The Security Catalyst

As a coach, consultant and speaker, you can imagine I’m not a stranger to airplanes. And to be honest, aside from the time away from family, traveling with the right attitude is really not so bad. But if you also find yourself traveling, I have a small favor to ask, whether you are on a bus, train or plane –

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE… LOOK BEFORE SLAMMING YOUR SEAT BACK!

Chances are that if you’re reading this, you own a laptop, and if you’ve flown, you’ve dealt with someone literally SLAMMING their seat back - and then it catches the top of your laptop, creates a nifty “crunch” sound and then you adjust, typing with little space. Generally there is no harm, but man does it cause a short term rise in blood presure. And if you’ve not yet experienced this, sadly, you probably will. When you fly (or take Amtrak), please be wary of the person sitting in front of you.

And before you caution me on how to position myself — I have learned to position my laptop more carefully - but whether flying in coach or first class (hey, status sometimes has benefits), I’m continually amazed that the way people don’t pay attention to what is around them… and simply “slam back.”

I’m all for resting back - and have at it. But PLEASE - look before you leap (or slam back) and consider going slowly. I think everyone would be better suited if we all practiced a bit more “situational awareness.” And we’d probably have a few less hostile moments and injured laptops.

Thanks.

PS: I guess we could consider this the “Physical Security of your laptop?”

**Updated** When I wrote this, I didn’t mean for it to sound negative. I actually had a wonderful travel experience heading to PHX and am looking forward to an exciting week. I just wanted to comment on something that happened to me (again) and that I witness all the time. Have a great week!

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