Ellie Hearne Of Pencil or Ink: “Cultivate a network beyond your day job”

Cultivate a network beyond your day job. Networking, much like “resilience” or “accountability” is an important concept whose name often elicits a shiver. But find your own way to do it well.

Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.

As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ellie Hearne.

Ellie Hearne is Principal of Pencil or Ink, where her clients include Fortune 500s, industry leaders, and small but growing businesses. She helps leaders bring strategy and culture together, improving both in the process. In her spare time, Ellie leads the Oxford Strategic Innovation Program as Head Tutor and serves as Treasurer of the American Foundation of the University of St Andrews. Ellie has three young children and resides in New York City.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Born in Dublin, Ireland, I grew up in Scotland, where we lived in a few different golf towns. Though it perhaps makes for a boring backstory, it was a happy existence. I did dislike school with a passion, though. Does that count?! I was bullied and struggled to find my tribe, so to speak, but academically I usually did fairly well.

Fortunately, I outgrew my feelings about school in time to take advantage of Scotland’s excellent universities. At St Andrews University, I felt like I had come to life. Studying there broadened my horizons and I attribute quite a bit of my professional and later academic success to that experience. It was also great fun; I even studied abroad in the US.

What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.

My horizons were already broad. My dad worked for American tech companies, so our family vacations were often to California, and once or twice to New York City. I was always inspired by that — the hard work, the travel, the US — all of it. My mum worked hard closer to home and achieved much professionally and personally. Looking back, her entrepreneurialism was instructive. The local primary school didn’t have a nursery (preschool) and the local community center lacked an afterschool program, so she helped start both. As a parent myself now, I view that in an entirely different light. Childcare is everything.

Neither of my parents attended university, so I saw how hard work was instrumental in their success. A guiding light for me as an immigrant and as a business owner has been that it’s OK to be ambitious. Though I started my career in the nonprofit world, doing so in New York meant that the hunger to keep moving onward and upward was always there (and usually welcomed!). The US infrastructure doesn’t always foster entrepreneurialism — I know more than a few would-be business owners who lack health insurance, for example — but the culture tends to embrace it. That’s no small thing.

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?

Let me tell you about Diane.

Diane O’Neill — a client turned mentor — saw something in me I did not necessarily see in myself. At a low ebb following the birth of my first child and having quit my job, Diane encouraged me to take her on as a client (via a contract with my old employer).

The monthly outing from the baby-rearing life to the smartly dressed corporate world where I felt more like my old self was a gift in itself. But it’s what she said next that truly changed things: “Ellie, when are you going to start your own business? I’m tired of writing these checks to some dude.”

That was eight years ago. I’ve since started that business (Pencil or Ink), studied Organizational Leadership at Oxford University (where Diane enrolled alongside me), and earned a part-time teaching role at the same university, where I now lead the Oxford Strategic Innovation Programme.

Very sadly, we lost Diane suddenly last year. It’s been of comfort in challenging times to try to honor her in how I live my life: I encourage others to do more and to do better, I try to let go of what doesn’t serve me, and — like her — I always tip in cash.

Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?

Early career, I nonchalantly clicked the “add contacts from my address book” button on LinkedIn, thinking the two people I had selected from my address book would receive invitations to connect. And they did. Together with ~1,200 other people, whose names were also selected — a fact I would have noticed had I bothered to scroll down.

Mortified, I have since seen the funny side — and the upside. Having a larger network of weaker ties is actually a professional asset. Whereas a close friend will provide a listening ear and a bit of encouragement, it’s often the passing acquaintances who will refer you into their business or make a warm introduction.

(And, for the record, slamming your laptop closed does not “undo” your last action.)

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Discipline. A lot of early entrepreneurship demands solitude and hard work — so discipline is key. It is also key to structuring your time, exceeding client expectations (which builds trust and wins referrals), and staying motivated through feast and famine. My academic experience was perhaps good training for this, as the British system includes a lot of independent study. But my tendency towards introversion has helped, too. I’ve never felt lonely on this path, though all the client interactions that make up my workdays are a gift to any solopreneur.

Humor. Not the joke-a-minute kind, but more the “I’ve read the room and can make light of things to communicate a relevant point” kind. People more often remember how they felt in your presence rather than what you said (with thanks to Toni Morrison), so listening well, connecting with your “audience”, and deploying wit can make all the difference.

Learning. No one wants to work with someone who believes they have nothing left to learn. But beyond the well-known downsides of being a know-it-all, a learning mindset has a lot of upsides. You can hone your strategy by being responsive to market needs, improve the client and team experience along the way, and enjoy the personal and professional growth education brings. (I know: I have come a long way from hating elementary school.) Receiving feedback with an open mind also sends clients and would-be clients a message of professionalism and partnership, too. You cannot buy advertising like that — all my business is referral-based. And my academic career would simply not have happened without that all-important receptivity to learning.

