Everyone has their own best practices and tools for getting the job done. Some include holding onto their iPhone for dear life or learning how to stay organized even during the chaotic times. Our recurring segment “It Works for Me” features business professionals sharing their secrets on how they get the job done. Next up is Matt Breese, Marketing Manager, MMIT.
Company Name: MMIT
Job Title: Marketing Manager
Where do you live? East Hanover, NJ
Where do you work? Yardley, PA
What is your office environment like? I describe it as the Yardley version of Facebook – an open environment that encourages communication between departments with a variety of meeting room options. Okay, maybe not quite Facebook. Did I mention all of the whiteboards?!
What technology do you use at work? Dell laptops. While the touchscreen helps some, I stick to my iPad and iPhone when I’m on the go (and whiteboards when I’m in a bind.)
What technology do you use at home? PC during the day and Mac all night. I adapted to the ‘6PM transition’ soon after joining MMIT.
On a scale of 1 (never) to 10 (always), how often are you connected to your smartphone? I would love to say, “I don’t need my phone.” The truth is I 10 out of 10 do. The first step is getting out of denial, right? With multiple emails and project threads running at the same time, it’s my single best tool for managing everything during nearly every waking hour.
What is your favorite organizational tool? The combination of Outlook and Skype is key. I’m able to keep my calendar and threads organized via Outlook and get quick feedback from co-workers via Skype to keep the ball rolling.
What website/app/tool are you obsessed with at the moment? I’m on a serious ABM kick at the moment so that would be Terminus. It’s what I call a “pre-marketing” tool that allows us to put a non-invasive blanket over our target personas at our target accounts without needing their direct contact information and spamming them. It’s a great way to fill in the typical gaps you have with marketing and allows you to expand past your list and prospecting capabilities.
Can you recommend a book? I can. The Art of Woo. (Tip: get the audiobook as I’m pretty sure the narrator has mastered the “art of influence.”)
What’s your best time management tip? Create frameworks. Set goals. Define scope. Prioritize.
I’ve found that clearly defining expectations/objectives early on in the process helps me categorize the initiative. From there, I can use a “template” from a previous project to streamline the process and understand how big of an effort it will be. Identifying potential bottlenecks in the process (person, knowledge gap, technology, etc.) helps to adjust steps accordingly and hit our milestones. If I was to pick one thing, though, it would be frameworks. I spend an hour each week searching for and hardening frameworks that make even new, unfamiliar activities seem like something I’ve done before.
What’s the strangest thing in your office? I’m pretty sure I am responsible for the strangest thing(s) in the office. Many of my co-workers refer to my whiteboard drawings (funnels, mindmaps, stats, even simple signatures to let everyone else know I was there) as the 8th wonder of the world. I’m pretty neurotic about my lines and circles – gotta stay organized. We also like to switch up our desks on a pretty regular basis so my whiteboard antics have spread like the plague across the office.
Matt leads marketing efforts at MMIT, where he was able to help build a content marketing program from scratch using unique marketing frameworks and collaboration from a variety of innovators and thought leaders. He’s a car guy at heart and loves a good blog. Speaking of, check out MMIT’s blog!
