What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed?

I am a morning person going back to my farm upbringing when there were cows to be milked and animals to be fed before school each day. The first thing I now do is quickly jump into the shower, dress and start to work.

What gives you energy?

I get energy from accomplishing tasks that I set for myself each day

What’s a daily habit or practice that helps you thrive?

I like to make work lists and then look back at the end of the day to see all that I have accomplished

Name a book that changed your life.

Not sure it really “changed my life”, but the bio of Steve Jobs really opened my eyes to having a maniacal focus on users wants and needs in designing products

Tell us about your relationship with your phone. Does it sleep with you?

I do NOT sleep with my phone … I shut it off after the work day and re-open the next morning

How do you deal with email?

I was the first IBM executive to use e-mail back in 1980 (a test system) and learned the importance of staying on top of my e-mails. I try to answer everything within a few hours of receiving and delete the rest and keep my open list of e-mails less then one page. 

You unexpectedly find 15 minutes in your day, what do you do with it?

If I have 15 minutes available, I will quickly check my v-mails, texts and e-mails.

When was the last time you felt burned out and why?

I can’t remember being “burned out.” I am often tired, especially a traveling, but never burned out.

When was the last time you felt you failed and how did you overcome it?

As a career sales executive, I had to learn early to deal with failure on a regular basis (e.g. losing an order). I am an optimist my nature so I seldom reflect long on past failures and focus my energy on future opportunities

Share a quote that you love and that gives you strength or peace.

I was taught the importance of humility by my parents which I tried to exhibit during my whole life which I feel contributed to my career success … and my favorite quote was in a movie – The Devil’s Advocate, I think – in which the actor said his secret to success in business was that “they never saw me coming!”.