I’m used to being prepared, being in control, knowing what comes next, where I’m supposed to be.  If I have a meeting scheduled, I’m usually early for it.  And when I travel, I usually book and confirm everything myself, and do online check-in 24 hours in advance.  It’s partly a function of my personality,  but it’s also cultural to a great extent.  Many parts of the world simply aren’t as agenda-focused as the US and UK.  And I recognize that my way isn’t the right way, it’s just what is comfortable for me.

So now, a day before I leave on a 3-week trip, over which I have almost no control, I’m consciously trying to get over myself, go with the flow, make a leap of faith and trust that it will all be fine.  A total of 15 flights have been booked for me by a travel agent, and I haven’t been able to confirm them online.  I’ll be arriving in 12 cities (in 7 countries), and in some destinations, I don’t yet know where I’m going, what time meetings start, what I’ll be speaking about, or where I will sleep.  What I do know — and this is the reason I can make the leap — is that there are IABC members in every destination, and they will take care of me.  And I know it will be an amazing experience.  A distinctly different cultural experience (actually, several different cultures).  I want to embrace those differences.  I want to learn from them.  I want to get outside my comfort zone. 

So I guess I’m off to a good start. 

Anyway, here’s the run-down of where I’m going. 

  • Sun, Oct 19: Overnight flight from London to Hong Kong
  • Mon, Oct 20: Arrive Hong Kong 5:50pm
  • Tue, Oct 21: Speak at IABC Hong Kong Chapter event, overnight flight to Sydney
  • Wed, Oct 22: Speak at IABC New South Wales Chapter event
  • Thu, Oct 23: early flight to Canberra, informal member networking event in evening
  • Fri, Oct 24: early flight to Brisbane, speak at IABC Queensland Chapter event
  • Sat, Oct 25: leader development with Queensland board members
  • Sun, Oct 26: flight to Melbourne
  • Mon, Oct 27: Speak at IABC Victoria chapter event, board training in evening
  • Tue, Oct 28: flight to Wellington, New Zealand
  • Wed, Oct 29: Speak at IABC Wellington event, plus board development & media interview
  • Thu, Oct 30: flight to Christchurch, member event and leader development
  • Sat, Nov 1: flight to Aukland, on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Sun, Nov 2: dinner with chapter leaders
  • Mon, Nov 3: Speak at University, Lead a 1/2-day workshop for IABC Malaysia chapter
  • Tue, Nov 4: flight to Singapore, meeting with members-at-large
  • Wed, Nov 5: flight to Bangkok, meeting with members, flight to Phuket
  • Thu, Nov 6: Speak to Phuket PR Network event, flight to Bangkok, overnight layover
  • Fri, Nov 7: flight to Manila, speak to business leaders, speak at IABC Philippines Quill Awards ceremony
  • Sat, Nov 8: flight to Hong Kong, overnight flight to London
  • Sun, Nov 9: arrive London 5am (and go straight home to bed!)

I just added up the total flying time, and it’s a staggering 69 hours (can that really be right?)!  And I have to do the whole trip limited to one suitcase weighing no more than 20 kgs (which is about what I would normally take on a 3-day trip).  Getting WAY outside my comfort zone now. ;-)

I’ll blog and tweet along the way as much as I can, and try to share what I learn and introduce you to members I meet along the way.  Wish me luck and on-time flights!