
Even if you have to decieve the President of the United States, if you really believe in what you are doing and there's no way around it.

Similar to #2 above - sometimes you need to act quickly and it's better to go with what you believe is the right decision to achieve a goal. And if someone questions you later - explain the rationale for your decision and ask for permission for breaking protocol if you need to.

5. Know who to trust on your team.
Hire family members (your daughter), and never sleep with co-workers - they may be working for terrorists.

In reality, you have to rely on people on your team and across other departments. Bring in those that share your goals and who you know you can rely on to get sh*t done.

Top 5 Ways I'm Making Up for Flying Too Much

Recently, I bragged to my friend that I drove my car less than 6,000 km in the last year. Much less than the 20,000 km/year that the average person drives. Urban living = lower carbon footprint, I thought! However, she was quick to burst my bubble and point out that all my flying (usually once a month) creates a much larger ecological footprint than the driving that I'm saving. So here are some small things my husband and I are doing to counter or at least reduce my damage (and this doesn't include recycling, as that should be a given for all).

1. Stopped buying paper napkins & paper towels
Instead of paper napkins, a long time ago, we started using fabric. Not only for eating at home, but we now pack our fabric napkins with our lunch to bring to work. And no more paper towels. Instead, we use these 3M cloths for wiping stuff. Yes, there are situations where you often want a paper towel; but if you just stop buying them, you will find an alternative with cloths. (Apologies to my friend Marc, long-time Kimberly-Clark staffer who's made his living selling paper-based products. Good news is though, Marc, we all still need toilet paper.)

2. Installed timer-based thermostats

My friend Greg recently showed me his new Ecobee system which allows you to monitor your energy consumption and change your home's temperature settings via the web or iPhone. Though we haven't signed up for that yet, we're using Honeywell thermostats that are on a timer to turn down heat (room by room) at night and when we're not home. They're $39.99 at Home Depot and super easy to install.

3. Reduced use of kitchen garbage bags

Instead of lining your kitchen garbage bin every week with a plastic bag, we bought a bin with a removeable bucket.

4. Use an eco-friendly Washer-Dryer combo unit
In our new "compact" condo, we chose a washer-dryer combo unit. One unit that replaces the traditional stackable washer/dryer that saves space for us urban dwellers that squeeze into less than 1,000 square feet. Moreover, it uses less energy and less water. I think this is the one we have >>. The downside is that the dryer mode makes our clothes smell like someone just took a hairdryer to it for an hour... but we're getting used to it!

5. Compost

Admittedly, we've procrastinated on this one. But we've recently been re-inspired by our friends Greg & Michelle to get off our butt and get moving on this. So I've left my husband in charge of getting one from the City of Vancouver and registering us for a workshop on how to use these. Keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't stink and get us in trouble with our nazi strata!