By Dominic Moore, President, Flux LLC
Last week, I introduced the idea of all travel being a catalyst for business lessons. Early this year, I had an unexpected chance to visit Patagonia and I jumped at the opportunity I never saw coming. Here are a few more takeaways about traveling - anywhere, really - that apply to building a good business of all types.
Explore and travel light
When I travel, I push myself to be inquisitive about the places and people I am fortunate enough to visit. No matter how uncomfortable it may be. My trip to Patagonia was no different. I was always out of my comfort zone – being in one of the least populated and wildest places on the planet. As I explored, I racked up over 4000 kilometers while in Patagonia. That’s a lot of distance in a short period of time and I had to think differently about what I carried with me. In a place like Patagonia, simplicity and utility are valued over luxury and complexity. This was a great takeaway for me as we built Flux. Our entire team takes pride in deliberately going out of our comfort zones to navigate uncharted waters of business and recruitment. Operating lean allows for an ability to adapt to changing business needs and try new things – quickly. And in this day of dynamic business conditions, adaptability to your client needs is imperative.
Take the road less traveled
Seeing the world as just a tourist is an empty way of traveling. Get off the beaten path. Meet residents. Experience local life. In South America, a local merchant we had befriended offered to show us remote lakes he recently came across with “trout so thick he could catch them with his bare hand.” The destination was difficult to reach, but with a 4X4 vehicle we came within walking distance after about four hours. Our reward for the effort was a series of alpine lakes chock-full of trout. We caught more fish in an hour than I could catch in a month back home. More importantly, we saw parts of Patagonia very few tourists will ever see. This applies to business as well: take a chance and make your own path. Get to know and partner with local and industry experts. At Flux, we want to change the way 3rd party recruiters operate - from a commoditized service to a valued business partnership and employer. It starts by creating our own road.
Leave your mark – in a positive way
One of the greatest lessons my dad taught me as a young boy while camping, was to always leave the site better than when we got there. This imparted on me at an early age, a sense of responsibility to take care of the places we were visiting and a strong sense of stewardship to our surrounding. The lesson stuck and I feel the same level of responsibility when I am traveling now as an adult. One of the draws to Patagonia was the fact that it is largely untouched and pristine. There have been great efforts from the Governments of Chile and Argentina along with conservation visionaries, Doug and Kris Thompkins to retain and restore large tracts of open spaces in Patagonia. As a guest of the newly created Parque Patagonia, the sense of stewardship to the natural environment was immensely palpable and inspiring. As we build Flux, I am compelled to operate under the same standards. As a business, we must be great stewards to the places we are fortunate enough to operate in. As recruiting professionals, we must be active in our professional community and give back to the profession that has given so much to us. After all, we are all here for a finite period of time. What we do and how we do it, matters. Before we leave, let’s make it better than when we arrived.