THE MEMO - Feb 23 - Grant Langston is a veteran eHarmony employee. He joined way back in 2000 as one of the first employees. He was promoted to CEO last year.
Q: What part of your morning routine sets you up for the day?
A: I'm up about 6am. I have two small children and I work hard to make the mornings about connecting with them and my wife.
Q: What apps do you use to be more productive?
A: WunderlistWunderlist: The best to-do list I've ever seen.
Evernote: I use this as a filing cabinet for personal items.
iXpenseIt: To track expenses.
IFTTT: Another little tool for shortcuts.
CloudBeats: I've put my large music collection in Dropbox and CloudBeats lets me play it.
SeatGuru: If you travel a lot, it's a great way to avoid ending up in the quirky seat that will hurt your back.
Q: How many people, outside of family, do you meet in a day?
A: This varies greatly. One of the things I like most about this role is the wide range of possibilities.
Q: What book have you read, either recently or in the past, that has inspired you?
A: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. This is the book for the wartime CEO.
Q: What advice would you give for people who are eager to get into your industry?
A: Find a place that's doing the work you want to do, preferably a company that's small and struggling, and reach out to them.
Q: Are you sending emails in the night? Or do you have a wind down routine?
A: I've learned to be sensitive to that.
Q: If you could ask your idol one question, who would it be, and what would you ask?
A: If I only had one question I would pick someone who went through the most dire circumstance, Abraham Lincoln. The question would be: "What's the best want to enjoy life and maintain perspective when the pressure is on and the chips are down?"
I see so many leaders consumed by their fight. They seem to be hating every minute of their work life. There's a real skill to having fun when times are hard.
by Oliver Smith
The full article was originally published at The Memo, but is no longer available.
