In This Issue » Are Americans too Busy to Take Time Off? The Impact of All Work and No Play on the Workplace; Tips on How to Get Away » Connecting on a Personal Note: Build Better Business Relationships by Sharing Your Favorite Summer Reads » Client Spotlight: The Secret Lives of Tech Execs: Atlanta VP sets motorcycle record » Surveys Says: Online Press Rooms Essential Tools for Journalists » Client News Corner

Peter visiting a 1700s Irish farm.

Dear Friends,

Another school year has passed and here we sit at the start of summer 2007 - a time when most of us log off, pack up, and leave town for a relaxing, stress-free vacation with our family.

For those of you without summer vacation travel plans, I’m writing with a reminder of just how important vacations and time away from the office can be.  In this issue’s feature article, we discuss tips on how to unplug and get away (truly away – no wireless email or voicemail!) and the benefits for both you and your company.

Myself, I’ve just returned from a trip to my hometown of Manchester, England with my family for the first time in seven years. Many of my Carabiner cohorts are also taking time to hit the beach, catch up with family and spend some much deserved time away for themselves. We wish you the sunniest and sunburn-free of summers!

Hope you enjoy the issue!

Peter

Are Americans too Busy to Take Time Off?

The Impact of All Work and No Play on the Workplace;
Tips on How to Get Away

State of the Nation: We Need a Vacation

The results are in: compared to other business people around the world, the majority of American workers are vacation deprived. An annual Expedia.com survey found that over 51 million U.S. adults suffer the worst case of vacation deprivation in the world, citing the following worrisome findings:

• 35% of Americans end the year leaving on average three unused vacation days on the table
• Work responsibilities are definitely a vacation deterrent: 19% of U.S. adults responded that they’ve cancelled or postponed vacation plans because of work
• 23% report checking email or voicemail while vacationing

How to Really “Get Away” on Vacation

More than one-third (39%) reported to the Expedia.com survey that they feel more productive and better about their job upon returning from vacation. To help decrease stress related to leaving work for a vacation, here are a few helpful tips on how to actually “get away” on vacation.

• As an employer, recognize the productivity benefits to your employees taking time away from work and encourage them to do so. Structure the work environment so team members can fill in for those out on vacation, alleviating guilt or stress about what a vacation will do to workload while they’re away. More importantly, set the example, and take and share your own vacation experiences with employees. Sponsor a company-wide “best vacation story of the summer” contest or host a company bulletin board where employees can post their favorite vacation photos.

• Treat vacation as an assignment that’s part of your job. Just as you schedule mandatory travel for work, treat your vacation plans as an appointment with a very important client: yourself. Schedule it far enough in advance and stay committed to your plans, or you’ll risk doing what 51+ million Americans do: postpone it.

• Try to leave for a full two weeks. While the three-day long weekend has become an American workaholic’s vacation standard, nothing recharges your batteries like a full two weeks away from the office. Studies show it takes at least 2-3 days to get yourself mentally away from the office, so that you can’t recall what’s at the top of your to-do list or what meetings you’re missing while you’re away. In order to get fully “away” physically and mentally, allow yourself the luxury of time to get into the routine of relaxation and your vacation.

• When you leave the office, really leave the office. This means not being connected by cell phone or email from the time you say “see you in two weeks!” to co-workers to when you come back with vacation stories from your African safari or days of beach bumming. In today’s wireless and 24/7 demanding business landscape, treat your vacation as a true time away from the office or its benefits for you personally and professionally will be diminished.

Coming Back: How to Make Re-Entering the Office a Smooth Landing

Prepare for your return before you leave. While not taking a vacation at all can cause stress factors among employees, another top stress factor that holds many back from leaving at all is that dreaded feeling of coming back. What could be worse than returning to 1,000+ emails, voicemails, etc. and projects that need your attention right when you get back?  Help prep yourself for re-entering the office with a few of these tips:

• Get a Vacation Office Partner: Give your co-workers full access to your tasks and the power to make decisions while you’re away. To accomplish this, put feelings of being irreplaceable or territorial to the side and remember that in order to get away from the office, business will need to go on as usual when you leave. While you may be the “go-to” person for different responsibilities in your department or office, ensure that there’s someone else on staff who can effectively handle those tasks while you’re away. This can go over especially well with your co-workers if you offer to do the same for them when they’re on vacation. They can also be the first ones you check in with a day or so before you physically return to the office so you’re prepared to hit the ground running (vs. being “hit” when you run through the door with a million things to do!).

