Theme: How international business travel used to work.
International business travel before email required careful preparation, personal judgement and the ability to work independently for weeks at a time.
For most of my working life, international business was conducted face to face. A typical trip might last a month and cover several countries. Flights were fewer, visas were more complicated, and communications back to the office were limited.
Preparation was therefore critical. Every meeting had to count.
A journey to South East Asia, for example, might include six countries and a dozen meetings with distributors, engineers, contractors and government officials. You learned quickly that each country had its own expectations, etiquette and pace of decision-making.
Today we can hold meetings instantly by video call, but the old style of travel forced something that technology often replaces too easily — time spent understanding people.
Looking back, those journeys taught lessons that remain valuable today: patience, cultural awareness, and the importance of relationships.