Working When Nature Strikes

Our world is more interconnected than ever. You can hope on a plane to Europe at the drop of a hat, chat with colleagues in India via web video or manage a project in Hong Kong remotely through your cell phone. With all the advances in communications and travel technology, it seems we are expected to be everywhere at any time.

But occasionally nature does intervene. Over the last few days, New Orleans and parts of Texas saw their first snow in years. And on the East Coast, a major ice storm has knocked out power to 700,000 homes and businesses from New York to Maine, according to Reuters. Massachusetts is in a State of Emergency, reports the Boston Herald.
Yet the show must go on. Your customers in Mexico won't be happy if your plane is grounded. And your business partner in London won't have much sympathy if you can't catch a wireless signal. Two feet of snow on your car will inevitably seem abstract to someone halfway around the world who is looking out the window to a sunny day.

So how do you manage your client and other business relationships when nature makes life difficult in your little section of this planet? Join the discussion below.