Safe Travel Documents Passports & Visas

For years people from around the world noted that Americans didn’t know much about their part of the world (wherever they were), that Americans didn’t travel beyond their own borders.  Given that as recently as the year 2000 less than 10% of the American population had a passport that was a reasonable assessment.

Today, things are changing.  According to a January 2012 article in Forbes magazine (www.forbes.com) over 100 million Americans, almost one-third of the population now hold passports.  That is  significant growth in a just a dozen years.

Some of that increase can be attributed to the requirement that US citizens now need passports to travel to Mexico or Canada.  But the growth also reflects the change in business patterns.  We are connected to partners, clients, subsidiaries and investors around the world.  No matter where home is, travel is required to connect with customers and team members. 

Our passports may be today's essential business document.  It allows us to leave and return to our own country.  It certifies our identity and nationality.   

However, having a passport may not be sufficient to insure  that you reach your destination. You may need to add a visa giving permission from the country you plan to visit to cross their borders.  The requirements vary. Are you a US citizen going to Turkey, India, Brazil?  You need a visa. Going to France, Lithuania or South Africa?  A visa isn’t required.  Coming to the US from Peru, China or Morocco?  You’ll need a visa.   Coming from Australia, France, Japan or Estonia?  No visa required. 

Before you book your flights and reserve your hotels, check the visa requirements.  They can be found on the embassy website.  A simple Google search will help.  If a visa is necessary there will be forms to complete, photos to attach, documents to be presented.  Each country has specific requirements, including the number of blank pages you must have in your passport.  Don’t be stopped at the airport check in desk and told you can’t board your flight because you don’t have a visa.

One more thing to check  is the expiration date of your passport.  Even if you don’t need a visa be sure your passport  doesn't expire for  at least six months after your departure date from the country you’re visiting. Some countries won't let you enter if your passport doesn't meet this regulation.    While not all countries have this restriction, some do. Double check to be sure you aren't  turned away upon arrival.

Don’t forget to make copies of the passport and visa to carry with you. Scan the documents and email them to yourself.  Put them in a file on Dropbox (www.dropbox.com) or a similar site.  If lost or stolen its easier and faster to replace them if you can present a copy at the Consulate.  .

The most precious document for the traveler – a passport, with an appropriate visa, lots of blank pages and one that expires long after your return home.

Are there bridges to consider?

On the front page of the Wall Street Journal last Wednesday was a headline:  Spain Plans to Burn its Bridges to Keep Vacationers on the Job.


My imagination saw bridges across rivers and roads being blown up.  Debris flying everywhere like a World War II film.  Wrong.  The bridges they plan to destroy are not concrete structures.  These bridges are days of the workweek that link two holidays together.  For example if a holiday falls on Wednesday then Thursday and Friday create a “bridge” to the weekend.  Suddenly a one-day holiday becomes a five-day vacation - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  (
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204652904577197201966972844.html#

Why the concern?  Reduced productivity and competitiveness for Spanish enterprises. Thanks to bridge days people aren’t in their offices.  Meetings are hard to schedule.  Projects delayed.  Just one example was a woman who managed to use the "bridges" to add 14 days to her officially granted 36 holiday days one year.  Thirty-six days became 50 days  - 10 weeks of time off.  Great for the tourism industry.  Not so great for the larger economy.  

But what struck me weren't the difficulties relating to  management issues, projects stalled, decisions delayed.  Rather it raised practical, logistical questions:     How would you know when to go?  When could you schedule a conference, a meeting with a partner, client, customer?  Will anyone on your team be available for an urgent Skype meeting?  What dates do we select for a global conference? 

The article is a reminder that knowing the date of a legal holiday isn’t enough. You need to know the pattern of activity associated with a holiday.  Does everyone travel?  What are the bridge days?  The forms of celebration?  How important is a particular holiday is in the country, the culture?

In a recent newsletter Sonia Garza, of Garza Protocol Associates (www.garzaprotocol.com) pointed out two instances where not paying attention to holidays and the pattern of celebration had an impact on business, politics and diplomacy.  One noted that the Chinese officials did not attend Economic Forum at Davos due to a conflict with the celebration of Lunar New Year. 

The second mentioned that a firm manufacturing in Mexico didn’t recognize the two week holiday that is part of the Christmas celebration there, endangering their ability to deliver an order in early January.

These stories remind us that it isn’t enough to consult a calendar and note the date of a legal holiday.  We have to do some research, ask the questions:  How is the holiday celebrated?  One day or many days?  Remember  - look for the bridges.

