BoldIQ featured in Flying Magazine’s coverage of ATC Privatization

Tech Startup CEO: GA Needs to Join ATC Privatization Discussion

Roei Ganzarski, CEO of Seattle-based aviation software firm BoldIQ, says an ATC shakeup is needed — and it’s time for general aviation to be a part of the process. By Stephen Pope

Roei Ganzarski, the CEO of BoldIQ, a transportation logistics software startup firm based in the Seattle area, says that whether you agree with Donald Trump’s politics or not, on the issue of ATC privatization the president is 100 percent right.

Privatizing air traffic control would lower costs, boost efficiency and usher in new technologies that are impossible to implement quickly under the current NextGen ATC modernization program managed by the FAA, he argues.

“ATC in this country is antiquated. The president is exactly right; by the time NextGen technologies are implemented, they’re already outdated,” Ganzarski said. “Privatization could solve all of this by enabling ATC to advance at the same rate as the technology aboard aircraft has.”

His message for general aviation? It’s time to stop fighting to block privatization and focus instead on ensuring this segment of the industry has a place at the table.

“For ATC privatization to work, we need equal representation from all parties, including the airlines, general aviation and even the military,” he said. “No one group should be able to dominate the conversation about the future of ATC modernization.”

BoldIQ creates software solutions for aviation and ground-transportation companies. One of its major customers is Boeing-owned Jeppesen, which uses BoldIQ’s cloud-based scheduling software. Ganzarski himself is no stranger to Boeing, having served as chief customer officer for the plane maker’s Flight Services division in Seattle.

At a White House meeting with airline CEOs last week, Trump described NextGen technology rolled out by the FAA as the “wrong stuff” and signaled his enthusiasm for privatizing ATC.

The president’s comments drew a rare response from the agency, which pointed to $2.7 billion in benefits to the airlines and passengers thanks to NextGen modernization, and an expected benefit of another $160 billion through 2030.

“NextGen is one of the most ambitious infrastructure and modernization projects in U.S. history,” the FAA said in a statement following the president’s comments. “Its successful, ongoing rollout is the result of rigorous acquisition, program and portfolio management, and stakeholder engagement with the airline industry and other members of the aviation community.”

GA interests led by the National Business Aviation Association are opposed to ATC privatization, arguing that the corporate entity’s board of directors would be dominated by the airlines and the move inevitably would lead to the implementation of user fees for general aviation.

“It appears that some airline interests want to shift the conversation away from taking a bipartisan approach to modernization, to focus instead on their decades-long objective of privatizing ATC, funding it with new user fees, and placing it under the governing control of a self-interested, airline-centric board of directors,” said NBAA President Ed Bolen after the president’s sit-down meeting with airline CEOs.

Ganzarski’s response? “ATC privatization could be very good for everybody, and that’s the conversation we ought to be having right now.”

Click here to read the full story online

BoldIQ featured in King5 TV News

King5’s Glenn Farley talks to BoldIQ as part of a news story about how airlines deal with disruptions at times of uncertainty like after the immigration related executive order.

Watch below or Click here to view the TV clip online

Juniper Research covers BoldIQ in IoT Report

UK based global research firm Juniper Research includes BoldIQ in their IoT Consumer, Industrial & Public Services 2016-2021 report released December of 2016.

Juniper’s latest IoT research looks deeper into the world of IoT by addressing the ‘what’s next?’ in terms of moving beyond simply connecting devices. Juniper’s research provides a comprehensive perspective on the three key market segments encompassing IoT applications:
•    Consumer
•    Industrial
•    Public Services

As part of their research, Juniper presents their leaderboard. Their approach is to use a standard template to summarize company capabilities. This template concludes with their views of the key strengths and strategic development opportunities for each covered organization.

In this report, Juniper identifies BoldIQ as a ‘Developing’ company covering ‘Mid-market or segment focused’.

Juniper states: “BoldIQ has developed a very innovative solution that will undoubtedly find frequent use in IoT analytics applications. The company’s present focus is aimed at aviation and road vehicles; we expect this to expand in the future.”

