Getting to Work

Just to thwart any ideas (ahem, mom!) that I'm not actually doing any work while on this "work trip" I thought I'd give a little insight with a Day in the Life of Me: Working in Shanghai, post:

8:00am: Meet Adam in the lobby of the Park Hyatt to head together to the Google office (which happens to be in the same building - but is down 2 different elevators, outside, around the corner, up 1 elevator, transfer, check in, and then up another elevator).

8:22am: Stop at the Starbucks in the lobby for a pre-work pick-me-up (much needed after the 12 hour time difference induced jet lag & a packed weekend).  Side note: grande skim lattes taste exactly the same in China.

Ready for work at Google Advertising
(Shanghai) Company Limited

8:35am: Enjoy a yummy breakfast of wontons, hard-boiled egg soaked in tea & congee at the Google Shanghai Cafe.

9:00am: Meet the team based in Shanghai - present product roadmap overviews for top 3 initiatives I'm focusing on, provide demos and details on best practices for each platform, and review next steps for engagement in the region.

11:00am: Attend session led by the China team to learn about the digital landscape in China, challenges they face, largest areas of growth, etc.

12:00pm: Team lunch at Google Cafe (yum!)

View from our cafe on the 61st floor

1:00pm: Lead user feedback and troubleshooting session, discuss specific product challenges facing the market/agencies in China.

3:15pm: Grab taxi to head to client meeting #1

4:00pm: Arrive at Chinese digital agency to discuss product launch/activation. (yup - only a few miles away but takes 45 min!  Traffic here is worse than NYC at rush hour.  Plus, cabs have limited a/c so you arrive all nice and sweaty!)

5:00pm: Head to 2nd client meeting (walking distance - phew!)

5:30pm: Meet Chinese agency #2 for tea at Ritz-Carlton lounge (feeling very posh & awesome!)

6:45pm: Wrap up meeting & head (on foot again) to a famous Dim Sum restaurant for a team dinner.

The super awesome Google China Team!

9:45pm: After about 15 courses of dim sum, veggies, soup, noodles, about 20 other dishes and maybe 10 cups of tea, lots of discussions on local customs, favorite spots in Shanghai, single child laws in China, dating in USA vs. Asia and local wedding traditions - one of my colleagues is getting married in a few weeks.  My 2 favorite local wedding traditions I learned about: 

1. On his wedding day, a groom must pass through 5 gates to reach his bride, each presenting a different challenge or question he my face/answer - sort of like a gauntlet to wed! 
2. At the ceremony, the bride must pass an egg (not cooked) up the right pant leg across and down the left pant leg of her groom without breaking it (note: no one could tell me the origin or goal of this tradition, but I thought it sounded hilarious), we head out to the taxi line to wait for a ride back to our hotel.  Allison - I think you & Andrew should specifically consider #2, this would be a total hit at your ceremony! hehe.

10:00pm: Finally get a cab.  Check out the crazy signage in the backseat -- clearly a dig on the internet limitations/blockages in China.

10:35pm: Arrive back at Park Hyatt, exhausted & full.  Head back to room to prep for keynote at the client workshop and client meetings scheduled for the following day.  

11:30pm: Check email, add Shanghai blog post (lest I forget any details of my Sunday), lower the blackout shades and quickly fall asleep.

Hey, it's a tough life, but someone's gotta do it.  I'm just lucky it gets to be me :)