Over 100 million people asking: Who will win?

Some might call this the World Cup finals of the US Football (not soccer) season.  Sunday, February 5, 2012 the New York Giants and New England Patriots meet for the right to declare themselves the best football team in the nation (and the world).  It is Super Bowl XLVI, the latest in a series of championship games that began in 1967.

Adding to the interest in this year’s game is the fact that it is a repeat of 2008 when the Giants won a unexpected victory over the then undefeated Patriots.  Will history repeat itself is just one of the frequently asked questions surrounding the game.  Other questions?   What will be the final score?  Which ad will be the best?  How many pizzas, how much beer,  will be consumed while the teams play?

The actual game is only one part of the story.  Gatherings of friends to watch the event are almost as popular as holiday parties.  On Saturday February 3 The Wall St. Journal published articles to help their readers navigate the afternoon.  Check out the  “The 21 Rules of Surviving a Super Bowl Party” and “A Game Guide for Three Types of Fans:  Novice, Casual, Expert.”  (www.wsj.com)

During the last two weeks predictions, team interviews, statistics and analysis have almost overtaken the news of the Republican primaries.  Newt and Mitt (Gingrich and Romney) vie with Eli and Tom (Manning and Brady team quarterbacks of the Giants and Patriots respectively) for most mentions in print, on air, on line.

But it isn’t just the US population that’s paying attention to the event.  The London paper The Guardian  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/04/super-bowl-eli-manning-tom-brady?newsfeed=true) predicts that this game will have the highest TV viewing ever  breaking last year’s record of over 111 million viewers in the US alone.  Given that the game is broadcast to over 200 countries its estimated another 2 million viewers will watch.  While this doesn't even come close to matching the 700 million people who watched the 2010 World Cup finals, it still an impressive nmber.  

So now we have another question.  Will total viewers really reach 113 million, over one-third of the US population, or will it go higher?  How Super will this year's Super Bowl become?

Last May I wrote a post “Africa:  Land of Opportunities”  highlighting the growing awareness that the countries of Africa (a total of 51 big and small) represent significant business opportunities in the years to come.  To see why many share that view take a look at the article “The Globe: Cracking the Next Growth Market: Africa
http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-globe-cracking-the-next-growth-market-africa/ar/1 that appeared in the May issue of Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org).

We know that understanding where there’s potential, being familiar with statistics, market projections and legal issues isn’t enough to build the foundation of a successful expansion.  Rather one needs to know how to operate in an environment, build relationships, understand the future customer. 

To develop a better understanding of Africa, I decided to conduct an informal survey of protocol officers from across sub Saharan Africa.  We were all attending the second Annual Protocol Conference for Africa. (www.protocolconference.net).   These conference participants are people who regularly engage with diplomats and business leaders from around the world.  They know their countries, their history as well as current practices and attitudes. 

As part of my presentation “Working with Americans” I asked the attendees to list three things that people needed to know to be successful working in their country.  Of more than 100 individual responses,  the eight noted below are the ones most often cited:

•    Respect opinions, the diversity and history of the country
•    Learn the culture and traditions
•    Be friendly, courteous
•    Mean what you say
•    Greetings are important, acknowledge people, use appropriate titles
•    Be on time
•    Be collaborative, cooperative
•    Respect the views of others, don’t impose your own

As I read through the list  I realize these statements can be our guides not only for working in Africa.  They make sense as a framework for working anywhere in the world.  Most simply stated the they are:  Respect others.  Know something of the culture, the place.  Be authentic and open.  At home or away, good advice.  Our thanks to the contributors who shared their thoughts.

The Surprising Global Economy

Where are the jobs?  According to Robert Neuwirth, his new book Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy they are everywhere.  They may not be jobs recognized by traditional career counselors but they represent opportunities for people around the world.

According to an interview published in the January 2012 issue of Wired magazine (www.wired.com) the author tells us that the world’s informal economy, gray market, (even black market) employ significant numbers of people (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/12/mf_neuwirth_qa/all/1)
Possibly more surprising is that according to his tally this hidden economy generates so much money that if counted as GDP of a single country, it would be the second largest economy in the world. 

For me, it isn’t the total revenue alone that is impressive but more is the fact that this is an economy composed largely of small entrepreneurs.  People who understand their market and their customer likely to be ones not served by traditional companies operating in the “formal” economy.  They are creating opportunities for themselves, for others and Neuwirth thinks its time that people working in “the shadow of globalization” have much to offer to all of us.