Juniper view on key strengths and opportunities reads as follows:

• “The company has adopted a sensible strategy of not attempting to spread itself too thinly by addressing multiple industry verticals at this stage. By starting with the aviation industry, it has established a respected position in an industry that can often present complex business challenges. This will prove to be a benefit as the company broadens the number of target verticals.
• The ability to deliver its optimisation as a product as well as a service will help in addressing markets such as the automotive industry, where companies are loath to release their data beyond the corporate firewall.“

BoldIQ related excerpts from the comprehensive report:

Click here to access the report on Juniper’s web site

BoldIQ Team TechTarget talks about 2017 IoT predictions (including BoldIQ)

IoT predictions 2017: Revenue, data, latency issues top the list – TechTarget – Sharon Shea

From the story:

The internet of things’ growth spurt over the past year leaves many wondering what the next 12 months will bring. Industry experts looked in their crystal balls and offered IoT predictions for the days and months ahead.

IoT prediction #1: Disembodied voices seeking recurring revenue

IoT prediction #2: The data lakes will be drained

IoT prediction #3: Latency is the enemy

Roei Ganzarski, president and CEO of BoldIQ, found room for skepticism in his 2017 projections: “Not enough will be done on the integration of [smart devices] in the next few years since it is less sexy and creates less news and media coverage. Thus adoption of these will be slower than people anticipate.”

If Ganzarski is right, 2017 won’t be the first year when predictions ran well ahead of actual timelines.

Click to read the full story

Industrial Distribution interviews BoldIQ for 2017 Predictions For the Logistics And Shipping Industry

Q&A: 2017 Predictions For the Logistics And Shipping Industry

With 2016 rapidly coming to a close and everyone looking to what 2017 will bring, BoldIQ president and CEO Roei Ganzarski discusses what the top trends and disruptions will be next year in the transportation and logistics industries.

Q: What changes will transportation and logistics companies need to make in 2017 in order to keep pace with the on-demand economy?  

A: The decrease in demand combined with the growing ‘On-Demand’ economy is driving the need for transportation operations to become demand driven.

On-demand means a consumer or customer can get what they want, at the time and place they want it, and only have to ask for it when they are ready to ask and not before. While this is the customer facing aspect, the transportation operator aspect (the organization that needs to provide the service) must be demand-driven in order to serve the on-demand need in an efficient manner that enables scale, growth, and profitability. The on-demand economy is shortening planning cycles and significantly shortening decision-making time frames. This means the need for intelligent, data driven, and real-time decisions is critical.

Being demand-driven means having the ability to utilize your resources at the highest level possible and do so in real time in a dynamic and ever-changing environment. Note that this assumes organizations have finite resources to do their work. This must be viewed differently from the so-called ‘sharing economy’ where an operation will use someone else’s resources because they are so inefficient, they have spare time or capacity on their resources. The sharing-economy in fact thrives on the inefficiency of the current environment.

I believe this will lead to 3 trends:

1. Consolidation and elimination of some transport companies that cannot adapt fast enough to the change.
2. Emerging transport leaders that can rapidly adopt new technologies that will enable them to become demand-driven.
3. Unfortunately, an emergence of ‘sharing-economy’ based transport companies that own no assets but thrive on the newly created excess capacity are in fact driving more inefficiency into the industry.

Q: What are the biggest implications for the transportation and logistics industry in 2017 with advancements in IoT, big data and software?

A: The next few years will have a lot of IoT ‘things’ being created as individual products. A driverless car; a drone; a crewless ship; etc. A lot of effort, money, and media coverage go along with these great developments. See for example the recent Uber delivery truck that transported beer; the first US government-approved drone delivery using a Flirtey drone transporting 10 pounds of medical supplies to a rural health clinic; and more.

However, not enough work will be done on the integration of these in the next few years (since it is not as ‘sexy’ and creates less news and media coverage) and thus the adoption of these will be slower than what people anticipate. In integration, I am referring to two levels:

1. Integrating into the relevant networks – For example, does having a drone that can deliver a package mean a delivery company knows how, when, and where to use it? Does having a smart water meter mean that the utilities companies know what to do with that data?
2. Integration across platforms – For example, when the smart water meter detects a leak and a need to be replaced, will the utilities company know to have a replacement part sent by drone to the house and have a technician scheduled to arrive at the right time to do the work?

