This week, I was challenged to write about ‘how I work.’ Inspired by LifeHacker, Anthony Iannarino moved the idea into the sales field.
The progression has gone: Anthony, Charlie Green, Dave Brock, Dave Stein, Jill Konrath, Trish Bertuzzi and now me
Here’s the Inside Scoop:
Location: Denver, Co and Vail Colorado (all depends on the snow). If I’m working in Vail, it’s not uncommon for me to take calls from the chair-lift. I know some of you have experienced this. If I could figure out how to reduce the background noise, I’d take calls on my headset while making turns down Highline or Rivas Ridge.
Current Devices: MacBook Pro Retina 15 Inch, Iphone 5, IPad 2, Beats or Skull Candy headphones and a can of RedBull.
Apps/Tools/Software I can’t Live Without:
Hmmm? Live without, them are some strong words. My angle is gonna be, what do I use everyday;
A Lot of Apps: I get a lot of work done from my phone.
Hootsuite, I do most of my tweeting while on the go. So, Hootsuite for sure.
CamScanner app turns anything I take a picture of into a pdf or a jpeg and allows me to email it right from my phone. No more paper receipts, fax machines, scanners or anything for me. From paper to phone to accountant, customer, vendor etc in 5 seconds flat.
Echosign is the best. Nothing worse than waiting to have a contract signed, then having to scan the hardcopy into your computer etc. What a waste. If it doesn’t get turned into paper, I’m a happy man!
Facebook app, it’s boring but works.
Evernote is the shit, I’ve got more notes in that sucker it’s crazy and their app is just as good as the desktop.
I love the WordPress app for my phone and iPad. I’ve written more posts than you can imagine from my phone or my iPad while in the air, at the park or some other place besides my desk. This post is actually coming from my desk however.
Dropbox, is a the bomb. I never have to worry about accessing a doc from any device anywhere. Ooh, I love that feeling! It makes me all tingly inside.
Hubspot, great software. It runs A Sales Guy U. I don’t think I could have created ASGU without Hubspot. The iPhone app kinda sucks, but the software is killer.
Twitter in general. I get so much of my news, connections, information and engagement from Twitter. It rocks. The only problem is, I’m deaf to local news. I don’t watch the TV or the paper for news anymore. I’m out of the loop on some stuff at times.
Feedly, it’s my paper. I don’t read the paper, I just go to Feedly and get my blog fix!
CO Snow and the Weather Channel apps. Gotta know when the next storm is coming in. Chasing the pow!
What’s Your Work Place Like:
It’s kinda boring. I travel 40% of the time, so it’s a hotel room. It’s a plane, etc. But, when I’m home, it’s the kitchen table. I know, wierd uh? It’s in front of the TV, and in the middle of everything. It just works. Although, my ass has been killing me. Sometimes, my butt can be in that hard kitchen table chair for 6-7 hours. I gotta get an office chair or something.
What’s my best time saving short-cut/life hack?
Hmmm, I could get better at this, but I’d have to say hiring an assistant and delegating EVERYTHING others can do better. Getting rid of paper. There is so little I do on paper now. I don’t even have checks. I use CamScanner and now can get receipts to my book keeper in less than 1 minute. No “scanning,” faxing, or snail-mailing etc. Snap a pic, convert to a pdf or jpeg and send — done! If I can make it digital, I do.
What everyday thing are you better than everyone else? (What’s my Superpower?)
Hmm skiing, I’ll ski just about anyones ass into the ground. But, that’s not an everyday thing. With that, I’d say thinking on my feet. I’m very quick on my feet. I can assess a situation, see the real issues, identify solutions and suggest alternatives in seconds. I think very quickly and can strip a problem or issue to it’s bones instantly. It’s killer for selling. I think it was the main reason I was such a successful individual contributor. It’s a nice little super-power!
What’s Your Todo List Manager or as I call it; My Catastrophe Avoidance List:
I’ve tried todo every manager there is and they all suck. Not because they suck, but because I do. A good todo manager requires you put in good stuff. Shit in, shit out and I’m a shit in kinda guy. I’ve come to accept this and try to make my todo list as simple as possible. I have an on going to do list of things that if they don’t get done in the next day or two there could be a catastrophe. Basically, it’s things that others need from me that are important, almost always client stuff. It’s things I’ve put off too long or things I know I’ll forget and if I do, it could be real bad. My list is better called a “catastrophe avoidance list” rather than a todo list. It’s things that if I forget, a customer gets pissed, it costs me money or I miss out on an opportunity. If it’s causes one of these things, it’s on the list.
What do you Listen to While You Work?
It depends. But, if it’s late at night and I’m cranking out a blog post or something like that, it’s new age music. I bet you didn’t see that one coming. George Winston, Kitaro etc. I love em all. If it’s day time and I’m traveling or I need to stay amped, it’s Pitbull or Macklemore radio on Pandora. Although, lately I’ve been listening to Apple Radio. I like that I can instantly download a tune if I like it. I listen primarily through my Beats headphones.
What are You Currently Reading?
I’m reading:
Unthink by Erik Wahl
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
What’s my Sleep Routine Like?
Really? I’ve got 3 girls 8 and under. I travel east and west weekly for business. I ski till my legs hurt. NO routine here. I try to get 6-7 hours. When I go to bed, when I get up, that just depends. I’ll see 4:30 a.m. some days and 7:30 a.m. others. It’s almost impossible to sleep past 7:30. I’ll go to bed some nights at 10:00 p.m. others at 2:00 a.m. Catch me if you can.
What’s the Best Advice You’ve Ever Received?
It’s a tie between, No one is coming and how are you going to solve for that? What I love about both of them was they put things squarely back on me. The first one was the way of a great boss basically telling me to stop looking for help and figure it out. The second one was in response to my recognition of having a huge problem that was impeding my business and if I didn’t figure out how to solve it, I was fucked. Both made me realize how much influence I had on my own success or failure.
Fill in the Blank (Would the Next Contestant on How I Work Come On Down?):
The next contestant is ____________________?
Dan Waldschmidt your the next contestant on How I Work . . . come on down! Danny boy is a witty, sharp, in your grill kinda guy. I can’t wait to see how you blows this meme up. Have it Waldschmidt!
