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.

January: Writing, Walking, and Detroit

Once things settled down from the holidays I was able to get into a regular routine of daily "tweets" and blog entries on my research. Though Twitter seems to attract more attention than the blog, it's rather hard to tell for sure: Twitter sends weekly reports on how many people have read my tweets, and I get notices on people who have re-tweeted or 'favorited' them. It's a little harder to accurately evaluate page views on the blog. However, I do know people read it since I receive emails from people regarding it. One such contact last fall has resulted in my research being extensively quoted in a recently published book on corporate culture, titled "Corporate Cure: How To Build A High-Engagement, High-Performance Company That Will Last" by John Owens. I'm not quite sure what the author's chapter on Building Endurance would have looked like without my research since each page has about five quotes from my most recent paper. I'm a little peeved that he didn't cite the paper in his bibliography, just noted the source at the beginning of the chapter (and then proceeded to use multiple quotes from the paper without re-referencing the source). Guess this is just another prod to get me started on my own book.

Early in the month I had a meeting with my research partner, Makoto Kanda, and we scoped out our work for the coming year. I will write and submit for publication our paper comparing strategies of 100-year-old companies in Japan and the U.S.; he will analyze the data he has obtained on the innovation approach used by old companies and get that to me for writing another paper. We will aim for the July GBATA conference in Portugal for presenting the findings. In April Mako will host a BBC reporter (she had interviewed the two of us for an article in 2013) who wants to conduct case studies on old Japanese companies (shinise) and write a book. Though he'd like me to be there to help out, I will likely pass since I don't want to chance being gone when Alison goes into labor (she is due early May).

Trying to stay healthy by walking in January in Michigan is not easy. Fortunately in Holland we have snowmelt downtown so I am able to avoid the icy sidewalks and still get in 3-4 miles each day. A much more interesting walk than doing the treadmill route.

January ended with a trip to Detroit to visit Nick. We spent the day at the Detroit Institute of Arts, enjoyed a fun evening at the Whitney's "Ghost Bar," and stayed at the historic Inn on Ferry Street - an interesting group of large old houses that have been transformed into a hotel/bed & breakfast spot in Midtown. All our activities were within walking distance of each other (and close to New Center, where Nick lives).

Nick in front of the DIA (or a thinker in front of The Thinker)

Detroit may still have a ways to go to become a tourist destination, but one can put together a very nice visit. We left earlier than planned for the trip home because of a winter storm that descended over all of Michigan. January definitely went out in a fury - the drive home was not a nice way to end the weekend or the month.

Some of the houses forming the Inn on Ferry Street

A fun evening at The Whitney - another old house re-purposed.

December: Strategic Management Society Conference in Sydney, Australia

Since my research partner, Makoto Kanda, is in Tokyo and has little time available to travel (he is currently working both as a professor and as assistant to his university's president), we chose the Strategic Management Society's conference in Sydney, Australia to present the results of our most recent work comparing the behaviors of old companies in Japan and the United States. An SMS conference is a great place to get feedback since their members include business executives and consultants in addition to academics.

I have long wanted to travel to Australia and New Zealand so - though I would have preferred going in January or February rather than trying to fit the trip in between Thanksgiving and Christmas - John and I left soon after Thanksgiving for Auckland, New Zealand. That way I had a week to recover from the very long trip and adjust to local time before the conference. So, first a little about New Zealand, then the conference, and then our travels in Australia.

Auckland, New Zealand: They call Auckland the "City of Sails." It is surrounded by water and there are boats everywhere one looks: commuter ferries, touring ferries, and lots of sailboats. The weather was cool and often drizzling while we were there, but that didn't interfere with our exploring the city. Though much of the city of Auckland is bland and not very remarkable, we enjoyed walking through the park, along the harbor, and trips to Devonport and Waikeke Island.

This red fence runs all along the old harbor.

The bell tower of Auckland University as seen from Albert Park.