While the above two examples of ‘back office’ operations are not as sexy or news generating than the ‘thing’ itself, these are required to make sure that as a smart city, smart community, and indeed smart society, we are able to truly take advantage of the IoT to better our lives.

Q: What major disruptions can the shipping industry expect?

A: The disruption is happening now. Consumers are demanding goods when and where they want them and are ‘ordering’ them very last minute. This means the manufacturing needs to be faster and more dynamic and transport needs to be faster and more dynamic. On the other hand, this will also lead to real-time on the fly manufacturing of many good we previously thought not possible. 3D printing will enhance and grow and price points will drop. Thus, the overall need for shipping will shrink.

Q: Autonomous vehicles: Hype or industry game-changer?

A: Game-changer without a doubt. The question will be at what level. If no holistic real-time scheduling and coordination operation is put in place, then the game changer will be that on my commute to work I can read the paper as opposed to focusing on the road and there will be fewer accidents. All great.

If there is holistic coordination, then we can truly move to having less car ownership and travel/transport on demand without compromise. Super!

Q: Drones: How and when will they be utilized?

A: They already are. You just don’t see it every day. Ask the militaries of the world. DoD. Firefighting. Search and Rescue. Film making. We just don’t see deliveries being made with them yet. That will take time due to public perception and regulation. Perhaps 2020.

Q: What challenges will e-commerce present in 2017 for transportation and logistics?  

A: See answers above. It is not so much e-commerce as it is the ability and now consumer behavior of creating demand last minute but expecting to get the purchase when and where they want. E-commerce is the tool that enables the new expectations.

Q: What is the number one pitfall contributing to operational inefficiency in the transportation and shipping industry? How can this be mitigated in 2017 and beyond?

A: Human behavior is the number one pitfall. The false belief that ‘no one and no software can do what I do or as good as I do it’ is what stops operations from using technology to significantly enhance their operational efficiency.

Click to read the story online

BoldIQ interviewed for the future of trucking in Fleet Owner

Q&A: The move to demand-driven freight transportation

Should trucking shift to a “demand-driven” mode of operation in 2017? This software provider thinks it will be vital to do so.

The on-demand economy is shortening planning cycles and significantly shortening decision making time frames, says Roei Ganzarski. This means the need for intelligent, data-driven, real-time decisions is critical. (Photo by Sean Kilcarr/Fleet Owner)

Roei Ganzarski, CEO of scheduling BoldIQ, which provides optimization software for asset scheduling, believes trucking and the freight transportation industry as a whole is ripe for a shift to a “demand-driven” operational format in 2017.

But what does that exactly mean?

A Boeing executive with 13 years under his belt in the commercial aviation industry, Ganzarski believes the wider use of “real-time data” by trucking and logistics providers will be critical in terms of meeting customer demands for faster yet less costly freight delivery services – while doing so in a way that helps preserve the bottom line of transportation companies.

Ganzarski further fleshed out that forecast for freight industry changes in a recent interview with Fleet Owner.

What’s in store for freight transportation companies in 2017 as they look to adjust in the decrease in demand?

The decrease in freight demand combined with the growing “on-demand” economy is driving the need for transportation operations to become more “demand-driven.”

“On-demand” means a consumer or customer can get what they want, at the time and place they want it, and only have to ask for it when they are ready to ask and not before. While this is the customer facing aspect, the transportation operator aspect – the organization that needs to provide the service – must be “demand-driven” in order to serve the on-demand need in an efficient manner that enables scale, growth, and profitability.

The on-demand economy is shortening planning cycles and significantly shortening decision making time frames. This means the need for intelligent, data-driven, real-time decisions is critical.

Being “demand-driven” means having the ability to utilize your resources at the highest level possible and do so in real time in a dynamic and ever changing environment – and this also assumes organizations have finite resources to do their work. This must be viewed differently from the so-called “sharing economy” where an operation will use someone else’s resources because they are so inefficient, as they have spare time or unused capacity. The sharing economy in fact thrives on the inefficiency of the current [freight] environment.

