Jamie Dimon’s Advice On Business Travel Is A Wake-Up Call To CEOs

A few years ago, travel halted globally. While leisure travel resumed in 2021, corporate travel lagged. However, this trend is reversing. Over two-thirds of companies with under $1 billion in annual revenue are increasing travel budgets this year. Despite the rise of remote work, business travel remains essential for various reasons. According to the 4th edition of Deloitte’s corporate travel survey, US corporate travel spending will reach or even surpass 2019 levels by the end of 2024, potentially growing by 8% to 12% this year. Yet, some leaders remain hesitant.

However, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently emphasized that leaders must travel to avoid failure and being left behind. Here are two key reminders on the benefits of business travel for CEOs and how it will benefit their executive performance, organizational bottom lines, and talent management:

Expansion and Creativity

In a recent LinkedIn This is Working series, Dimon stated, “Leaders have to get out. They have to get out all the time. They have to be curious; ask a million questions.” This action is beneficial due to leaders’ innovation and creativity blossoming when they step outside familiar environments. When leaders aren’t getting out enough, stress, a natural companion to the CEO role, will continue to accumulate. While you can’t entirely eradicate stress, excess and unmanaged stress can shrink the brain, affecting daily performance, according to research in the journal Neurology. Although business trips aren’t leisure vacations, they offer a break from your daily routine while providing opportunities for new experiences, expanding your thinking, and developing empathy.

Speaking of expanding your mindset, open-minded leaders can better process information and operate with a more emotionally intelligent perspective of the world, according to a study in the Journal of Research in Personality. Business travel often involves international exposure. Columbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky found that “foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought,” thus further improving your ability to connect disparate ideas.

With this notion in mind, soft skills become even more valuable in a world increasingly integrating with artificial intelligence (AI). Dimon’s emphasis on curiosity and questioning is not just a suggestion; it’s a principal reminder for effective leadership. Business travel can serve as an opportunity to allow CEOs to get away and become more innovative through exposure to different cultures, markets, practices, and other macro factors.

Staying Ahead Through Better Connectivity

Thanks to AI and other changing workforce demographics, business trends move faster than ever. Therefore, CEOs can become rapidly detached from the on-the-ground realities if they aren’t self-aware. Without adequate travel and boots on the ground, you risk complacency and stagnation. As Dimon warns, “Complacency and politics is the petri dish of death. The antidote is always learning, always being curious.” According to Dimon, corporate travel allows leaders to learn about their competitors, customers, employees, and other global events.

Adding up all of these factors can lead to a higher likelihood of being an early adopter. JPMorgan, an early AI adopter since 2012, has also started to reshape its workforce by focusing on skills development and overlooked talent pools, such as ex-convicts and applicants without college degrees. Regularly stepping out of the office provides a more accurate portrayal of your team’s well-being and future trends, thus offering a strategic edge over CEOs who aren’t as hands-on.

While business travel has its challenges, the benefits outweigh the negatives. CEOs can leverage travel to reflect, learn, and grow, thus strengthening their leadership abilities, mental health, and executive brand.