In one week I have been living in one of three different time zones. Nothing all that remarkable about it, just a bit different. I know that in my global travels that I have been in more than three time zones in a week and I am certain that some readers have done the same. One takeaway was that I did develop a core competency in how to change my digital watch to the local time. (Which is very helpful)

OK, to the point of today’s post – I have a few observations that come when you pass through the different time zones (focused on the US for now) in a short period of time. First, with most of us living on the east coast we do not realize how east coast centric the country is. It starts with Wall St. who opens at 6:30 am PST and it ends when the nightly news is played at 4 pm PST (yes we can do time delayed broadcasts but with live news that sort of thing doesn’t make a lot of sense). Second there is a question of social protocol. How are you supposed to gauge when to call / text (or not) someone from one time zone to another? Is there a different expected response time? Does it matter if you are on the east reaching west or vice-versa. What I have found out is that it is easy to connect at the wrong time. Are you supposed to start early or late to stay in touch? I am sure that these kinds of minor inconveniences can cause some strain but they are avoidable. Lastly, what are the expectations for how people interact with each other – we have all heard about the East coast work ethic and the West coast lifestyle approach. Is one better than the other – should we conform or let live as is fitting with the local lifestyle?

Seems to me the question that all of this begs relates to how you use core values to guide the answer to a question. Thus we need to change our thinking and start with the mind of cooperation and respect; Then we can start with common values and purpose, and the tactics will work their way out. But do not forget, if you call or text home when on the west coast do so before dinner – it might just get the message responded as you wanted it to be.

Loving life regardless of time zone…

Ciao

Joe