Elizabeth Si

5.45 AM

A winter morning wake-up is worth it when you know you’re heading into the city for a much-needed yoga session.

6.15 AM

A bus ride into Sydney CBD before peak hour traffic begins 

7.00 AM

I love seeing Sydney this early because it feels like I’m closer to the city, one on one and before it wakes up to become a buzzing metropolis.

The is sun just starting to rise above Sydney Harbour and the ferries are making their way into Circular Quay, shuffling the daily commuters. The sun beams into the Opera House and sets itself, just for a few seconds onto my face as I melt from one posture to the next.

For 60 mins, the guided yoga class clears my mind for today.

8.00 AM

I take a walk to the office and order my favourite hot chocolate and a warm croissant. I sit for a moment and observe the rotating doors, shuffling people into the 40 something storey building. Some looking more determined than others. 

8.30 AM

I take the lift and swipe through the glass door and am greeted by our office overlooking the Harbour. As I walk through, I find an adjustable table and set up my workstation. I open my emails and mentally sort through what must be done today, what can wait until tomorrow and what requires continued work.

9.00 AM

A quick check-in call with my Manager to discuss the activities of the day. He offers me advise on how to advance meetings and sales cycles and checks in to see if I need additional support.

10.00 AM

The perks of working for SAS is that we have people all over the world who can offer insight into how other parts of the world are adopting analytics. Today I have a call with another Account Executive in our HQ who has similar customers in the financial services industry. Over the duration of our call, he mentions the key learnings of the customer interaction and ideas that I can possibly use with my customer. We agreed to keep in touch to exchange knowledge and learnings from US/Aus.

11.00 AM

I jump into a meeting room with my technical expert who is about to step me through the end to end capability of one of our new products. Here, I’m looking to see if it addresses my clients specific problem in claims management and integration with their existing software and planned infrastructure

12.00 PM

Today I have a meeting with the Data Analytics Manager from an insurance company. The meeting is a casual check-in to understand their current projects and their IT ecosystem.

2.00 PM

Back at the office, I document the meetings to ensure that my internal stakeholders are aware that it took place, the topics of discussion and the next steps. The client mentioned that they are looking to improve the way they manage their data and will move to the cloud. I send a summary of the meeting to my team with specific questions from the customer.

A quick check to update the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and see if there are any tasks which are due.

3.00 PM

I take a short break to think about what I want to achieve next week and enter this into my goals spreadsheet. I have to really concentrate on clear goals for next week so I escape to our “Sanctuary Room” to focus. Having clear goals helps me understand what my objectives are and means that I can receive quality coaching with my Manager.

4.00 PM

I have some homework I need to do for an upcoming team enablement session. I have to put together an Executive Summary so I have a look at our internal systems for examples. I’m also planning a Trivia night with the team so I quickly review what needs to be done.

5.00 PM

Home time and battle Sydney traffic

5.30 PM

Check the fridge for some dinner. 

7.00 PM

I remote into my uni class and try my best to actively listen and participate after work. The morning exercise helps me focus and get the most out of the day

9.30 PM

I set my alarm for tomorrow, reflect on the day and dose off to sleep.