Summer Vacation: Early Edition

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Yes, usually an article like this would come at the end ofSeptember at the beginning of fall, but I did my traveling in May and June thisyear so I wanted to share what I learned.

Look before you step:

In Florida I stepped on a stinging bee/wasp.  To this day I have no idea what insect familyit was in, but I was enjoying the beach and the next thing I know my foot is onfire.  An emergency room visit, an IVcourse of antibiotics along with having the stinger still in my foot for 12days later is a reminder that you have to asses risk before going into aventure, and to have a plan in case something happens.  In project management it is called Risk Management;there should always be a Plan B.

You have to think about marketing all the time:

Tennessee was having unusually hot, humid weather forJune.  In Nashville with my friends wewent to Broadway.  If you have never beento Nashville, this is where you can find country music being played.  I was tired and decided to go back to thehotel, and a friend said she was ready to go back too.  We walked and she pointed out a minorcelebrity.  She wanted to continuewalking, but I wanted to go up to him.  Ipulled her with me, and we ended up having a fifteen minute conversation wherehe tried to convince us to join a Facebook campaign.  It taught me that every conversation is amarketing opportunity, which is why True North always thinks about themarketing element when providing legal coaching.

Negotiate properly

In Ireland I forgot the key step in negotiations-sometimes acultural translator is needed. I have been to Europe before, and considered Irelanda European country where they happen to speak English with an accent.  No need to speak a foreign language.  First, I did not always understand whenpeople were speaking to me, and then I assumed that I could haggle and get adiscount.  In Ireland, the price set isthe price set.  Lesson learned.  True North provides negotiation services,preparing you to enter your negotiations so that they are win/win.