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

Office politics can become a huge hindrance to getting work done. It's critical to establish a team culture and hire people who enjoy being a part of highly productive teams. Be very careful about setting priorities because SMEs don't have the resources to do 100 things - you must stay focused.

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

In my case, entrepreneurship was something that was prized in my family. I knew it was something I wanted to do. It really was as simple as quitting the job I had and jumping into a new opportunity.

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

I start my day with an early morning walk with my dog, Winston. After that, I do extensive reading of the morning news sites and papers. After that, I spend as much time as possible talking to customers, partners, and other executives. I can then use insights from those conversations in internal meetings to direct my team to opportunities or to combat challenges.

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

Going virtual during covid and keeping communications going has taught me a lot. If you've hired self-starting, competent people, transitions like this are easier, because your team will think for themselves and adapt quickly.

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?

I have enjoyed reading books about Winston Churchill. He had a clear mission and always encouraged teamwork. He was fully honest with people, sought to inspire them, and recognized great performance. There's a lot to learn from his dogged, persistent approach to goals.

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

Choosing the right people who can take on leadership and more responsibility is even more important in an SME because you don't have room for error.

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

Listening to your customers is very important. Some of our product innovations, including our patented offline apps technology, came out of conversations with our customers. Customers will tell you what their business challenges are and what they need products to do for them.