By Mark Buckshon
For three weeks in June, my wife and I visited Portugal, and then cruised through several Scandinavian and Baltic countries. I had some Internet access during the travels, so wasn’t out of touch completely, but left the business to staff and contractors and enjoyed the break, which coincided with my first Canada Pension Plan/Old Age Security payments. Yes, I’m officially a senior citizen now.
Of course it is good to have the business in order so that I can take an international vacation – and there will be more of them in the next several years – though “retirement” is a ways off. Why should I stop working when I enjoy it? But there will be a transition in the next five years as we evolve the business to give key employees/contractors a key place in its future and launch a significant new publishing project, which I expect to announce in September.
As we wandered around very old European cities, I could see clearly the consequences of war and peace, and got a sense of the geography of places currently in the news. (Notably, we spent a day in Berlin and a few days in Russia, visiting St. Petersburg, coupled with an intensive train trip/visit to Moscow). I could see construction cranes and workers in all the major cities; suggesting that the construction economy is currently as healthy in Europe as it is in North America. History melds with current geopolitics and technological advances – and we can see the scale of opportunities in the industry worldwide.
There’s much work ahead. I’m excited about the future and, even though officially I’m now “old”, I feel like I’m just beginning the journey.
Watch for new features, ideas, innovations and publications in the months ahead. It is good to be able to look forward to the future.
Mark Buckshon is president of the Construction News and Report Group of Companies. He publishes a daily blog at www.constructionmarketingideas.com and can be reached by email at buckshon@cnrgp.com.