Introduced in 2022, are not about popular tourist sites. They simply feature things that intrigued or inspired us during our travels. Short, with several photos. Our friends have found the format refreshing. And we have titled them by city to make it easy for you to go to those that interest you. The posts before 2022 feature some ideas for making decisions about how your career plays out.
We got our first personal taste of an impact of Brexit upon arriving in London. Everyone on the ship, even those not going ashore, had to go through immigration because they are no longer part of the EU. We were taking the train into London to meet a good friend for the day after the ship docked at 8 am. There was a delay in clearing the ship, then of course the immigration. Apparently the port authorities did not have the immigration officials in place when needed. A huge line formed, as you can see from the pictures. The ship did not do a good job of managing the queue, so people who felt they were entitled to not be in the big line found other ways to cut in — and not a single ship person was around to manage it. It took an hour from the time we joined this line — and as you can imagine many people were not happy.
The real point is that anyone entering or leaving the UK now has to go through this. And at least there was no luggage involved.
We were asked what these wooden contraptions were early in our tour of Kotka Finland. At first we thought fish cleaning because they eat a lot of fish in Finland. Of course, we missed the sign in English saying “no fishing”!
We learned that they are for cleaning rugs. Finns do not have wall – wall carpeting. They use throw rugs. When summer arrives in June they bring them here to the side of the sea. After shaking them out they scrub them with sea water and soap made from pine needles. The process is very social, with lots of catching up while enjoying the arrival of summer. Once scrubbed they can squeeze out the extra water with the rollers and hang them here to dry.
It is a custom that goes back centuries. Now the European Union is pressuring them to stop — because they might be polluting the ocean. If these racks get destroyed by a storm they will not be allowed to rebuild them.
The archipelago of Stockholm is dotted with adorable red cottages and houses, and a few yellow ones.
It turns out that there is a bit of history in the red cottages and houses here. Dating back to the 800’s Sweden has had an abundance of iron ore. The residual from mining is used to make a red paint named Falu Red. It is less expensive to produce, so it became very popular.
As time passed some of the wealthy decided that the red paint also symbolized those who could not afford a different color, and they painted their houses yellow or gold to flaunt their wealth. Pretty ironic, because Falu Red also proved to have some amazing properties. Most houses in Sweden are wood because of the abundance of forests. Falu Red is permeable, meaning that it allows the wood to breathe and does not trap moisture — so it avoids rot. It also had built-in UV protection, and lasted and lasted and lasted without adding another coat and without a primer.
In the late 1500’s the Swedish government decided that the class distinction was not a good thing, and began to encourage the end of Falu Red. At the same time what is now old town in Stockholm was being developed, with stone or brick construction. A variety of blends of red and yellow became fashionable. In 1687 the Falun mine collapsed, ending copper mining there. Falu Red did not go away however. And now its many positive properties are appreciated, and luckily it has a new lease on life. Despite no mining for more than 300 years they estimate enough residual materials from the slag remaining at the mine to produce Falu Red for another 80 – 100 years.
We see Falu Red homes and cottages as a distinctive part of the charm of the Stockholm archipelago.
While in Amsterdam we visited the world’s largest market for flowers and plants — Royal FloraHolland. We were fascinated by learning how quickly fresh flowers move through the system, and how quality is graded.
Major growing regions include Kenya, Ethiopia, Israel, Belgium and Germany, with Dutch growers. Flowers are picked, boxed and air shipped to Amsterdam. They are kept at 35 degrees (roses 42 degrees) throughout the journey, and timed to arrive between 2 and 6 am.
Upon arrival they are photographed, graded, issued scanning codes and put in containers that are a global standard for shipping (with water). Then they are moved to the ready for auction area.
The auction is a reverse dutch auction, meaning that the price starts high and drops until someone hits the “buy button”. The person who hits the button first gets the deal but is paying the highest price. It moves fast. 32 auction clocks produce 96,000 auction transactions on an average day. The buyers used to be on-site. Since COVID they are all remote, and will remain that way.
Once purchased the containers are moved to the “gathering” area, A buyer is likely to purchase multiple lots for multiple groups, so it gets pretty complex. The various lots for each buyer need to be assembled for shipping.
Good to know: Buyers are really agents, and can represent many different groups. A pattern has emerged that buyers representing supermarkets bid the lowest, and get the wimpiest flowers.
As soon as the buyer completes their order their lots are moved to the shipping area, typically before noon. Then they are loaded on a plane, still in their standardized containers. By 3 pm they will have arrived in New York, for example.
Some key facts:
The physical space under one roof is the size of 250 soccer fields. Twin facilities this size – one for flowers and one for plants. As you can imagine, tractors and carts are in constant motion to achieve this kind of volume. Some quick facts:
2.8 billion roses and 1.8 billion roses sold annually
Average daily sales = 18.2 million Euros, 44 million flowers
The auction started on a pool table in a local cafe in Aalsmeer in 1910. It has certainly come a long way!
