The unusual quirks of ten top channel entrepreneurs

'I don't budget; it's an enormous waste of time'

Entrepreneur: Stuart Fenton

Credentials: CEO of Microsoft Dynamics partner QuantIQ: 2013 - present

Quirks: Listening to music all day, reading, forgoing budgeting

• "I read a great deal - business books, business theories, autobiographies of successful businesspeople, the news, industry research. I consume at least one book a week, usually on my commute. Books expand the mind and the horizon.
• "I look a long way ahead in my business plans - typically three years - and work backwards from there to implement tactical initiatives.
• "I use my diary extensively to make time for the initiatives, strategies or tasks that I have assigned myself or others.
• "I use a daily to-do list, creating it in the morning, and ticking off tasks through the day and try to clear it. For longer- term items, I use Microsoft Planner for me and my team and break activities into ‘sprints' of tasks/initiatives.
• "I communicate publicly with my team monthly on live-stream video to share our performance, progress against plans, etc.
• "I hire the best people I can find. Pay them well. Then I play to their strengths and work around their weaknesses as I expect them to work around mine (which are numerous).
• "I don't budget - it's an enormous waste of executive time. Large companies that I have worked in spend thousands of hours on budgeting - time which could be usefully spent elsewhere. So I set high-level financial goals, and perform a rolling 12-month forecast each month, adapting the model to the business and environment. Working with a fantastic team, we tend to make good, quick decisions.
• "I try to keep meetings short and only with a handful of people - so there is meaningful dialogue. I avoid too many meetings - giving people time to perform their tasks. I do hold one-to-one meetings monthly to assess people, progress, personal development and feedback. I need people to come to a meeting with some preparation and actively contribute.
• "I try to have fun at work.
• "I listen to music all day - when not in meetings."

 Click onto the next page for HPE's Mitchell Feldman's quirks...