Thursday, February 5, 2015

February: Database & Blog Work; New Paper Finished; Florida


To escape the bitter cold and snow in Michigan, we planned a driving trip to Florida in February. It was delayed a bit because of some bug John caught, but we still made it later in the month. In the meantime, I was able to do quite a bit of work updating my database of 100-year-old companies, finding additional information on some companies celebrating 125th, 130th, and 150th anniversaries in 2015, identifying 4th generation family-owned companies for a PR firm working on an article profiling a company turning 100 this year, and searching out firms established in 1915 to add to the database. Much of this work will end up on my blog and daily tweets.



The real work this month has been writing, editing, and formatting a paper for the summer GBATA conference to be held in Portugal. After several rewrites and edits, it feels good to have it finished and sent it off to the reviewers. I've also been working on editing the paper proposal Makoto Kanda and I presented at the Strategic Management Society Conference in Sydney. I'm awaiting the tables Mako is preparing before submitting it to the SMS Global Strategy Journal. Feeling good about having two papers in the works.
                                             
Savannah Bed & Breakfast Inn



On our way to Florida we stopped in beautiful Savannah for a few days and stayed at a delightful B&B in the historic district, which made for convenient walks around the city to see each of the 22 squares plus a cemetery and a few parks. Had our best meal of the trip in the shrimp and grits breakfast at the Savannah Bed & Breakfast Inn - not something I would ever have ordered from a menu, so I'm glad we didn't have a choice!

 The Inn's front door (just across from Chatham Square) and back courtyard.
It was great to see sunshine, green leaves, and blooming plants.

Then it was on to Leesburg, Florida to visit my parents. It was great to see them doing so well - and John even played cards! (Up and Down the River and Pinocle)
Looking good at 86 and 88 - and they still beat me at cards.
We had great driving all the way to Florida and back - until we reached northern Indiana on our way home when we suddenly ran into blowing snow and icy roads, including complete white-out conditions at times. The lake effect storm delayed our arrival home by about an hour but we made it without incident. We had an interesting stop in Bowling Green, Kentucky for our overnight on the trip back: they had more snow than they were used to, plus extreme cold. As a result all schools were closed for the whole week, even the university. Apparently the side roads were still icy when we passed through, but the highway was clear. Some interesting ice formations made for a very pretty drive.

Upon returning to Michigan, we had more record cold and snow to endure before the month ended. Not able to do my walking routine because of the weather, I finally started work on my book! (No more excuses.)  Whenever I present my research on old companies, people would encourage me to write a book about it because they thought the information would appeal to the general business population, not just academics. I'm still not sure I have enough to say for a whole book, but I'll give it a try. If I don't do this while on sabbatical, it likely won't ever get done so we'll see how it goes.



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