I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?

I am a voracious reader and love a novel or biography as much as a business read.

In the latter category, I’ve found Adam Grant’s Give and Take and Church, Cook, and Stein’s Thought Leaders Practice to be especially useful as I have grown my business.

But, please, do not underestimate the value of being transported by a more “fun” book. There’s something quite wonderful about savoring every last chapter of a paperback. Recently, I’ve enjoyed James McBride’s Heaven and Earth Grocery Store and Ziwe’s book of essays (Black Friend). Sometimes it’s good for one’s brain to stop thinking about the work and to give screens a break for a while.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Leaders quickly learn that their assets sign off at 6pm (or whenever). The point is that the people are the business. All the challenges are typically solved by humans, and this is true for product-led companies, too — even in this age of A.I. So here’s what’s exciting… Beyond bringing consultants in to coach a leader or lead an offsite, leaders are looking at strategy and culture together.

We all know that “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. But, done well, each should enhance the other, and leading organizations recognize that more and more. In the Strategic Innovation program (the course I help lead at Oxford), the students are always looking ahead to applying the research and frameworks taught. “How can I make this happen in a culture that resists change?” “What would influence leaders in my organization to try something different?” “We’re often met with ‘we tried [a new approach] years ago and it didn’t work’, how can we get creative about overcoming these objections this time around?” These questions are the right ones to ask.

A quick example that helps make this case for a holistic approach: one client invested an enormous amount of time, money, and consulting hours in speeding up decision-making — as empowering the workforce was central to their strategy. When I interviewed some team members, we learned that the organization had inadvertently created accidental disincentives to this. As one leader noted, “It would be easier and quicker for someone to sign off on my solo trip across the country to have a document signed than it would be to get clearance to ship that same document to the same location.” The sign-off involved for the mailing the documents was more cumbersome than getting clearance for a cross-country trip. Not ideal, of course, and addressed by looking at culture and strategy in stereo.

Another client case comes to mind, in a different industry this time. Their annual strategy review put margin front and center. They wanted to spend less to earn consistent or greater revenue. A worthy plan. But “human challenges” — poor performance, high attrition, and low morale — hampered progress. Workshops, coaching, and mentorship helped. But part of the picture was missing. Things came into focus when we looked at the system’s incentives. After all, you get what you measure, and it turned out that performance reviews only measured projects (not people management) and rewarded speed above all else. In other words, managers weren’t incentivized to manage well — they were incentivized to be individual contributors who worked quickly, and just happened to oversee teams. So we adjusted the competencies measured in the performance reviews and weighted people management on a par with project management. Sometimes, fixing a process is what moves a culture (along with a bit of training and coaching, of course). This was one of those times.

OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?

The less time you have, the more disciplined you have to be about spending it. I have a successful business, a part-time leadership role in a business school, three children, and a board seat.

I’m fortunate to have autonomy and resources — so I try to spend my time in a way that makes the most of those assets and honors my many priorities. I believe I can manage these areas of my life well, but it does require every bit of the discipline, humor, and willingness to learn noted earlier.

For example, business, family, and health are important to me. To start all three on the right footing, my mornings have to be somewhat consistent, if not just for me, then for those around me.

Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.

My most productive days always start the night before. When I get to my desk, I have my three priorities for the day waiting for me on a Post-It, as set at the close of the previous workday. I’ve hopefully also turned in by 10:30pm — a feat made easier my switch to reading a book before bed rather than phone scrolling. Most of the time, that is; it can be hard to resist my phone when I’m tired, which of course is precisely when I need it least.

Before I get to my desk in the morning, I have a few consistent routines. Up at 6am, I try to work out. Some days, that’s an hour in the gym with my trainer. Others, it’s a 20-minute neighborhood jog before the house wakes up. We live near the stunning Brooklyn Bridge Park, so I’ll take the win.

I look at my phone as I cool down — ostensibly to triage my inbox and check messages, and since my two academic roles are for institutions based 5 hours ahead of New York. Realistically, it is also because I have a phone habit. I make sure there are no fire drills, then put it down and remind myself to be present.

In the family kitchen I hug the kids (8, 5, and 1), make breakfast and fill any gaps my husband (and dedicated co-parent) needs me to fill. Make waffles, pack lunches, referee disagreements… You get the idea.

Breakfast is a must for me because 1. I love food. And 2. OK, yes, it does create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. Usually, that is oatmeal with peanut butter or some eggs — and always tea and fruit.

After a quick shower, I dress for the day, which is easier now that I’ve taken to picking my outfit the night before. (I cannot tell you how much I recommend this; I even installed a “valet rail” in my closet. Google it.)