I believe this will lead to three trends:

• Consolidation and elimination of some transport companies that cannot adapt fast enough to the change.
• Emerging transport leaders that can rapidly adopt new technologies that will enable them to become demand-driven.
• Unfortunately, an emergence of “sharing economy” based transport companies that own no assets but thrive on the newly created excess capacity and in fact driving more inefficiency into the industry.

With Uber making its first successful autonomous trucking delivery in Colorado, what can we expect to see with in autonomous trucking in 2017? How does this impact “business as usual”?

We are far from having autonomous deliveries. The trial, while very cool, ground breaking, and leading edge, was a very limited one. It cannot be defined as the first successful autonomous trucking delivery; maybe instead as the first partial semi-autonomous trucking delivery.

The first part of the trip (getting to the highway) was done by a driver, while the last part (from the highway to the delivery point) was done by a driver. Only the highway section was done independent of a driver but with a driver on board.

We will see continued focus and trials on this type of technology, but I doubt we will see it implemented in 2017.

In 2017, truck operators should focus on how they can better utilize the trucks and drivers that they have today.

What are the biggest implications for the transportation and logistics industry in 2017 with advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT), big data and software?

The biggest implication is the real ability to improve operational efficiencies in he controlled part of the business – i.e. use of controlled resources such as vans, trucks, planes and ships, drivers, pilots, and crew. These resources are both the major growth constraint and the major cost factor in the operation. Being able to truly “do more with less” is now a reality, if taken advantage of.

What is the number one pitfall contributing to operational inefficiency in the transportation and shipping industry? How can this be mitigating in 2017 and beyond?

The false belief that demand is what should drive the growth and profitability of the industry is the key driver (pun intended) to operational inefficiency.

Companies tend to latch on to the one thing they really can’t control – demand. And they base their resource plans, growth plans, and cost cutting plans to that one element.

Yet the one element they can fully control – the use of their own resources – is too many times left as an afterthought. While the demand side of the equation is becoming more and more “on-demand,” dynamic, and in real-time, the supply side of the operation (the resource side) remains static and lagging.

Companies in 2017 can overcome this by shifting their mindset to do what it takes to become demand-driven; i.e., able to shift and utilize resources in a dynamic real-time fashion thus enabling them to quickly adapt their operations to the existing status of the demand’s on their operation.

The technology to do this exists today. The mindset and will to do so is what is required.

Click to read the full story on Fleet Owner

InsideBigData interviews BoldIQ CEO

InsideBigData Interview: Roei Ganzarski, President and CEO of BoldIQ by Daniel Gutierrez

I recently caught up with Roei Ganzarski, President and CEO of BoldIQ, to talk about the “smart cities” revolution taking place that’s powered by IoT technology. Roei is responsible for the overall growth and business of the company as well as day-to-day operations, engineering and development. Prior to joining BoldIQ, he was with the Boeing family of companies for thirteen years in continuously increasing roles of responsibility. His last role at Boeing was Chief Customer Officer for Boeing’s Flight Services division where he led all worldwide customer and market facing organizations and was responsible for revenue growth and customer service. His other experiences prior to Boeing include private investment banking, corporate finance, advertising, and the military. He is a graduate of Wharton’s Advanced Management Program, earned an MBA from the University of Washington, and a BA in Economics from The University of Haifa. Roei sits on the advisory boards of Zealyst and the Washington Technology Industry Association board; and is chairman of the global business advisory board at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

insideBIGDATA: What is the biggest obstacle smart cities must overcome before becoming widespread by the projected year 2025?

Roei Ganzarski: Two obstacles:

1. Interconnectivity between the various “smart” elements. Having smart cars operate separately from the smart grid, separately from smart homes, and separately from smart buildings may not add any smartness to the city. In fact, it could create more chaos and havoc. It is imperative that the various elements are intertwined.
2. Competitive nature of firms and even government entities. The true smart city will be run in an efficient manner utilizing resources to the best of the city’s needs (i.e. its residents). To do this, companies will have to work together and so will government entities. Take transportation for example: if multiple companies each compete to be the ‘main’ means of “efficient transport” then you have by definition, over capacity in the city thus not efficient or smart. Moreover, if the city department of transport is not willing to relook at their transport ‘kingdom’ for the betterment of the city, that too drives inefficiency – not smart.

insideBIGDATA: What city will emerge as the first truly ‘smart’ city?