• Prioritize your own projects and ask others checking in with you to do the same. Chances are if it’s hard for you to take a vacation, it’s because you’re a vital person around the office.  On the Friday before you return, co-workers may even have it on their calendars that you’re back in the office that Monday. They have a list of updates, shared work, etc. to share with you the moment you get in. When scheduling follow-up and update meetings, from your boss to your co-workers, manage your productivity in the post-vacation deluge by asking them to assign a priority level to any new task they’re requesting. Wherever possible, if you have too many mountains of work piling up, pull in help with less-busy co-workers or let them know you’re in the red and to assign it to someone else.  No one benefits from your vacation-recharged batteries if you get burned out by the end of the first week.

• Don’t let the email inbox become your to-do list. A friend who went away for a week came back to an email box of 495 emails. An online HR magazine article I recently read cited a two week vacation resulting in 1300 unread emails for one VP. When checking your email the first day back (depending on what your co-workers may have already addressed on your behalf), before sifting through messages by the 100’s, create descriptive folders with assigned “reply” times to attribute different messages to. You can also help avoid the urgency of responding by having an away message while you’re on vacation that gives reference to other office contacts the senders can go to for help while you’re away. (Reflect the same information on your away voicemail greeting.)

• Return from vacation 1-2 days before you return to work. While it’s tempting to stay on vacation till the last possible minute, by scheduling yourself a little re-entry time you’ll save a lot of unneeded stress the first week back. While you should strictly have a no email/voicemail checking policy on vacation, try to rev up and get back into routine by catching up on emails and voicemails from off-site access and even responding a day or so before you come back to office. Check in with one or two co-workers to get up to speed. This will make your first day back seem like another day at work vs. going back to the place you just escaped from on your much-needed vacation.

Client Spotlight:
The Secret Lives of Tech Execs:
Atlanta VP sets motorcycle record

Dave Gerulski, a VP at Atlanta’s Steelbox Networks, set a world record for the fastest TransAmerica motorcycle trip across 16 countries from Alaska to Argentina.

by Allan Maurer
Published in TechJournal South www.TechJournalsouth.com on May 7, 2007

ATLANTA, GA—Steelbox Networks’ Dave Gerulski felt confident from the start that he could break the previous 35-day record for riding a motorcycle from the northern most city you can reach by road, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the southern most city reachable by road, Ushuala, Argentina. But surprises awaited him on the 15,000-mile trip he made in a record-breaking 27 days, 7 hours and 52 minutes.

Gerulski, 44, currently vice president of marketing for Atlanta video security firm Steelbox Networks and a nationally recognized security expert, was then employed by Atlanta’s VistaScape, when he decided to attempt breaking the record for the motorcycle trip in September 2006. “We thought we were being sold,” Gerulski says, “and I thought I was going to have some time off. I’m not good at sitting on a bench.”

So when he discovered the Trans Americas motorcycle world record attempt, he decided to try it to generate $1 million in donations for the Pat Tillman Foundation, despite being essentially a casual motorcycle rider. The late Tillman, whom Gerulski knew in California when both were young, left his promising football career to join the Army Rangers, and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.

“I decided that I was going to follow Pat’s legacy and get up and do something about it,” Gerulski told “World of BMW News.”

Although VistaScape was not sold, “They let me go on the trip,” says Gerulski.

Cold, cold, cold

He worked with two BMW dealers, Bob Woodridge of BMW Motorcycles, Atlanta, and BMW Motorcycles of Scottsdale, AZ, to prepare for the trip. He rode a BMW 650 GS Dakar on the trip, called the 34for40. He had to break the previous 35-day record and 40 was Pat Tillman’s jersey number when he played with the Arizona Cardinals.

