“I forgot how to pack!”

My wife and I don’t travel as much as I imagined we would when I retired in 2018. Part of that is on me. I travelled for a living for almost forty years and the last thing I was interested in was another trip on an airplane or another night eating the Marriott grilled chicken salad at 10:00 p.m. Then came Covid.

But now we are starting to travel again, which caused me to notice that I had lost a core consulting skill – packing! I literally used to spend ten to fifteen minutes packing a suitcase for a week away. This time I was spending hours to pack for four days, yep hours.

I remember the movie depicted above, Up in the Air, Where consultant Ryan (George Clooney) schools newbie Natalie (Anna Kendrick) on how to pack – “small carry on suitcase, separates, suit jacket that doubles as a blazer, two pair of shoes that go with everything, one in your bag the other on your feet.“

I remember learning that my HUGE Tumi garment bag was completely impractical, too big for aircraft hanging closets (remember those?) and too loose for the luggage belt, straps got caught.

I remember telling newbies “buy the best rolling carry on you can afford and never check luggage.

• Get your shirts laundered starched and folded so you can just throw them in your bag, The front will stay unwrinkled, which hanging shirts stuffed into any kind of bag will never do.
• Have one clear travel toiletry bag that you never unpack except to refill shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, shaving cream, Tide stick, and emery boards.
• Spare cufflinks, and collar stays. (If you wear a French cuff shirt, learn to make cufflinks out of big paper clips and carry some brass ones.)
• Leave the three pound gold Rolex at home. It annoys teammates and clients and is a personal safety risk.

In your briefcase, in small clear plastic bags:

• First aid kit (every size band aid, antibacterial ointment, butterflies, alcohol swabs and q-tips)
• MacGyver repair kit (duct tape, paper clips, wire. twine, super glue,)
• International electric plug converter.”
• Organize your hard drive so you can find anything near instantly and carry as little paper as possible.

Where you live and where you stay

Some firms are local or do work regionally so where you live isn’t as important, but when you fly every week a two hour drive to and from the airport gets old very quickly. Likewise some firms have arrangements with a particular hotel chain, so teams stay where they are told, but if you have a choice:

• Near the site is better than near downtown or the airport.
• A hotel restaurant that opens at six and stays open till ten pays dividends.
• A workout club that has no hours is preferable. Plan your workouts for early morning as the end of the day is often unpredictable.
• Some consultants do cleaning and laundry at the hotel and leave their bag over the weekend. Don’t expect clients to pay for that and expect some comments if you keep wearing the same clothes.

Clubs and Miles

Airline clubs are worth the expense if you travel internationally a lot or fly on often delayed  routes or have meetings  or otherwise work at airports. Otherwise save your money.

Airline loyalty programs aren’t as good as they once were, but they still allow you some “free” personal travel. The key is not to obsess about miles by taking inconvenient stopovers or other promotions. Also periodically check your ego investment in ”status.” Yes, you are more likely to find overhead space for your carry-on if you board before group 1, but in the grand scheme of things, how important is that really?

Up in the Air again

I think everyone considering a job in consulting should watch this movie. OK, the kind of consulting they do is despicable, assisted downsizing i.e.,  hatchet men who fire people for managers without guts. However, the characters have some real epiphanies.

Ryan (Clooney) is a doofus whose life goal is to become an American Airlines Advantage ten million miler. He is good at firing people because he has enough empathy to help people through a difficult time. He expends all his emotional energy in his job and is completely disconnected from family, and anyone who might care about him. He considers himself self-sufficient even speaking to groups telling them eliminating emotional “baggage” is the way to be happy.

Natalie (Kendrick) is enamored with technology and thinks you can do this work by email and Zoom. She also struggles to maintain a relationship with her boyfriend.

Alex (Vera Farmiga) seems carefree and self-sufficient like Ryan, but she’s living a lie.

I won’t totally spoil the movie for you. Let’s just say the characters grow.

The reason I suggest every new consultant watch it is that consulting can be a lonely life. You must be comfortable spending large chunks of your time alone. Oh, yeah, you’ll have some work friends, but teams change when a project ends. And the last thing any of those people wants to do on a weekend is meet socially with the people they just worked fifty hours with over the last week.

So you need to cultivate friendships, relationships with neighbors, and plan time with family.

• It may be surprising that many consultants are introverts. Schedule your decompress time, then make yourself see family and friends.
• Do things with people, make memories. Don’t just “hang out” because you need to decompress.
• Don’t make your spouse your social director. There is a reason most lifer consultants have been divorced at least once. I do know some consultant couples, usually second marriages. Some are happy.

Mostly don’t let the consulting lifestyle go to your head. Develop other interests, grow outside of work. Discover what things others are interested in. You’ll be more interesting, more able to help clients, and maybe even a better person.