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Balancing the Grind with Scott Graham, Managing Partner at Particle Leads

Scott Graham is the Managing Partner at Particle Leads, which provides software and consulting solutions to give clients visibility and control over their new business leads.

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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

Until recently I’ve made a career in corporate marketing and strategy roles. My work took me overseas for 12 years working with Coca Cola and Ford Motor Company in regional and global roles out of the US, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

These days I run my own software business Particle Lead Accelerator. We’re coming to the end of our second year as a start-up and in spite of the pandemic business is going well.

2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

Rise at 5.15 and start with a swim from Manly to Shelly beach and back, walk the dog and at my desk by 9.30am. Quick planning session and pop out to grab a drive by coffee at 10.30. Selling activity fills out the morning with VC’s and calls with prospects and clients.

We break for lunch as a team at 1.30. Afternoon is spent at my desk writing props, working on functional design, VC’s with client implementation teams, and reviewing development drops from the prior night.

Daily WIP with the development team at 5.30-6.00 then closing hour with my partner in prep for the next day.

3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?

Yes, for sure. It’s one of the things that attracted me to running my own business after a lifetime in corporate roles. We have an office with 5 workstations on the mezzanine floor at my place.

The development-team work from home and meet up at a place in Mascot. Most face to face meetings are generally held at client offices and if needed casual, meeting spaces are readily available.

It’s a win all around. We spend less time travelling and have more time for life and work. And we save a bundle on rental – leaving us more to put into the product.

4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?

It’s a newly acquired skill. I’ve spent my life flogging myself 55-60 hours a week. It was always fun so no regrets on that front, but I’ve buggered my back from long nights working on props at my desk.

So I guess it’s my body telling me to sort myself out. While I love to exercise, I’ve always been a compulsive worker. I’ve learned the hard way to exercise every day – if it’s not swimming, then an hour’s Pilates session to keep my core in shape.

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5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

Yes, I’ve bought a platform to convert my desk to a stand-up setting and I use this on and off in the afternoons to keep my core engaged.

6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

Anything that’s not business. I love reading and I love business, but I abhor business books. For me reading is an opportunity to remove myself from the everyday and lose myself in the writer’s creation. Alternately you can find me glued to Radio National to stay in touch with the wider world.

7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?

My UE Boom speaker follows me around as I work on my cars, do my Pilates or garden. I love it.

8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Someone like me who’s struggled to achieve it. I imagine chefs really struggle – they always look beaten up by the stress and long hours. Be cool to hear from one who’s really got things nailed.

9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

Quality beats quantity at every turn. A twenty-minute walk around the city in the sunlight feeds the whole person much more than 45 minutes in the company café.

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About Author

Hey there! I'm Hao, the Editor-in-Chief at Balance the Grind. We’re on a mission to showcase healthy work-life balance through interesting stories from people all over the world, in different careers and lifestyles.