power | HinterVision

I had just finished a session on IBM Design Thinking in a room full of technical analysts. We taught, had some quick exercises, and the interaction was great. Some great questions showed that the audience was thinking deeply about a topic new to them. Some laughed, nodded in agreement, while others asked hard questions and we had rich conversation.

Yet just a few minutes later I was shown the twitter feed.

My heart sank. Sure the rest of the night was filled with other great conversation, complements on the session, how we were spot-on, but the negative tweets really stuck to me.

It’s amazing the power Twitter has to…

…enable anyone to make an accusation without the chance for true human to human dialog

…make a seasoned presenter feel like a incompetent middle-schooler

…

I won’t mention the third.

I guess I need to trust my instincts, engage with real-life humans to learn, get tips, understand, improve, and receive compliments (and complaints) and ignore the smug (and hurtful) assertions that litter twitter feeds from those that sound so confident in virtual-land but don’t seem to want to say it face to face.

An airport is really a kingdom of its own…unique in its inhabitants, food, culture, and currency.

The most valuable currency at an airport is…

…power.

Yep, the glorious 3-holed wonder that gives your devices the chance to charge before you take off in a metal tube to your world-wide destination. Sure, you can hope for a seat with power on long flights (or plan ahead with seatguru.com), but those are virtually nonexistent on domestic flights.

I, like most other travelers, regularly scour the airport for an open outlet…usually defeated since there are so few available…until 2 years ago when my seasoned travel buddy showed a magical currency-generating object…

The mini-power strip.

Now, with mini power strip in tow, I casually walk with my coffee looking for an outlet. When I find one, almost always fully used, I sit down, tap on the shoulder of an currency-rich member of this crazy kingdom and ask: Mind if we share the power?

“Sure!”, I usually hear back.

“Wow, what a great idea!”, I sometimes hear back.

“You must be a genius inventor!”, I never hear back.

The mini power strip not only reduces the stress of your travel, it lets others experience your resourcefulness and preparation since the mini power strip usually allows for not just you to share already-used power, but possibly one or two others nearby.

Oh, and it only adds an ounce or two to your bag.

Give it a try!

Question: What hidden gem do you bring when you travel that you find useful?

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Tag Archives: power

Travel Tip #237: Share The Power