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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1458960
Tripping: The Inner Journey Edition As corporate travel gears back up, here's how to take a different kind of trip, plus new ways to empower your business by Charlene Rooke C A R R Y ON T H R E E ' S T H E C H A R M Vancouver company ElectraMeccanica is finally poised to make major inroads in U.S. markets like California, Arizona and Oregon with its Solo, a three-wheeled, single-passenger electric vehicle (expected to sell for less than US$20,000). Licensed like a motorcycle but built with auto-level safety features, it could be a corporate-fleet, car- share or delivery (the upcoming Solo Cargo model has a customizable freight hatch) game changer. JET SETTER Guests at Nightingale restaurant in Vancouver last winter didn't just get a meal: they got schooled. Toronto- based etiquette expert SUSY FOSSATI, trained at the top U.K. institution English Manner, runs adult etiquette workshops in B.C. that are ideal for global businesspeople, whether you're interacting with colleagues virtually or in person. "It's about building confidence, grace and being your most likable self, at all times," Fossati says. As international business travel ramps back up, insight into local protocol "can be a very powerful tool," she notes. "We always want to respect the rules of etiquette in the country we are visiting." Two years into virtual meeting culture, "it's still so surprising to see the consid- erable amounts of faux pas happening during Zoom busi- ness meetings," Fossati says, recommending business-casual office attire head to toe (ditch the sweatpants-and- COVID- shirt combo), muting noisy backgrounds and avoiding eat- ing and drinking on camera (and camera-on is the polite default setting: "You are your living brand, at all times," she says). Through her company, Avignon Etiquette, Fossati also customizes private sessions, and has given groups of women and small businesses adult- specific etiquette training, as well as children's instruction. • MIND POWER Sens.ai (top) claims that its headset can improve some cognitive functions; Field Trip Health offers medically supervised, psychedelic- assisted therapy Susy Fossati Not every trip is about pack- ing a bag: discover these two executive-health voyages of discovery without leaving B.C. BRAIN TRAINING CAMP Whistler-based wearable neuro- technology company Sens.ai is making the neurofeedback training used by top athletes and executives more accessible. Its headset (around US$1,000) stimulates alpha, gamma, theta and SMR brainwaves. Sens.ai claims that by using neurofeed- back training for 20 minutes, three times a week, over eight weeks, users can expect en- hanced calm, sleep, creativity and concentration. A study showed 19-percent faster think- ing speed, 16-percent better ac- curacy in timed tasks requiring classification, decision making and physical response, and 12-percent faster physical reac- tion time. The company raised MARCH/APRIL 2022 BCBUSINESS 59 ( quality time ) half a million U.S. dollars from early adopters through an Indiegogo campaign last year, and with a production run in progress, "we will go into a more traditional direct-to-con- sumer sales process" in Q2 of 2022, says CMO Kevin Corkum. LOCAL (PSYCHEDELIC) TRIP Visiting the new Vancouver location of Field Trip Health could be a transformational journey. "We provide ketamine- assisted therapies to people who need them to help im- prove their mental health and well-being," says executive chair Ronan Levy. "Our clients tend to be corporate execu- tives who recognize that their mental health and well-being are essential for not only their happiness, but also their performance." A pioneer in evidence- based, medically supervised, psychedelic-assisted therapy, Canadian company Field Trip opened its first clinic in Toronto and now has nine North American locations, plus one in Amsterdam, and dozens more planned by 2024. The Vancouver outlet is its first to include alternative therapy spaces where local healers can also offer services.