How I Succeeded: WatchGuard’s David Higgins

How I Succeeded is a regular series on Lifehacker where we ask business leaders for the secrets and tactics behind their success. Today: David Higgins from WatchGuard Technologies.

Current gig: Regional director at WatchGuard Technologies
Location: Sydney, Australia
Current mobile device: Samsung S5
Current computer: Lenovo Thinkpad
One word that best describes how you work: Committed

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?

Linkedin, Outlook, Excel, GPS, Viber and mobile phone

What social network do you find the most useful?

Linkedin and Facebook

What were the most important lessons you learned while growing your business?

One of the most important lessons that I learned is to practice effective listening. By demonstrating an understanding of what the customer or internal/external stakeholders are trying to achieve, I can then comfortably work with them to deliver the most effective outcome.

Other lessons include providing a relaxed, rewarding and supportive workplace to ensure that everyone has what they need to do their job as well as having fun in the process.

What has been the most surprising part of your business journey?

Surprisingly, the constant and accelerating change in what and how IT solutions are delivered has been an incredible challenging and motivating aspect of my career. Comparing how far technology has come since I was programming in the 80s still comes as a surprise and I’m looking forward to see what kinds of technological developments we’ll see in the near future.

What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?

I’m quite savvy with Microsoft Excel. It makes for excellent business management from a numerical perspective.

What’s your sleep routine like?

I sleep between 7-8 hours every night. Our head office is located in Seattle resulting in an early to late morning crossover between workdays.

What advice would you offer to other businesses on how to succeed?

Understand your product as well as the go-to-market strategy and how it fits (or doesn’t fit) with the changes in our technological landscape and customer expectations.


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