(scroll below for photos)
–– Jim Deupree
My collaborator for this post was Frank K, our superb tour guide for five days. We toured from Brussels to Amsterdam with him, then from Amsterdam to Bruges. In between in and around Amsterdam. Highest recommendation.info@holland2go.nl
Ready for auction areasConstant motion is fascinatingReady for shipmentAuction is all remote these days, but the screen buyers see is the same as it wasJim giving it a try
Windmills are a favorite subject of artists and photographers. They intrigue us! We mostly associate them with Holland, or The Netherlands. Now only about one tenth (1,000) are left. Before we answer the question about where have they gone it dawned on me that I did not know why they are there, and why so many in that part of the world?
Half of the windmills in The Netherlands were industrial, used for grinding grains, pressing seeds into oil and sawing wood. Similar to water wheels in the USA. The other half were for water management. One fourth of The Netherlands is below sea level. Not just Amsterdam – the whole country. Sixty percent is at sea level or below. Much of the farmland and some villages were reclaimed from lakes hundreds of years ago. So the whole country depends heavily on a system that moves water to the sea. And not just after a big storm. All the time.
That system begins with ‘ditches’ cut into the fields to collect water. The ‘ditches’ also form boundaries in the farms, so no fences are needed to contain livestock or define property lines.
Water from the ‘ditches’ is pumped into collection canals (also called ring canals), which are at a slightly higher elevation. Long before there was electricity that was the job of the windmills. To pump the water. They were not just decorative. They were essential.
Then the water is pumped again from the collection canals to the rivers, which have built-up banks (levees). Windmills did that as well. From the rivers the water flows to the sea. Today it is all done by electric pumps, so the windmills are no longer needed. This whole system is governed by a Management Board, whose officials are elected. It remains a very important role, because they inspect every ditch, collection canal and levees, and the pumps, twice a year. They also control the remaining windmills, and decide which ones to maintain.
Some of them are now leased as residences, and the occupants are required to operate the windmills a designated number of 60,000 rotations a year to keep the mechanism working.
On the right side of this photo is a levee, and on the left side (not visible) 15 feet below the road are houses. They sleep well at night knowing the levee will protect them.
One other intriguing fact. How much water needs to be pumped varies. More after a big storm. Less after a dry period. So how did they control the speed of the windmills, and therefore the pumping? With sails! Each windmill blade has a canvas ‘sail’ that can be unfurled to cover more of the blade. More sail – more speed! And the blades of the windmill or sometimes the entire windmill can be turned into the wind direction. This simple solution also goes back 400 years. They can only operate them while at home because tending the sails on the windmills is like sailing a ship — it has to be constantly watched with changing winds.
The heritage and beauty of windmills became important around 50 years ago, and today they all have a special monument status and are protected.
–– Jim Deupree
My collaborator for this post was Frank K, our superb tour guide for five days. We toured from Brussels to Amsterdam with him, then from Amsterdam to Bruges. In between in and around Amsterdam. Highest recommendation.info@holland2go.nl
I was catching up with one of our busy clients recently when the subject of vacations came up. This client turned down some lucrative roles five years ago because they wanted a better balance of life, instead hanging out their own shingle. The business has gone very, very well.
So now, as they approach a big symbolic birthday, I asked about the balance of life part. “Not much to report there” was the answer. I introduced the idea of a three-week vacation — in part to celebrate the landmark birthday. The response was Wow! Really! So I asked what their longest ever vacation had been. “One week – maybe with an extra day or two” was the answer. I know from many conversations that they are certainly not alone.
But why? On a one-week vacation busy executives spend the first three days thinking about all the things they left hanging. Then they spend at least the last two days gearing up to get “back in the saddle”. One or two days of R&R is just not enough, particularly as we move up the age ladder.
So what about two weeks? Is that a good starting point? Better than one week, of course. But not if it is laid out to rush from place to place to see and do as much as possible. The alternative worth trying is three weeks, with every 3rd or 4th day being unscheduled. That leaves time to deal with any crisis that occur, yet still really enjoy some quality time off and with loved ones or friends. It is enough time to truly refresh, and feels so good the first time you actually do it. For example, we frequently combine a river for ocean cruise with a week “on land” in one or two places. Three weeks might be a week one place, the cruise, then a week at another location. That is a vacation!
While we are on the topic, my lovely wife has a “buy a ticket” saying. The idea is simple. If you say you want to do it yet take no action then in the end something will get in the way. If you buy a ticket you will put it on the calendar in ink and make it happen. As we emerge from COVID people are buying a lot of tickets for travel, and choices are getting leaner. So if you like this idea it makes sense to buy a ticket — even for 2023.
I am pivoting our blog to a “Beyond the Office” theme. The goal is to stimulate ideas for how to have fun beyond work — for the present and the future.
We went on a Crystal cruise in late October — kind of spur of the moment. One criteria was it had to be US to US, in our case Miami. We wanted to avoid any international flights or re-entry.