Roei Ganzarski: Singapore is an obvious leader. The government there controls everything and is not afraid to impose short term pain on companies or government units in return for long term gains like becoming a smart city. They have a high likelihood of “proving the point” of the value of having a smart city.

insideBIGDATA: How is the on-demand economy spurring this movement?

Roei Ganzarski: The On-Demand economy is driving the need for operations (be they for profit businesses or government organizations) to become demand driven. On-demand means a consumer or customer can get what they want, at the time and place they want it, and only have to ask for it when they are ready to ask and not before. While this is the customer facing aspect, the operator aspect (the organization that needs to provide the service or product) must be demand-driven in order to serve the on-demand need in an efficient manner that enables scale, growth, and self-sustainment. Being demand-driven means having the ability to utilize your resources at the highest level possible and do so in real time in a dynamic and ever changing environment. Note that this assumes organizations have finite resources to do their work. This must be viewed differently from the so-called ‘sharing economy’ where an operation will use someone else’s resources because they are so inefficient, they have spare time or capacity on their resources. The sharing-economy in fact thrives on the inefficiency of the current environment. The smart city will not have any sharing economy as part of it because the only resources being used will be done so efficiently to meet demand. There will be no ‘spare’ resources that are used to share.

insideBIGDATA: We see cities becoming smarter/more connected with on-demand transportation, food, shipping, etc. Which industries and services do you expect to see revolutionized next?

Roei Ganzarski: Healthcare!

insideBIGDATA: With 2025 just under a decade away, what are your predictions for the advancement of IoT/on-demand/smart cities in 2017?

Roei Ganzarski: The next few years will have a lot of IoT ‘things’ being created as individual products. A driverless car; a drone; a smart washing machine; a smart bbq; etc. However not enough work will be done on the integration of these in the next few years (since it is less ‘sexy’ and creates less news) and thus the adoption of these will be slower than what people anticipate.

Click to read the full interview online

Software Can Help Flight Schedulers with Complex Decision-Making

Software Can Help Flight Schedulers with Complex Decision-Making

Ensuring that flight schedules are optimized to customer needs, internal resources and operational and legal requirements, is one of the most challenging aspects of running any aviation operation – and that’s before factoring in dynamic, real-time disruptions or the desire for sustained profitability.

“The complexities and real-time dynamic nature of on-demand aviation operations are significant, and much more than many other industries we have seen,” said Roei Ganzarski, president and CEO of BoldIQ, which makes real-time schedule-optimization and disruption-recovery software. He will be presenting on this topic during a free, Jeppesen-sponsored webinar on Dec. 14.

“Creating a schedule that meets demand, satisfies all legal and physical constraints, and at the same time utilizes resources in the most efficient way while meeting internal needs, is a difficult problem, even if all of the key variables remain static, which of course they don’t,” he added.

As any flight department team member knows, many variables hardly ever remain static, and this usually presents the biggest challenges when adjusting plans on a day-to-day basis. While schedulers and dispatchers are incredibly capable, they’re also human. Simplifying the problems, such as factoring out a variable or two, to make them easier to solve, means sacrificing effectiveness and efficiency.

This is where software can help, said Ganzarski. Advancements in technology and complex algorithms can provide schedulers and other decision-makers with solutions on how to practically optimize operations – both initially and during disruptions. By understanding more about how best to combine human expertise and science to create a practical, optimized operation, aircraft operators can maximize their resources and gain a competitive advantage.

For an in-depth look at the science behind complex problem-solving and how software can help flight departments maximize their decision-making process, join NBAA and Ganzarski for the webinar titled “Decision Making in Complex Dynamic Environments: Experienced Human vs. Sophisticated Software.”

