Barcelona Update 2

Sunday before the start of the Mobile World Congress (MWC – the biggest Wireless Show of the Year) is always a big day.  It’s the day that all of the booths have to get constructed and usually there are tons of last minute things to do and get fixed.  This year was no different as we construct our stand, get presentations ready, meetings finalized and demos working.  This is our third year with the same basic booth design and things have gone smoothly so far.  Except that it’s usually freezing inside and this year was no different. Everyone was bundled up and shivering as an icy wind howls through the large halls.

After making sure everything was in order and finishing the kick-off and stand presentations, I had a little time to go for a second late afternoon run before our starting dinner and meeting tonight.

This time, I went in a direction I have not gone before, to the water and around the marina.  This was a more daunting task since I had not gone this way before and would have to remember the way back without dropping crumbs along the way.

Unlike most American cities, Barcelonians like to stroll on a Sunday, no matter the weather and seem to take their time.  It’s always a bit disconcerting to be running through people and groups and in a headphone music world where no real outside sounds come in.

Last year, I was supposed to buy a Barcelona FCB jersey for a colleague and I just never got around to it.  So, after I had almost finished, I took a detour down the Ramblas, a long walking street crowded with tourists and locals.  I found the jersey I wanted and had just started running down the street again.

Did you ever see a face in the crowd and think that he/she looks familar, like someone you know?  So I see this guy for a split second and have about one second to think, “gosh that looks like Marcelo”.  In the next second the guy smiles and I stop running and turn around because he is smiling.  I take off my headphones and it is Marcelo!  He had worked for me in Stockholm more than 10 years ago and is from Argentina.  I had also seen him when I was in BA exactly four years ago just before going to Antarctica.

We started to shake hands and then did the guy/hug thing.  He was here for the show and is working for Huawei now and was with a bunch of his Chinese colleagues.  We promised to catch up later during the show and gave him my mobile so he could text me (which he already has).

Marcelo is just one of those genuinely nice guys who never complained.  He was (and speaking a little out of school here) kind of lonely in Stockholm, separated from his friends and family.  It was kind of funny to run into him in the teeming masses of people but brought a good and needed smile to my face.

One the way back, I just had a feeling I would run into someone else I knew and I did.  I saw this lady wearing an Ericsson jacket and knew it would be someone I would recognize – and it was.  I turned around and it was Betty who is the PA for the Ericsson MD of North America.  We also exchanged greetings and hugs and talk – before she pointed out that I must be cold (on account of shorts I was wearing) and I went on my way back to the hotel.

Starting tonight and for the next four and a half days, it will be non-stop meetings and greetings and being on from before 9am until after 7pm and then dinner gatherings with customers, partners and people.  And in the midst of the quickening pace of the world, seeing old friends is just about priceless.

FOOTNOTE AFTER POSTING:

We were at our company kick-off dinner tonight and one of our guys Sal (who heads up our Italy operation) says he saw someone that looked like me running “a long way from the hotel, down by the marina”.  Then he realized it was me, but he said that it looked like I was running fast and not to be bothered.  Even in a city of 3 million, there is no anonymity