If you have a bucket list item of traveling to all seven continents in one month, I will try to discourage you. Today, it is June 1, 2017 and I am at my home in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque. The month of May 2017 was a whirlwind of travel that had me on the road more than at home.

Spending time with the Worldcom Public Relations Group at our Annual General Meeting started off my travel with five days in Hong Kong. It was my first time visiting the islands of Kowloon and Hong Kong, second time in Asia.

Professionally, the networking and conversations exceeded expectations. It took the form of exploring parts of the city from the longest series of escalators in the world to betting on horses at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Personally, I was able to get in a few runs through Kowloon and look to the skyline each night at 8:10 when the horizon lit up with a lazer light show on Hong Kong Island.

The food… well, let me just say there General Tso’s Chicken isn’t on the menu. But, every part of the chicken is available for consumption. The sweet and savory is more my speed. It was a great culinary experience.

Then it was off to Seattle for the annual Counselors Academy Spring Conference. Having chaired the event many years ago in Key West provided the opportunity to lead the organization this calendar year. The area’s food and coffee were on par with the programming of this year’s event (the reading list derived from this event is quite impressive, more in a future post). I was able to get in some nice runs around the area (always a great way to explore and acclimate) and finished up the event at the iconic Space Needle for dinner.

After a brief reset, it was off on a personal trip to Ireland with my two daughters. It was my first time there. Flew in and out of Dublin, spent nearly all of our time on the west coast. We meandered from Killarney to Newport, seeing the sights on and off the beaten path. While there were so many personal highlight of this trip, I shared those stories to provide business insight from my visit to the Guinness Storehouse factory.
When Arthur Guinness started the brewery in 1759, he signed a 9,000 year lease the four acre factory site at the St. James Gate, in Dublin. The business decision of signing a long (LONG)-term lease for a start-up company would be laughed at today. However, the leadership, persistence, excellence and commitment to bring the “Guinness” vision to life is nothing short of impressive and awe-inspiring.

Also, in the “for what it is worth” department, here is information about the status of the 9,000 year lease via Wikipedia:The 9,000-year lease signed in 1759 was for a 4 acre brewery site. Today, the brewery covers over 50 acres, which grew up over the past 200 years around the original 4 acre site. The 1759 lease is no longer valid as the Company purchased the lands outright many years ago.