This post was written by Boston Content committee member Lauren Landry, a digital content specialist at Northeastern University. Follow her, @laurlandry.
Boston Content is proud to host its events at WeWork South Station, a coworking office space teeming with creators who are as inspirational as they are innovative. "How (We)Work" is a series dedicated to highlighting how those creators stay productive, creative and new. Prepare to start rethinking how you plan your day.
Enrico Palmerino, managing director of SmartBooks, has been named one of America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs. He grew ThinkLite from a dorm room startup into a lighting efficiency company with eight offices worldwide. And now, he is taking on a new industry.
“I truly believe in [SmartBooks],” said Palmerino in an email, “and think that we are changing the future of the bookkeeping and accounting space.”
Changing an industry is no easy task, however — it takes constant creativity and someone with Palmerino’s desire to solve problems and overcome hurdles.
“I want to live and make an impact on society,” he said, “and can sleep when I’m dead.”
How is he able to make that impact? Keep reading.
Boston Content: What is your morning routine?
Enrico Palmerino: I wake up around 5 or 6 a.m. and hop on email — skimming first for intros, prospects and leads, and any important company inquiries. Then I usually head off to an early morning meeting or networking group.
What kind of content can you not start your day without?
I usually look at LinkedIn to see what people have posted for interesting topics, or peruse Mashable's Entrepreneurship section.
What are three things co-workers are likely to always find on your desk?
Three monitors, business cards and a to-do list.
How do you stay creative?
I'm constantly meeting with brilliant and interesting people. I learn from their experiences and the new technology they are trying. Many Why? questions later, I will connect a few dots. That usually leads to my creativity.
How do you stay productive?
I constantly ask myself what can we do better, what are we not doing and why, and listen to others' suggestions. I then make a to-do list that prioritizes the most important tasks. Internally, we also meet quarterly to determine what the top three to four things are we can do to progress our company forward, and then work toward accomplishing those goals by the end of the quarter.
What’s your favorite time of day to get stuff done, and why?
From 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., once all the day-to-day is complete and everything is quiet without distractions.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Vacation. When I do take a vacation, I like to use the time to read business books and sit back and view the company externally to come up with a game plan of tasks I can complete that will help take the business to the next level. Getting away helps keep me from getting caught up in the day-to-day.
Are there any quotes you live by?
I like to live by the concept of, "Shooting for the stars and worst case land on the moon." I try to set really high goals and expectations for myself knowing that, so long as I work toward them and do everything possible to achieve them, if for some reason I don't, I will still be that much better off.
Follow Palmerino, @EnricoPalmerino.