1. What have you found most challenging as a leader of a small or medium enterprise?

So much to do - so little time...

2. How did you become a leader of an SME? Can you please briefly tell the story?

Good friend of mine had an opening to run sales for Buurst that I had worked with years ago. We connected and he offered me the job.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

Prioritize my daily to do list, confirm Outlook calendar, check through my Cortana action items and execute the daily plan. Before calling it a day, cursory look at the same items to prioritize for tomorrow's daily action plan.

4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

The board is your friend not your enemy. Accept the oversight, embrace it and the feedback will surprise you.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey Jr. Trust is something that can be measured and using these metrics can increase productivity, reduce sales cycles and produce greater gains than organizations that don't have a 'trust' culture.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in an SME?

Empower and trust your employees. When they violate that trust and empowerment, put in a correction plan. If the pattern continues, part ways quickly and amicably. For those employees who can be trusted, empower them to do more.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader of an SME so far?

We hired a person who had little to no sales experience but she had a 'can do' attitude. We trained her, empowered her to succeed and she has become one of our top performers.