Albert Park was a delightful walk in the center of Aukland.

The main activity on Devonport is a walk up Mt. Victoria from which one gets gorgeous views of Auckland and the volcano, Rangitoto Island.

A view of Rangitoto Island from the top of Mt. Victoria in Devonport; below, a sampling of the cute little Victorian cottages in Devonport.

The Auckland ferry port has two of the more interesting buildings in Auckland - the old harbor building in the background and the new one in front.

We also took a ferry to the beautiful Waikeke Island. Many people come here for the beaches and to visit the wineries, but just strolling the "bush walk" was worth the trip. We also had a great educational visit with the owner, vintner, and viticulturist at the Jurassic Ridge Winery.

We wanted to see a bit of the New Zealand countryside so took a bus ride to Rotorua that stopped in several cities and towns along the way - including Hamilton, which is home to Waikato University where I applied for a Fulbright Grant. (The Fulbright Commission in DC lost my letter of invitation so I didn't get the grant, but I'm glad I didn't: everything worked out for the best since I would have been in New Zealand when Alison and Scott's baby is due. Plus, after seeing Hamilton, John couldn't imagine what he would have done there for three months.) Also on the route to Rotorua was a stop at Matamata, home of "Hobbiton" - the movie set for the Shire in Lord of the Rings. Almost everyone exited the bus at that point.

The geography of this area is very interesting - not the dramatic mountains of the South Island of New Zealand, but beautiful rolling grasslands with lots of strange mounds. 

This is the best picture of the 'mounds' we could get from the bus window - at first we thought they were manmade leftovers from building the road or something, but there were so many and the geology of the region is so unusual (boiling "hotpots," geysers, etc.) that we thought there were likely a natural landscape feature. In a little post-travel research I noticed one travel books called these sulphur mounds or mounds volcanic rock. 

I wanted to visit Rotorua for two reasons: its geology is unique - it has the same type of "hot pots" and geysers seen only in Iceland and Yellowstone Park - and it is the center of the Maori culture in New Zealand. 

After a long bus ride we had a relaxing lunch and afternoon walking around Rotorua, opting out of the available tours. The Governor's Gardens were particularly lovely - the sulphur smell from the hot pots was evident, but not overwhelming.

I also found a nice Maori koru pendant.

We caught a direct bus back to Auckland and found our way to a little dive of a place off the main street for what John says is the best burger he's ever had. Grass fed beef does make a difference.
And did you know there are two kinds of kiwi? Gold and green. The gold ones are sweeter and juicier - and likely don't travel as well as the hard, little green ones, which is perhaps why we don't see them in the U.S.

Our New Zealand breakfasts: John's smoked salmon, pickled onions and capers in the back; my yummy yogurt (both here and in Australia, the best I've ever had) with kiwis and cheese.

Australia: Soon it was time to be off to Sydney for the SMS Conference. Sydney welcomed us with a spectacular lightning storm.

The morning after our arrival turned out to be a beautiful day. The conference didn't start until evening so we had time to explore the Sydney landmarks. First, though, breakfast at the Circular Quay with great views of the harbor - and some colorful visitors at the next table.

The Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge. 

During a beautiful walk through the Botanical Gardens we stopped at the outdoor cafe for a "flat white" - like a cappuccino only less foamy. (Just heard that Starbucks is planning to add flat whites to their U.S. menu!)

We met Andrew Burdick, who is working in Sydney, for lunch after which he took us on a brief walking tour of the CBD (Central Business District), including his office building (one of the very nice modern buildings in Sydney), the historic Hyde Park Barracks - a beautiful building constructed in 1819 to house convicts, and a walk through Hyde Park.

The weather was so nice we had to keep reminding ourselves it was December. The next morning all the streets around our hotel were closed off for a "Santa run."

Then in was time for the conference. Makoto Kanda, my research partner, flew in from Japan and we had a great response to our paper. Several people stayed after our session to discuss our research and encourage us to publish. 