A big criteria was health safety. Everyone (crew and passengers) had to be fully vaccinated. Still all passengers were tested on the dock before being allowed to board. Contact tracking bracelets were issued. Crew and officer had to always be masked. Temperatures were checked upon entrance to every dining venue, and every entry to the ship.
Our first moment of truth was when, after all of this, we arrived in the ship’s foyer and were told that mask wearing was recommended but not required on the ship. It was the first time in a year and half that it was possible to be with strangers and not wearing a mask, and we had to ponder for a bit. We went to the elevator with our mask on, then went to our stateroom, then decided to leave our mask there. How freeing to not have it on your wrist!
The other delighter was that our ship had a capacity of about 1,000 passengers, and there were only 250 on board. We could have any lounge we wanted around the pool, and dine anywhere. It was like a private yacht. Not good for profits for the cruise line, yet everything was top drawer. The speakers, entertainers and crew. We love to dance, and had the dance trio to ourselves. They quickly learned the dances we do, and just played those rhythms.
Net is that we were so happy we took the chance. It was wonderful to be free for a week, in the Caribbean, just relaxing and soaking up the sun. And we felt safer that week regarding health risks than we had for more than a year.
What should the primary driver be for our career?Is it compensation?Title – resume value and prestige?Balance of Life?Personal health?Mission and purpose?What would you put at the top of your list?And what would you put second?
I have witnessed several recent examples that stimulate these questions.One was a person that was in global demand as a speaker and trainer, traveling to several cities around the world every week.Obviously good at what they did.Then in a candid moment they acknowledged that when they got home Friday they became a puddle, and did not feel human until sometime Sunday.Even though they were good at it all of the speaking and interactions with people it demanded were constantly draining.Should that person keep doing the same thing, or make a change?
Another example is much more positive — yet may seem like a radical thought.Where would you most like to live?Not where are the jobs — just where would you really like to live?One client began with that question — and the answer was Wilmington NC.They loved the arts, water and sailing.It was close enough to children (and hopefully grandchildren some day) to visit regularly without being too close.So they made location first choice, then we figured out how to make a living within that location.
As I look around I worry because people are holding onto jobs because the title and perks are “what is expected”.Siblings debate who is more successful?So do friends.Yet by what measure?Cars, boats, baubles and houses — or true happiness and contentment?
We applaud millennials because they will not remain in a job, or company, they do not enjoy and respect.Sometimes it frustrates “us”, because they think differently and march to a different drummer.Maybe they won’t end up with as much money?That does not seem to be their driver — and they do seem to be enjoying a less stressful life and having fun.Just saying!
As we observe the news, most of us have a desire for finding a way to melt the obvious tensions in our cities. Polarization seems to only grow. In an Atlanta roundtable of notable leaders committed to the Servant Leadership model, we recently tackled this question. Four actions we can all easily do as individuals emerged:
Have one positive uplifting story (about someone else, like a good deed from the news) to share each day, and share it often
Do not repeat anything you have not verified as truth
Be careful not to attribute malice to something that can be equally explained by ignorance
Pause and consider – what’s the motive behind your comment?
Imagine the difference that would result from broad adoption of these four commitments!
On a broader scale, what is the Servant Leadership approach? Per Robert K. Greenleaf, it is:
“the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served.”
The best Servant Leadership test, yet difficult to administer, is:
Do those served grow as persons?
Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants to others?
And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least be less deprived?
Through our lens, the four actions listed above will help everyone, including those who are searching for trust and “a voice.” Anything we can do to share respect and avoid adding fuel to the fire has to be good. Personally I do everything in my power to live by the Servant Leadership model.
If you would like to learn more about the Servant Leadership model, the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership web site is an excellent source:
A question often raised is whether age discrimination about job opportunities is real, or perceived. There are many opinions, yet few facts. A recent CNBC article provides more facts than most conversations on the sensitive topic, and claims discrimination happens in various ways.
It leads off with “Older Americans struggling to overcome age discrimination while looking for work face a new enemy: their computers.”More people need to work longer, and more people want to work longer, so this is a growing issue.
TheCNBC article points out some positives.“Online job-hunting tools should be making things easier for older employment seekers, and it can. Indeed.com, which claims to list 16 million jobs worldwide, currently lists 158,000 openings under its “Part Time Jobs, Senior Citizen Jobs” category. Monster.com, which claims 5 million listings, has a special home page for “Careers at 50+.””
It goes on to say “In other ways, however, online job sites can cut older workers out. Age bias is built right into their software, according to Madigan. Job seekers who try to build a profile or resume can find that it’s impossible to complete some forms because drop-down menus needed to complete tasks don’t go back far enough to let older applicants fill them out. For example, one site’s menu options for “years attended college” stops abruptly at 1956. That could prevent someone in their late 70s from filling out the form.”
We have several potentially controversial points of view:
Very few people land jobs via job sites, so even if true the effect is limited
There are some fields (e.g. Marketing) where age discrimination does seem real and pronounced
Those wishing to continue working in leadership roles in their sixties and beyond need to have a strategy for pivoting to roles that value silver savvy experience over youth.
