Jobs: Ivan Borovikov, CEO Mindbox

What do you do in your work?

Twelve years ago, I founded Mindbox. Since then, than just not had to deal with. First, he led every customer, and later handed over operational management to his partner Sasha Gornik.

I dream of the day when I can say, "Yes, we Mindbox really changed the world for the better."

Now I can call myself something of a strategic director: translate into simple language that we do, and translates it to the masses. Follow to the company's employees understand why we met and what goals we are facing. I am developing a communication strategy with key customers and prospects, plans to enter new markets. I am looking for new ideas and create opportunities, clothe them in an intelligible form and convey to translate to someone inside the company. I think all this is called strategy.

What is your occupation?

I was born in a family of classical Engineers employees. Dad was an electronics, building military radar systems. He taught me elementary physics and electronics, think logically and constantly tinkering something with their own hands. Mom graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute, worked as an engineer and many more who, as I have seen some reason expert-orientalist.

The first six years of school I went to boarding school with an emphasis on Chinese language. Then he went to public school, where I met a guy who uboltal me along with him to go to the biomedical school. Final exams at the same time there were introductory in medical school. So I went to the "first honey" on-the epidemiologist doctor. But in my second year I decided I wanted to be a surgeon.

He finished his faculty on specialty "hygienist, epidemiologist" passed training in "general practitioner". Then internship in surgery, and five years after graduation, I worked in a hospital.

All this time I was not haunted fascination with computers and programming. I wrote the code, hung in all sorts of computer related get-togethers. Unexpectedly for itself began the first business of the supply of office equipment in the Arctic, and opened with a classmate small network of interiors of cellular communication.

The university did not give me a profession, which I do for a living, but it formed the basis of my philosophy.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

It is difficult to estimate, but because of strong I would call "transparency". I try never to cheat - themselves, partners, customers - and do not let others do it.

The second positive quality - the ability to explain complex things in simple language. I am speaking as a translator between analysts, programmers, and mere mortals. Seriously, this is a very important role in our industry.

They say that I have such a thing as charisma. It allows you to build a bright performance and present the product. Well, if they say this is probably true.

Among the negative aspects, I still frequently late. It's a problem I'm struggling with it, but not always successfully. I also know how bad to say "no" and often try to disguise it. I get silly. More to the disadvantages attributed to excess optimism - a joyful trust in relation to people who, in practice, not always deserve it.

How does your workplace?

I am an Apple fan. I have a whole set of gadgets: phone - iPhone, desktop computer - iMac, home laptop - MacBook Pro.

More at home I should antediluvian computer with Windows. On it, I sometimes play with toys, most often in "The Witcher".

Hard to believe, but I am living retrograde, and any transition to new equipment perceive painful. My phone three years ago was a titanic sliding Nokia 8800 (I think so), computer - Sony VAIO.

The impetus for change was the purchase of a new Land Rover, in which the music and everything else is very simple to include using the iPhone. So I reluctantly passed on the iPhone. I suffered after this transition month, but then it went and it was very comfortable.

After that, I stole a laptop, my Sony. My partner Sasha Gornik, our main innovator, handed me a MacBook Air. He said that if in two or three weeks I will still be sick of the interface, then okay, put it Windows. I suffered a lot again, but then praised long battery life, ease, what with the iPhone to synchronize all the documents and notes - beauty.

I began to glance toward the huge beautiful iMac desktop space, but he could not decide. One day come to work, I see - worth the same iMac. Again, thank you to our partners.

BY

Basic Apps on the phone: «Google Documents», «Google Spreadsheets», Pages, e-mail and Facebook. Also, there are all sorts of "Yandex. Maps ", navigators, taxis, online banking, Runkeeper (I run). For personal use problems Todoist.

Of the messengers - Telegram and Slack (corporate communication). Others try not to use it. Sometimes written in iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, but I hate all this quietly. Viber general categorical "no" to me.

I removed the messengers of push-notifications - distracting. On the smartphone you receive notification only and Runkeeper Slack. On intra-posts need to respond quickly, this is an important thing, therefore, can not escape it.

Of the browsers I have Chrome, and Safari. Mail - Outlook for the Mac. I am against Makovsky native Mail for several reasons:

• he can not embed images in the attachment;
• he constantly expands the picture on the body of writing - it's annoying.

From web services respect Trello and Basecamp.

Ringtone me once in a hundred years (I also retrograde). Each time it happens, in the office all very surprised and asked what a great event happened in my life. The last two tunes were from the "Star Wars". For two years I went to the Imperial March, but he openly took all, and I changed it to Double Moon. This is the point in the fourth part of the "Star Wars" when Luke goes out into the street, and there is the desert, the wind, the two moons in the sky, and the beautiful music. To SMS I have is frazochka Yoda: «Ooooh, message you have». If something of this sudden sparkle at the meeting, those who are in the subject, immediately begin to smile and to insert some other tsitatki. It is a kind of division into "us" and "them".

Is there a place in your paper work?

It is long gone. Sometimes I draw. But only if we discuss some difficult situation and I am trying to convey meaning through a picture or diagram. In exceptional cases, can also write something in a meeting - Classic "plan on a napkin."

I am inspired by the freedom of action and experimentation.

Everything else in my electronic documents and notes.

What is in your bag?

I go with the peasant suitcase.

In it I have a wallet, the keys to the work of a small, half a dozen pens, notebook, mouse, napkins for shoes, spare lenses, flash drive. Also, there are many electronic accessories: Headphones, 33 Adapter for different inputs, the clicker.

