Month: September 2007

OLP, CNN, jetlag and training

I was going to post something more thoughtful tonight, but the new season of The Unit started last night and Evan and I had to “sling” it tonight. What can I say? I worked at Los Alamos, remember? I’m amused by secret government operatives, since I knew a few spooks there. 😉

So, something a little less serious tonight:

  • In case any of you are forgetting what I look like, here are some vids for you:
  • This brings up point number two… yes, those are dark circles under my eyes. As I looked at myself in the mirror tonight, I thought “Hmmmm… I should have added ‘deal with jetlag’ as some percentage in my ‘what a CEO should be doing’ post.” I’d say that’s another 10%. Jenny, I hope that didn’t scare the horses. 😉
  • And point number three… I’m almost, possibly ready to go public with this… I am considering… doing Ironman Brazil in May. There I did it. Evan’s keen on doing one as soon as possible, and this one is open, and early in the season. My friend (and Ironman) Paul Mccarron told me when I started with my first sprint (Duxbury 2005 — I did not think I would finish!) that I would end up doing an Ironman. How did he know? So far, training has been going well. Thanks to Matthias (co-founder and CTO Spreadshirt) who is making me run FASTER and more often. One thing I know for sure… I will have the best shirt!

Well, on that note, I need to go and work on the circles under my eyes. I hope you are all well. Thanks for indulging me tonight.

Adam says I'm dusty… and what a CEO should be doing

Adam’s right, it has been too long since I posted, so the blog is dusty. (Jenny, I cannot believe you haven’t nudged me too. Are you turning patient?) Speaking of what I’ve been doing, well, I’ll answer by covering the question that Om Malik asked me, when we were recently chatting in San Fran: “What should I be doing as a CEO anyway?”

If you don’t know Om, a talented and respected writer, a year or so ago struck out to start his own media group. He’s done well, even running out of ad inventory (go Om!). And he’s now not looking at himself and a handful of freelancers putting this together, but employees and larger responsibilities to partners and advertisers. Om knows well what CEO’s do, as he’s been talking with them and writing about them at Fortune and Business 2.0 for years, but the problem comes from the big grains (vision, principles, foundation) to the small grains (hours and minutes of time). Om was thinking more about the latter… whas he going the right things on the daily and hourly basis to meet his goals… and the big question… what was he missing?

Here’s my answer, based on my experience:

  • 30% should be about customers+prospective customers and their use of your product with your team.
  • 25% of your time should be with customers or key partners.
  • 10% should be spent coaching and mentoring your team.
  • 10% should be with your business’s numbers.
  • 25% should be spent working on tomorrow’s vision and innovation… which includes recruiting and org work!

This can flux a bit, but what’s important is evaluating yourself at the end of each week. How did you do? Where did you spend your time? Was it on your critical areas? What impact did you have in those areas?

I learned this approach to time management when I was working in sales. My brilliant husband taught me the principle of 1/3 of your time prospecting, 1/3 of your time moving deals through the pipeline, and 1/3 of your time closing. And yes, I need to practice it more myself!

What do you think of these time allotments? Think I’ve missed or underrepresented something?

Today, what is on my shirt:

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