But the informal economy isn’t the only source of new ideas, new jobs, and new companies serving specialized niches within our economies.  If you read the weekly newsletter Springwise  (www.springwise.com) you’ll be treated to a list of new business ideas, trends and innovations going on all around the world.

A recent issue highlighted a Spanish company making biodegradable shoes, a Japanese company with a vending machine for beer, and even a traditional US company, Kraft Foods, who now has a vending machine offering samples of one of their desserts. 

We often hear that of a lack of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and job creation in the nightly news.  But Neuwirth’s book and the Springwise newsletter remind us to look behind the headlines to see what’s happening in unexpected ways in unexpected places.

In the United States we know without question that this is the year of a Presidential election. Ads for/against specific candidates appear on television, radio and billboards.  Articles dissecting the latest trends the primary campaigns, words of the candidates fill websites, print media, blogs, and podcasts.  All of this taking place now, in January, when the election isn't due until November.

With all the media attention it’s easy to believe that the US election is the only one that will take place in 2012.  Notwithstanding that the outcome may have worldwide importance  it is only one of many presidential elections that will occur in 2012.

A look at the website Election Guide (www.electionguide.org/calendar.php) reveals that more than a dozen countries will elect their leaders this year.  The list includes nations often in the headlines:  Russia, France, Venezuela, Turkey and South Korea.  But that isn’t the complete list.  Voters go to the polls in Iceland, Ghana, Finland, and Slovenia, Mali, Turkmenistan, Sierra Leone and Kazakhstan.

Who will the new presidents be and when will we know? Before the November US election Presidents will be selected in other places.  For example January in Finland, Russia in March, and May is the month in France.  Check the list on Election Guide for all the dates to watch. 

As we think about these contests questions come to mind:  Will the timing of an early election shape the results in another place?  How will the Presidents chosen by the citizens in their country shape its connections to others, impact economic and trade policies?  Will cooperation be increased or reduced? For example,  will the relationship between Germany and France differ if the leadership changes and what might that mean for the world’s economic situation?

These questions remind us that we can’t watch just one election, the one in our own country any longer.  In our complex, connected world we must pay attention to the selection of leaders around the everywhere.

Tastes of Travel: Biltong, Koeksisters and Pinotage

BILTONG

When you mention South Africa words that come to mind are often:  Safaris, endangered rhinos, football (soccer), Nelson Mandela, and BRICS (South Africa is the  “S” in this highly influential group of countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and most recently added South Africa.)

When I headed to Pretoria to speak at the second Annual Protocol Conference for Africa, (www.protocolconference.net) I never guessed that my vocabulary would soon include Biltong, Koeksisters (when spoken the name sounds to me like “Crooked Sisters”) and Pinotage - foods and wine I’d never heard of, much less tasted.   In  September  I wrote in this blog that I thought I might taste Boerewors (a type of sausage) but I didn't.  Unexpected treats were what I discovered.

Fortunately I was introduced to all three staying with friends who were the organizers of the conference.  Each was offered as a special treat and they were exactly that and more.  These  are traditional South African foods and wine that are part of contemporary life.  To briefly explain:  Biltong is a cured meat similar to what we in the US call jerky.  It’s often made from beef, game or even ostrich.  Everyone it seems has a favorite supplier and flavor.  For my taste it makes a delicious sandwich (especially when its part of a picnic lunch). 

Koeksisters is a dessert of braided pastry covered in a sweet syrup.  It is so important in the history of South Africa that a recipe for it is in the District Six museum in Cape Town (www.districtsix.co.za).  District Six was the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town in 1867. Originally established as a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants.  It was a once a vibrant community but later was destroyed with black South Africans being the first to be resettled in other areas. By 1982 60,000 people had been forcibly removed and the area flattened.  The museum honors the memory of those experiences and includes wall hangings that are hand embroidered recipes of the foods of that were traditional within the community.

Pinotage is a South African wine made from grapes grown developed and grown there.  The Pinotage Association  (www.pinotage.co.za) describes the wine as:  "Almost always a deep, dark color, it can be an easy-drinking wine with upfront wild berry flavors, or it can lean towards smoky, musty undertones with firmer tannins.”  My tastings included bottles from several wineries, each distinctive and delicious.

Sharing food and wine with long history as part of a country new to me made me feel connected to my friends and new acquaintances in a way that just visiting the tourist sites could not do.  The experience reminds me to search out local foods wherever I travel in 2012 and I hope that you will too.  What tastes will we remember when we begin 2013?