We had great conversations with conference participants from Japan and Taiwan at the closing dinner.

John explored Sydney while I attended the conference, including walking the Harbor Bridge and taking a bus tour of the city and out to Bondi Beach. Once the conference was over, I was able to join him on a ferry trip to Manly. Manly is known for its beaches - and they were beautiful. Not being beach people, we opted for one of the easy hikes through the area.

Manly's main beach

It was much more of a "hike" than we were prepared for, so stopped at a cafe on Little Manly Beach - amazingly great food at a tiny little shack (seafood platter for John and lamb salad for me).

On the ferry ride back we had more amazing views of the Sydney Opera House - I never tired of this view.

I had this mental image of Australia being flat, dry, and hot. Wrong. At least the east coast of the country where we were was hilly, damp (we had rain almost every day), breezy, and comfortable. This was reinforced during our day trip to the Blue Mountains, which are part of the dividing range between Eastern Australia and the rest of the country.

We signed up for a van tour to the Blue Mountains and had a driver/guide who was very knowledgable about Australian history, including the indigenous people. On this trip I also learned the difference between the "bush" and the "outback:" The outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia - we didn't go there. The "bush" refers to any lands outside the main urban area, and that's what we visited both on our trip to the Blue Mountains and on our trip to Hunter Valley.

Our first view of the Blue Mountains

On our day trip we stopped first at a wildlife park to see some of Australia's unique animals. I'm not a big fan of zoos, but this was the best (only?) way to see these interesting creatures. And, except for the wombats and Southern Cassowaries which bite, most of the animals were roaming around and not caged in.

Wombats

Didn't realize there were so many kinds of wallabies, including these tiny little rat-like ones

Echidnas

More wallabies

And, yes, there were koalas!

Emus and kangaroos

This one has a baby in her pouch

Southern Cassowary - that's a big "horn" on top of its head

Then it was on to the Blue Mountains and some pretty impressive views of the Three Sisters and other rock formations.

We decided to take the scenic tour that included rides on a "railway, cableway, and skyway" down and back up the mountains, including a "walkway" through the temperate rain forest at the bottom (which also went by an abandoned coal mine). Though rather touristy, it was still fun and the views were spectacular.

 The return trip to Sydney was on a river boat, so we got to experience yet another mode of transportation - and another great view of the Sydney Opera House

We spent our last few days in Australia in the Hunter Valley region, about a three hour drive north of Sydney. John braved driving on the left side of the road through the Sydney suburbs and the winding roads of the hilly old coal mining region and we had a wonderful end to our time in Australia.

Watch out for those wombats! We also saw signs for kangaroo crossing, but the road was too curvy and narrow to stop for a picture.

Once we got on the highway, the driving was less stressful - except for the fact that the GPS system Avis gave us didn't recognize the road (it's quite new apparently) so it didn't know where we were and kept telling us to turn off onto roads where there were no exits.  We also got a little confused when it would tell us to turn off onto slipway road and I didn't see a sign for it - not the name of a street, it turns out, but what they call a service road. At least we had directions from the website of the guest house where we were staying.  

It was a relief to arrive in beautiful Hunter Valley wine country.

The view from the patio in front of our room at the Splinters Guest House. One evening while sitting outside watching the rain we saw a kangaroo hop through. 

 

Australia has unusual (for us) flora and fauna: above is the spotted gum tree, which looks just like camo. One of the Hunter Valley wineries was even named Spotted Gum. 

And I did have to try Vegemite at breakfast. Our hostess told me the proper way to eat it - on buttered toast with the poached egg. This yeasty concoction tasted sort of like spreadable soy sauce to me - good thing the rest of the breakfast (including more great yogurt) was good.

Besides driving around the lovely valley we enjoyed a few wine tastings at places recommended by the B&B owner. A great way to end our trip.

We ended the month of December with a very merry Christmas with the TenHaken-Meshkin-Sale family.