Click to read on the NBAA site and register for the webinar

BoldIQ CEO explores the future of smartcities with IoTHub

How we need to prepare for smart cities

Key sectors and challenges identified by IT executive. By Peter Gutierrez

Smart city technologies hold many promises for its citizens, and for one IT executive, the areas of transportation and healthcare are likely to have the most impact.

“Real-time operational optimisation of driverless transport modes will enable a move to more of a true on-demand transportation system that includes everything from single cars to buses to trains that are linked based on real-time demand,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of asset optimisation startup BoldIQ.

“Right now, you have significant overcapacity – taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, buses, paratransit, and trains. Live data coming in from IoT and from users will combine with rapid dynamic software to allow a holistic solution that is better for the user and the city as a whole, enabling more transport with fewer resources.”

He told IoT Hub that smart healthcare will further enable pre-emptive and proactive treatment of patients.

“It could be monitoring for someone with known issues such as a smarter pacemaker, diabetes, allergies; someone in a high risk category, such as a family history of stroke or heart issues; and everyday use without any specific risk,” he explained.

“Think of data streaming in real-time from these various wearables and implants combined with optimisation software that can schedule resources in real-time based on the data.

“A wearable could send data to a central analysis machine that determines there is an imminent risk of stroke or heart attack, and an automated central dispatch could then schedule an immediate movement of a doctor or nurse with the relevant equipment to that person, therefore shortening – if not eliminating – the time from incident to treatment.”

The barriers to a smart city utopia

Ganzarski conceded that there needed to be a shift in citizen mentality if these sorts of innovations are to be successful.

“Consumers need to understand that if they want the level of service, speed and proactive support regarding their lives, there will be certain privacies they need to give up,” he said.

“To get pre-emptive medical attention, the person needs to be willing to wear the ‘thing’ and have the data transmitted to the central analysis hub.

“The ability to share resources will also have to be a central theme. As long as anyone with cars is allowed to create a transport company in order to make money, there will be overcapacity.”

He said that if left unchecked, certain markets will become oversaturated to the point where no-one makes any money, because each successive entrant believes that can “do it better”.

“Look at taxi companies and ride sharing companies – both are competing for the same consumer with too many cars on the road.”

Solve today’s problems first

Ganzarski said that existing inefficiencies in asset utilisation have to be addressed, as smart city technologies won’t solve these fundamental issues.

“On one hand, there are industries with overcapacity of resources, like transportation. This creates waste at the resource level, operation level, and in society, causing traffic congestion, pollution, and so on,” he said.

“This man-made condition is because the operators in play do not run their operations efficiently, thus creating an attractive reason for others to enter the market.

“On the other hand, there are industries with resource shortages like pilots in aviation or nurses in healthcare. If there were to run their operations efficiently, then perhaps there would be no shortage and everyone gets their services when and where they’re required.”

Ganzarski said that a city’s leadership needs to decide what they want as their future, and setup the organisation, structure and policies to support it.

“For example, if a city wants to have smart transportation, they can’t say that and then at the same time allow multiple taxi companies, ride sharing companies and others to all operate within their city limits,” he explained.

“Either take it seriously, make the tough decisions and lead, or don’t pretend that becoming a smart city is the target.”

Click the read the online article

GeekWire shares BoldIQ CEO’s 3 principles for managing everyday work and life

Working Geek: BoldIQ CEO Roei Ganzarski’s 3 principles for managing everyday work and life by MONICA NICKELSBURG

As a father, president and CEO of BoldIQ, and a member of the UW Global Business Advisory and WTIA boards, Roei Ganzarski’s time is in high demand.

At BoldIQ, a Seattle software company that crunches real-time data to help organizations optimize business operations, Ganzarski focuses on five key areas. He works on defining BoldIQ’s long-term vision, business development, daily operations, scalability, and marketing.

How does Ganzarski define his role? “I create great headaches for my team,” he said.

Ganzarski practices “inbox-zero” religiously and makes family time a high priority. To keep it all in balance, he has developed three guiding principles.

He shared his tips with us for this installment of Working Geek, a regular GeekWire feature. Continue reading for his answers to our questionnaire.

Current Location: “Bellevue, WA. Right across the street from Crossroads Mall. Great food all around.”

