How do you stay on top of things when you’re running a business that’s gone from three to 30 employees in the past 12 months, you’re back to back with meetings and pulling all nighters trying to launch a new product? I asked three crazy busy tech entrepreneurs – CEO of iphone repair army, iCracked AJ Forsythe, Steve Jillings, CEO of verification software company, TeleSign and Max Nalsky CEO of task management business Pyrus how they make it work.
Hollie Slade: Which apps and software do you use consistently?
AJ Forsythe: “Alfred is tool for Mac that allows me to find nearly any piece of information that I need (locally or on the web) in seconds. Mac OS X Yosemite has included something similar, but I'm a huge fan of Alfred. Leftronic is a really cool analytics dashboard that we use for internal motivation and to keep everyone informed about the daily performance of our company's various functions.”
Steve Jillings: "There are a number of apps that I use consistently that are really important to me. I travel extensively so a lot of them revolve around travel: Tripit is one of my favorites, it keeps all of my travel related information in one simple-to-access and understand place. Tripit alerts are awesome, usually alerting me to an issue or delay before an airline ever would."
"The American Airlines app is invaluable also. Concur's expense application is great and makes it so much easier to capture receipts and get them into the system, and it also integrates with Tripit. I now use Uber all over the world, which is a great time saver and money saver (saving on researching local cab firms, for example). Myself, my family and my team all use WhatsApp extensively as well. It's really easy to create groups and share information."
Max Nalsky: "I use Word, Excel, Chrome, and Skype daily. What’s really useful is Notes app on Mac, where I'm writing this. It’s fast and it syncs seamlessly across devices. Sometimes you need something quick, simple and focused to capture your ideas."
Slade: Is there a gadget besides your phone or computer you love using?
Forsythe: "My Pebble watch is incredible. It allows me to remain hyper-connected without the need to pull out my phone."
Jillings: "I recently replaced my laptop and tablet with a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It has been the best device I have ever used. It's got a compact design, the ability to use all typical office productivity tools and a battery that lasts from LA to London on a flight - which is fantastic. It's truly a laptop replacement, and the iPad definitely is not. I can run every piece of software that my laptop does, it supports multiple monitors and I even use the pen for writing. It does more than a Macbook Air does, let alone an iPad."
Nalsky: "I'm also a private pilot, and in my spare time I like to fly small planes. As a result I am in love with the Garmin G1000. It’s a modern avionics system from a company that people mostly know for making in-car GPSes. It shows you all flight parameters in a very ergonomic way - airspeed, attitude, heading, vertical speed, KTAS, Vx, Vy, temperature and so on. It saves on fuel because it helps to lean the engine effectively. It knows all the private and public airport locations and frequencies you'd need. It has weather and traffic links, meaning that you can see winds aloft at any attitude and nearby aircraft positions. It even has built-in autopilot and two large displays."
Slade: How are you at multi-tasking? Do you have any time saving tricks or life hacks?
Forsythe: “I'd like to believe that I'm pretty adept at multi-tasking though there are certainly others who are better. As for time-saving tricks, I try to schedule meetings dealing with similar topics back-to-back that keeps everyone focused and efficient, then move on to the next area and repeat. Also, canoeing to work every morning in 5 minutes really eliminates the BS of commuting.”
Jillings: "Given how crazy busy business and family life is today, the notion of multi-tasking doesn’t come close to adequately describing reality. Most people use a lot of the tools available such as task managers and 'productivity apps.' I still find the most important tool to me is being able to prioritize. You have to be brutal about the things that are important and get them done - everything else can either be delegated or dropped. One thing that is really important to me is getting a head start on the day, so I do get up early, between 4.30am and 5.30 am each day."
Nalsky: "Email used to kill a lot of my time. It’s easy to skip an important message, respond to the wrong thread, or get confused as to which one is the most recent response if someone's forwarded or responded to an email at a peculiar hour."
"So my biggest trick is to actually stay off email as much as I can. I ensure all my tasks arrive in (my company) Pyrus. It's similar enough to email that it's quick and effective but also allows me to prioritize. While I won't be as bold as to say "everyone should move to Pyrus," I think that many businesses rely too much on email as a way of finding what tasks to do. There has to be a better way. I've taught everyone I work with that if it's not in Pyrus I won't get it done - not because I'm pushing my own company, but because otherwise I won't be able to prioritize my day."
Slade: How have you set up your office? What's your workspace like?
Forsythe: "I don't face the door, nor do I have my back to it. It's arranged for people to move in and out or sit comfortably - whichever the situation calls for. I have my fish tank next to my desk that serves as the basis of the decor and is both a passion of mine but also interesting to people that come in. There's also a giant balcony overlooking the lake with some comfortable chairs to go with it."
Jillings: "My office is pretty simple. I've got a docking station for the Surface, a large screen, keyboard and printer. I do have a 6 person meeting room table in my office with a projector and multiple white boards. That way I'm not moving between rooms if I need to host multiple people for a meeting."
Nalsky: "I am pretty ascetic. I try hard to keep my desk as clean as possible. I store the papers I will need based on the most recent two or three weeks of work. I archive or trash everything else. It seems really simple but it's important to me to have fresh air; I ensure all rooms in the office have proper ventilation and that every window can be opened."
Slade: What's the best advice anyone's given you about business?
Forsythe: “Someone very close to me that I trust deeply told me something that I remind myself and my team of every day: "Every company goes out of business the same way." I find it evokes a different sentiment from each business leader, making them think of the thing that connects them to all the rest of the companies in the world.”
Jillings: “You can’t kiss all the pretty girls”. That was what a very seasoned businessman told me when I was much younger and was trying to do too many things at once. I wanted his advice on how to do all the things I was trying to do at the time and that was what he told me. If you try to do too many things, you’ll fail at all of them. Focus on the things that really matter and you’ll be successful. It turned out to be great advice."
Nalsky: "Get married. It's a major part of life that's hidden from many young people. You start to look at things differently, you learn about integrity, responsibility and caring for things beyond yourself. These are lessons that carry into all walks of life including but not limited to business."