The journey confine laptop, phone and charger. I like to take pictures, so I drive with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III. If you really want to do some special fotochku, I take a tripod.

How do you organize your time?

I have a calendar where I record events and upcoming appointments. Everything else occupy workloads. I fix them in Todoist program on the iPhone. It reminds me of the task at hand. If you can do one of them now, I do immediately, if not, install a delay and put the problem into one of these categories.

The disadvantage of this program is that it forces to concentrate on the current minor problems, because of which often forget about the global plans.

I am happy when all turns. Especially when we manage small means to solve a big problem (this applies not only to work).

Therefore, for global planning, I'm Trello seem very inconsistent, which actively use "the ticket" - write down their ideas on them, sort and distribute in the coming months or year.

The same program helps to structure the rubble workers - all communication within the company through Trello. For each block - management, accounting, administrators - managing a separate panel, hung with "the ticket", which contains all the guys problem. In general, the structure - is power.

What's your daily routine?

I'm not an early bird and a night owl. The most productive time for me - morning and afternoon (do not over). I wake up depending on the current workload. Now it is quite high: I get up at seven or eight in the morning, go to bed an hour or two at night.

Always I make the schedule. Day and coming week and a half I painted literally by the hour. Therefore, free window for planning something new usually appears in term of 7-10 days. Not before - before all culled.

Very fond of Saturday: in the office quietly, no one bothers. For me it is a day of high load. Usually I come in the morning, half an hour reading blogs, news and Facebook, going with the thoughts and work until evening. Then he exhaled, and go home. In the evening, I have dinner somewhere and his wife, sometimes I drink a glass of beer.

How to pass the time in traffic jams?

I did not stand in traffic jams on the car. If you come across a big traffic jam, to change to the subway. By car I move around mostly from home to office. I live in Krylatskoye, and the office in my Belarusian, ie by car to go half an hour on the subway - and a half. If I have a meeting somewhere else and I understand that the car is not necessary, I leave it near the office and eating on the subway. I do not have in this regard no complexes.

What's your hobby?

I am a professional diver. Dive for twenty years, started back to the pioneer era. Hobbies are technical diving in a closed cycle in cold water.

My main interest in diving - the lost ships, especially the time of the First and Second World War. We are looking for them in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, along with the team of the same psycho-enthusiasts (such teams only three or four in the region). It all began with a mission to study the victim in the Black Sea destroyer leader "Moscow". Then I learned that our guys found the legendary sunken 150 years ago, the battleship "Leford", and decided to do everything to get to the command of these wonderful guys. Spoke with the head, they took me to shoot, and my companion and I coped. Now I'm a regular member of the team.

My role on the team - eksploratsionny diver and underwater photo- and videographer.

Underwater photographing - another of my serious hobby.

Gulf of Finland - is not the most convenient place for diving. the water temperature is 2 degrees and dark circle - is, as they say, a great challenge. Need to fully concentrate on what you do to disconnect from work and other problems. On this depends your life and the lives of the team members. Jump overboard and do a good job in these conditions, not everyone can. But with the team we have found each other.

The greatest pleasure for me - a sense of belonging to a large historically important matter. After each found after 70 years of neglect submarine - a real mystery, a gap in history. She was gone, sunk, it was forgotten. And you are the first person who finds it, continues the story. There are details that are sometimes forced to look differently at the events of the war. People find the place of death of their relatives.

What place sport occupies in your life?

Despite the busy schedule, I try to give enough time to sports. As said before, in my life there is scuba diving. Also, I run in the mornings (usually four times a week) - a good head clears and calms the nerves. I run 40-60 km per week, three runs of 10 km, one - 15 km and one more - 20 km.

Running is passion for me. Running keeps itself in decent shape, up to an hour and a half earlier, and a rest of the phone calls. You run along the promenade or in the park: the sun, the birds, squirrels, woodpeckers, the people who run towards and smiling - a good start for the day.

After jogging a lot easier - it is checked.

In the race I did not set myself any clear goals. Today I ran two full marathon (each about four hours) and still a lot of small distances. Second marathon, by the way, was given a much harder first: planning to improve his time, but ill ripped workout plan without dospat, pereel - in short, did everything wrong. As a result, it improved the time by 10 minutes, but it felt terrible. Five years from now I'd like to master Ironman.

Two more times a week I go to the gym on sportboksingu. Although now the blockage, and sometimes you have to sacrifice sports, I try to minimize shirking.

Layfhakerstvo from Ivan Borovikova

books

• «How to get my affairs in order. The Art of stress-free productivity"David Allen;
• «From good to great. Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Do not"Jim Collins;
• «Four Steps to inspiration. Strategies for creating successful startups"Steve Blank;
• Biography of Steve Jobs.

Movies and Series

• "Star Wars," "Lord of the Rings," "Game of Thrones», «scary stories"- from fantasy;
• «black sails"And other historical about the war.

Blogs and Websites

Subscribe to the majority of well-known groups and resources dedicated to the automation of marketing in e-commerce Russia, as well as industry resources like Shopolog, E-pepper, New Retail, Retail.ru, Retailer.ru, CNews, "Habr". I read Tomu Lebedev - an interesting blog where you can find some useful tools.

I recommend to view the presentation and Jobs presentation co-founder of Uber on TED. Travis Kalanick tells about "uberizatsiyu" Carpooling and how it affects the city.

What is your life motto?

It sounds pretty vague, but it works perfectly.

Not to lose heart and to move forward, no matter what happens.