Computer types: “Combination of desktop and laptops. We are windows based – all PCs. With our choice, we are supporting another local company, Microsoft. :)”

Mobile devices: “To each their own. I personally have a Samsung S7 Edge. Love it.”

Favorite apps, cloud services and software tools: “Glympse app (I use it every day to let my family know about my commute); Google News & Weather app (to keep up with the world); Starbucks app (to get my daily dose of caffeine); WhatsApp (Overall communications. There is nothing like it!); Paymo cloud service for time tracking on specific projects as needed; everything else is pretty standard.”

Describe your workspace. Why does it work for you? “L-shape desk with two monitors right on the corner (+ the laptop screen) and snug against two walls with windows. This provides me with great coverage of all my data on the three screens and opens up the floor space as opposed to having some sort of desk blocking the way and separating me from my team.”

Your best advice for managing everyday work and life? “I live my life and work with three guiding principles:

• Always remember where you came from and where you are going
• Only dead fish go with the flow
• The light at the end of the tunnel could be a train

These three guidelines help me prepare, be proactive, and react to the various situations I find myself in, be it at home or work. And do it all with a passion!”

Your preferred social network? How do you use it for business/work? “My preferred social network is getting together with my friends for coffee or a great BBQ. And if I can’t see them in person I use WhatsApp to keep in touch. The rest (i.e. Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook) I use just for sharing work PR type things or posting that we are looking for new great team members to join.”

Current number of unanswered emails in your inbox? “At the end of each day = 0! I am very disciplined with my inbox. I use it as my to-do list. I either answer the mail, forward the mail if someone else needs to care for it, or I file it when done. Note that my initial answer may be an acknowledgment of the mail and I still have work to do on it, but it is at least initially answered. Discipline and my mobile phone are two things that help keep this intact. Also, a reason I like to come in early to the office to tend to the emails that came in the evening before and overnight.”

Number of appointments/meetings on your calendar this week? “15 and one of the days this week I am traveling to California for a customer meeting.”

How do you run meetings? “No phones or other distractions; one conversation at a time (no side conversations or whispering while someone is talking); everyone can voice their opinions openly with full transparency; everyone gets a voice but not everyone gets a vote.”

Everyday work uniform? “Full suit and tie…NOT. I have found that feeling comfortable allows me to do better work. Clothes, in fact, do not make the man. It is the person that makes clothes work. On any given day, you will find me in jeans, crocs canvas shoes (very comfortable) and a flannel shirt (or UW Husky hoodie).”

How do you make time for family? “I make time. Priority and discipline. It is easy if you decide to do it. It is your decision how to balance – make it, and live it. Don’t give yourself or others excuses. Your decision to miss a kid’s recital or game, your decision to take your kid to their sports practice, your decision to be home every evening for a family dinner. It is not right or wrong, but it is your decision. As the company leader, it is my role to enable my employees to maintain a healthy balance (which they have to be able to define for themselves) and I have to maintain one for myself and live it by example. Both during times of calm and during urgent hectic times.”

Best stress reliever? How do you unplug? “My kids. They make me laugh and they make me cry. But they always make everything else seem small and doable. Nothing like sitting around the dinner table with them and my wife and talking about their day.”

What are you listening to? “Right now…my employees talking about some feature they are working on…”

Daily reads? Favorite sites and newsletters? “I go through multiple elements of the Google News & Weather app. Easy and regularly updated. I also get various headline feeds from the industries we are in.”

Book on your nightstand (or e-reader)? “Sylvia Rafael: The Life and Death of a Mossad Spy”

Night owl or early riser? What are your sleep patterns? “I am up at 6 a.m. Take my eldest daughter to her high school bus at 6:35 a.m. In the office by 7:20 a.m.”

Where do you get your best ideas? “Everyone and anyone who will share them. Customers, employees, friends, family. My ears are always open to good ideas that when applied to our company, our family, or my life, could be great.”

Whose work style would you want to learn more about or emulate? “There is no one person I would want to emulate. I try to learn from each leader I meet, be they a leader at work, home, their community, etc. And I try to see what things work for them and what don’t and why. I then try to apply to my own style as I grow.”

Click to read on GeekWire