“My biggest surprise,” Gerulski told TechJournal South, “I was never so cold in my life. When I left Alaska, it was sleeting and snowing. I had half an inch of ice on my helmet, which I couldn’t put my face shield down because it would fog up instantly. So I had sleet beating on my eyes. But that first day was the best of the trip for Gerulski.

“I always knew I could break the record,” he says, “but what I didn’t know was if I’d get the chance.” Once suited up and on the road, getting the chance buoyed his mood despite the cold and ice-caked helmet. “I went down the road in Alaska with it sleeting and snowing on me, but I had a smile from ear to ear.”

Still, cold plagued him through the entire ride.

Companions quit

“I may be the only person in the world who nearly froze to death in Costa Rica. Out of the 27 days, it rained on me 22. I crossed a lot of deserts, but in most, I was freezing. Even in Columbia, I crossed a mountain where I couldn’t put on enough clothes. The only time I was warm was one day in Nicaragua.”

Although he began the trip with both a video cameraman and still photographer also riding bikes, both quit by the time the trio reached Phoenix, Arizona. One of the lessons Gerulski says he learned on the grueling ride is “how to be alone,” he says.

Rather than lose time stopping for lodging, Gerulski often just pulled his bike over to the side of the road and slept on the ground. The entire trip “wasn’t that much fun,” Gerulski says. “I took it on like a job. I was up every morning at 4 a.m., no matter when I went to sleep.” He had to keep up a blistering pace of 500 miles a day to beat the record.

Selling the bike

“I’m the youngest of six kids. I never lived alone, always had roommates, then got married. This was the first time I was ever alone with myself for 27 days. It takes some getting used to.”

Problems on the trip included numerous mechanical difficulties, including dead batteries due to his overuse of the bike’s electrical system early on, blowing out two iPods so that he did most of the trip without music, and assorted other difficulties. “Even 75 miles from the finish line, a week ahead of the world’s record, I didn’t know if I would break the record because the bike would die on me,” he says.

Gerulski, who is also a woodworker, says generally he enjoys working on motorcycles as much as riding them. He doesn’t plan to keep the BMW he rode on the trip, though. “On the BMW, I want to go really fast and weave in and out of traffic,” he says. He normally rides a more sedate Harley. “It’s much safer,” he adds. So he plans to sell the BMW and donate the proceeds to charity.

Gerulski, who has an 18-year-old daughter who will attend Clemson next year, also does summer coaching and refereeing for girl’s lacrosse. He says he’d love to make the same cross continent trip again without racing.

The security marketing guru also notes that he loves his job and “likes to devote a lot of time to that.” Steelbox Networks, he says, “is one of the hottest companies in Atlanta right now.”

Steelbox solves video distribution and storage problem

Steelbox built an appliance for video distribution and storage, primarily for security applications. It will handle up to 512 cameras with high throughput, provide TIVO like controls to allow real-time playback and analysis, all in high quality. Handling video data is a different animal than handling something like text, he points out.

“Live video cams send back a huge video stream. It can be a real problem.” Steelbox’s technology solves that problem for clients such as college campus or corporate security systems.

Gerulski kept a journal of his record-breaking motorcycle trip at www.34for40.org, which also includes photos, videos, other press coverage and background information.

For more information about Steelbox Networks, see: www.steelbox.com

Surveys Says: Online Press Rooms Essential Tools for Journalists

When 93% of journalists say it's important for companies to have online press rooms, (according to a recent survey by TEKgroup International), we PR professionals take the advice to heart that online press rooms should be a top priority for clients’ media relations plans and website designs. And, as a growing number of consumers get the news of their preference automatically routed to them through RSS feeds, active search engine searches and web videos, the news a company posts to its online press room can have longer legs than just crawling to a publication news desk. The full TEKgroup survey findings can be downloaded here.

We’ll be focusing future Beta editorial to this topic and would love to hear your comments and questions about online news rooms and how to successfully incorporate them into your overall communications programs for media and customers. Send us your thoughts to pbaron@carabinerpr.com.