People, process, technology and structure. These are all elements of an effective strategy. They are also how we tend to live our lives, or at least how I live my life, albeit, I don’t think of things in these terms on any regular basis. Many businesses filled with really smart people tend to jump directly to a solution only to find that the solution is inadequate or doesn’t effectively address the issue or issues at hand. The rapid deployment, implementation, and use of technology is a example of this. In my personal life, I’ve found myself doing much the same, enticed by the promises of new technologies. In the past twenty or thirty years of my life, I’ve evolved from my first walkman to my current iPod, enjoyed them all, and yet ultimately found myself doing what I was doing in the first place, listening to music. But I paid no matter to this small detail and have continued to buy the latest technology as it became available. This is why I found myself so perplexed today while walking through Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport, struggling with the realization that I had outsmarted myself or more specifically out teched myself.

I’m very much a creature of habit. I eat at the same four restaurants, run many of the same routes and follow a similar routine whenever I travel. Traveling provides me with an opportunity to listen to podcasts that I’ve accumulated and haven’t had a chance to listen to, mainly because I’m working longer hours or during certain months of the year, cycling or swimming more than I run, which is when I tend to listen to podcasts most often.

While traveling, I also like to rent movies from In Motion, which can be found in most major airports around the country. Sometimes I watch these movies on my laptop while in flight or, well, in motion – at least I always have the intention of doing so. Often, however, I get onto the plane and immediately immerse myself in my work or at times simply fall asleep as soon as I sit down. That’s another one of my in flight routines, waking up long after the pilot’s announcement that we are above 10,000 feet and able to use approved portable electronics.

So it was this evening that I found myself with a few minutes to spare wondering around the In Motion store in Terminal A. While looking to see which movies I’d really love to watch, it dawned on me that my brand new Lenovo ThinkVantage x61 lightweight laptop doesn’t include a DVD Player. The DVD is attached to the docking station sitting on my desk back in New York. Therefore, no movie watching for me. I then thought about purchasing a new music CD – maybe the newest P.O.D. release – but then again, what the heck would I do with it? I’m traveling with an iPod shuffle and about all I could do with the purchased CD is to sit with it in my lap. Without the DVD/CD player in my laptop, I have no way to listen to the music. I began wondering if In Motion might rent movies or allow me to purchase music on a memory stick. That would allow me to drop it into my high speed USB2 port and enjoy my own in-flight entertainment rather than that provided by Delta. Unfortunately, it was not to be, although I figure as laptops get smaller and smaller, and even disappear in favor of road warriors solely carrying around Blackberries, the ability to transfer music or movies directly to a wide variety of devices is probably not far behind. Until then, it’s back to work for me, which after all is probably what I should be doing anyway.