Speaking of which, I have also stopped laying out clothes for my 5- and 8-year-olds. Why? Much like learning to foster autonomy in others at work, I suspect in raising children we should foster a bit more autonomy in them, too. I read that one of the biggest indicators of future success is learning from a young age to take care of oneself. If I can make peace with the messy wardrobe and unconventional outfit choices of by the little ones, perhaps they will go further in life. (Time will tell.)

Anyway, after breakfast time, teeth brushing, bribery, and corralling, the kids are on the way to school with our labrador and either my husband or me in tow. Our nanny arrives for the baby, the kids make it to school, and the workday officially begins.

Supplementing the Post-It priorities from the night before, I keep a notebook close by. It’s divided into sections: culture, strategy, coaching, workshops, Oxford, and St Andrews (I’m treasurer of the latter university’s US foundation). Everything goes in this book and I always have it to hand. Those two simple rules are what make it useful. (Productivity doesn’t care whether you use an elaborate app or a pretentious notebook; it merely needs consistent use and a couple of basic rules. And possibly a bit of distance from the NYT Games app, though I always do the Mini crossword.)

Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?

Keep changes incremental and specific. “I’m going to sleep more, read more, and run more” doesn’t work for most people. “I’m going to read one chapter of a book before bed” does. “I’m going to wind down starting 45 minutes before sleep” is another good one. It can also help to start with what you’re doing well — “I always feel good when I eat a square breakfast. Today I will eat a balanced lunch, too.” That bit of positive familiarity (in this case, a square breakfast) can get us more comfortable with the change to come (á la, making time for a healthful lunch).

I think it’s similar with curbing bad habits. Keep it specific and incremental — and remind yourself of what you’re already doing well.

Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?

Impact. In coaching a leader, facilitating a team offsite, or consulting on strategy, it’s not exaggerating to say that I can improve the work-lives of people and usually the fortunes of their businesses follow. That’s powerful. In no less powerful a way, I set the example to my children that working hard, showing up for others, and making time for yourself are three legs of a stool — each is important to me, so I do my best to make time for them all. And I try to show myself a bit of grace when the stool wobbles.

Even on those inevitable days where I’m not at my best, I am motivated by the little rituals that no parent takes for granted. Getting out of the house to commute to work. Brewing (or buying) the first coffee of the day. Crossing a few tasks off the list. The little things make a big difference.

Another great source of support for me has been in finding community. Friends, loved ones, colleagues, fellow business-owners, and the like. The best advice I’ve had and almost all my best days have been at the hands of others.

What other resources would you suggest to our readers?

Cultivate a network beyond your day job. Networking, much like “resilience” or “accountability” is an important concept whose name often elicits a shiver. But find your own way to do it well.

I always dreaded the concept of sales, networking, and relationship-building. But over time I’ve made peace with doing it in my own way — a 1:1 catch-up here, an occasional event there, always listening well and following up with a low-key email or LinkedIn invite. It doesn’t have to be transactional or sales-y.

While we’re here, an approach to networking events and conferences I wish I’d learned sooner: consider walking up to groups of 3 or 5 people rather than 2s or 4s. Individuals tend to pair up conversationally and, in an odd-numbered group, at least one person will be pleased you approached.

Whatever your approach, make it your own and make it a priority.

Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

The most widespread challenge I see leaders grapple with — myself included — is focusing on the strategic goal rather than the pragmatic fix. What do I mean by this? As a leader, I want my team to step up and do things well. But as a leader confronted with things not always going to plan, my temptation is to let the person/s know what went wrong, why it was bad, and how I would do it better. The wrinkle is that this rarely works. The person feels condescended to and is unlikely to respond well to what amounts to a lecture. So, the better move is to have a conversation where you listen more than you talk and ask them to define the next steps. They may not suggest doing things exactly how you would, but they will take ownership of the solution and feel more motivated as a result. It doesn’t take a leader to tell you that that’s a bigger win in the long run.

In a similar vein, people tend to follow the golden rule where the platinum one may serve them better. Gold = treat others as you want to be treated. Platinum = treat others as they want to be treated. Get to know them, meet them where they are. In other words, it’s not always where you are.

Can I throw in another? Unrelated to my day job, look up what happens with recycling in your area. If you’re like most people, you might be surprised to learn that most of the plastic we think we’re recycling doesn’t get recycled. Reducing your consumption is the unsexy but far more effective approach. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. (I realize I just did what the first part of my answer said not to do…)

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

MacKenzie Bezos takes a low-key but highly impactful approach to her work. I suspect I’d learn a lot from her.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Pencilorink.com is the best place to start.

And LinkedIn is a great place for you (and my 1,200 accidental connections) to find me, too. Linkedin.com/in/ebhearne

Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.

Thank you for asking the right questions.