Recently, while reading Philanthro-capitalism, the author made brief mention of the fact that successful business people who took the time while traveling to get out of their hotels and have real experiences tended to give more thought to the role in their own communities.
It was a point that, like Marketing 101 terminology, I already knew, but the way the author threaded the two issues, the more I realized how my own travel (and general interests in the human condition) have fueled my own work in many ways.
That, while I was myself blinded by the shiny glass buildings on Shanghai’s Nanjing West Road, my extensive travel in Asia told me that beyond the glass facades existed another world. A world that I not simply needed to venture through as a tourist, but that I needed to study and work with.
A process that initially lead me to sign up for my first event with Hands On San Francisco in the late 90’s, would lead me to see that conditions were ripe to form Hands On Shanghai in late 2003/ early 2004, catalyzed my research into the problems China faces with creating a sustainable balance, and drives me to seek out people and organizations that can be solution providers.
Many of whom are themselves well traveled, and are very likely to step out of their comfort zones as well.