How It All Began
This year, I will celebrate my 34th year in business as an entrepreneur, software developer, and technology and productivity consultant. I've provided expert consulting services to more than 400 corporate and government clients, most notably in the fields of messaging, collaborative, and productivity technologies. As a public speaker, I've had the opportunity to share my technological and process insights with more than 10,000 people around the country through my eProductivity coaching and seminars.
International bestseller and productivity coach David Allen has been a major influence on me: we've been friends and collaborators since 1993, and for 14 years I served as his personal technologist, CTO, and Director of Technology.
My current software product is eProductivity, a productivity add-on for IBM Lotus Notes (vetted and approved by David) that helps frustrated workers get the right things done more easily and with less stress. I also consult on behalf of ICA in the areas of personal productivity and knowledge management, showing clients how to apply information, communication, and action technologies to knowledge worker productivity. I am currently doing research in the field of Personal Information and Knowledge Management and I have several products and services in development for 2015.
Here are some fun highlights from my career:
Since I saw my first calculator as a 12-year-old, I've been enamored (even a little obsessed) with how technology can help us think, work and communicate faster and more effectively. This passion has opened a lot of doors, starting in 1979 (at age 16), when I was contracted to design and develop flight-planning software for a LearJet charter company, using a TI-59 with 1kb of memory.
In 1982, Edwards Air Force Base knocked on my door to ask me to help them deploy their first microcomputers. That lead to 13 years of contracting and consulting with them, as well as the U.S. Navy and Marines.
In 1985, I developed one of the first wireless email-to-pager messaging applications -- and I couldn't give it away! Everyone asked me, "Why would you want email when you can just use a phone or fax?" -- nevermind email on a pager! Nine years later, though, in the wake of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and FEMA deployed my application to provide instant communication to thousands of rescue and emergency service personnel across the state.
In 1996, the U.S. Postal Service purchased 80,000 licenses of MailScout, another product I developed to help people manage the "flood" of 40 emails a day! MailScout went on to sell over 500,000 licenses.
I've presented at many events around the world, but the most interesting was a five-day productivity conference in Manila, Philippines, called "Beyond Planning" and attended by over 3,000 people.
In 2008, I launched a commercial version of my eProductivity add-ons for Lotus Notes, which I'd designed for my personal use based on David Allen's "Getting Things Done" methodology. I might be a little biased, but it remains the premier productivity solution for the IBM collaboration suite.
More recently, I've been consulting with executives and senior leadership at Kaiser Permanente to deploy eProductivity to their organization, along with providing executive coaching and expertise on other special projects.
My personal projects and hobbies include
- Homeschooling my four daughters with my wife of 25 years
- Building a wraparound sit/stand/walk treadmill desk
- Experimenting with 3D printers and CNC machines that I've designed and built
- Singing in my church choir
- Teaching a course on technology and organizational decision making at The Master's College for the past 7 years, as well as an Introduction to Robotics course
On the Personal Side
My wife, Kathy, and I have been married for over 25 years. We live in north Los Angeles County and home educate our four daughters. I enjoy working on my HERO 2000 robot and inspiring children to pursue careers in math and science through my robotics presentations and my involvement as a robotics coach with U.S. FIRST. Thanks to the Internet, video conferencing, and collaborative technologies (some of which I helped to pioneer), I'm now able to serve clients around the world.
In addition to my 30-plus years of experience in IT, I also holds a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Management and a Master's degree in Information and Knowledge Management. In my “spare” time, I enjoy blogging on this site, as well as Mack Academy, Notes On Productivity, and Inside eProductivity. Kathy and I are active within our community and church.
