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Cisco Partner Hot Seat – Mike Danson CEO Natilik

Suzannah Darlow
September 9, 2015

This month we have Mike Danson, CEO of Natilik in our partner hot seat. So let’s get down to the nitty gritty and find out more about his role as partner, as well as a bit of an insight into Mike’s more personal side – don’t worry Mike, you can’t be the only one who bought Super Trouper…

How many years have you been working in the industry?

I’m in my 20^th year!

What’s the first thing you do each morning?

I’m up at 6am every morning……I eat breakfast, catch up on news, say hello to my wife and three daughters and check up on overnight email from our Sydney Office…..sometimes I’ll also have a quick run…….and then on with the day!

Tell us five things you do every day in your role.

Most recently I’ve been spending my time on our transition from Touchbase to Natilik! My job as CEO is so varied that each day is different, however where I spend my time is always centred around the five things that we care most about (i) Providing an amazing place for our people to work (ii) Providing an exceptional experience to our Clients (iii) Ensuring we have a valuable and differentiated proposition (iv) Driving profitable growth (v) Operational excellence

What’s your number one tip when it comes to dealing with customers?

If you say you’re going to do something – DO IT! Nothing builds trust more than doing what you say you are going to do.

Name one thing businesses tend to forget when implementing or upgrading their technology

More time should be spent on assessing upfront the impact of the technology investment and measuring the impact post project. All too often project success is measured on being on-time and on-budget, without the necessary time being spent to see if the impact on the original business objective was as anticipated.

What’s the number one pain point or concern your customers have?

When we surveyed our clients recently their No.1 Business Priority was Growth and their No.1 IT Objective was Security. Check out our new website at www.natilik.com to see the others in the Top 5!

What’s you favourite thing about your job?

Building a company of amazing people…..if you have amazing people, you can deliver an incredible experience to your clients.

What’s the best thing about partnering with Cisco?

Even though market leadership and innovation are critical factors in choosing Cisco, the deep commitment to partnering is the thing that is most valued.

Name one device or piece of technology you couldn’t live without

My iPhone! What did we do before smart phones?!

If you weren’t working in tech, what would you be doing?

I’m hugely passionate about sport, health and music, so probably something business/leadership related in one of those industries.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

It’s very important to have clear goals, but make sure you enjoy the journey. If you purely focus on the destination, at the expense of everything else, it will make for a pretty miserable life.

What helps you relax at the end of the day?

Spending time with my wonderful wife and kids, hanging out with friends, playing sport, exercising, watching a film or listening to music.

What’s your ultimate comfort food?

A full English Breakfast!

Which actor would play you in a biopic of your life?

What an awful question! A tall handsome blonde guy with a receding hair line…….maybe Bill Nighy?!

If you could possess one superhero power, what would it be?

To be able to double the average life span of everyone on the planet….there is so much to do and see and learn in this world that one lifetime simply isn’t long enough!

First music single you bought?

Very embarrassing! Super Trouper by ABBA

Apple or Android?

Apple

Who would you least like to be stuck on a desert island with?

Anyone who was a pessimist…..I hate negativity!

What’s your most-used smartphone app?

The Natilik Apps we develop for everyone’s iPhones! After that maybe the BBC sports app.

In your opinion, what’s the best tech innovation of the last 100 years?

In terms of the biggest positive impact on my life, enterprise class, high definition video technology. There have been many other technology innovations in my working life, but they have their pro’s and cons’ (smart phones, emails, social media etc). In terms of purely positive impact without any downsides, I would say video is amazing. The quality of my interactions (compared to just voice/conference calls) has been greatly improved and I can now work as part of multi-location teams much more effectively than I ever thought possible. It’s also incredibly efficient and good for the environment!