What shortcut plugin or app do you highly recommend to other CEOs?
The following answers are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
1. ScheduleOnce
ScheduleOnce has completely eliminated the back and forth that I used to go through when trying to schedule meetings with contacts. The app syncs up with your calendar and lets your customers choose times that work well for both parties. My clients love it so much that many actually sign up for the service after using it to schedule an appointment with me. – Lawrence Watkins, Great Black Speakers
2. Evernote
Evernote is a terrific tool to consolidate all those little notes from those dozens of meetings you’ve been attending. It doesn’t require an Internet connection to be effective, notes can be readily shared with colleagues, and the search is incredibly handy (I use it multiple times a day). No better way to stay organized and to seem like you have an amazing memory. – Amit Kumar, CardSpring
3. Collabspot
I love Collabspot because it syncs my Gmail with my CRM program, Highrise, and it also allows me to track email opens and clicks. I’ve been using it for a year, and now I don’t think I could get through a week without it! Being able to tell at a glance who has opened your email (and see your entire history of email exchanges with that person!) makes following up appropriately a breeze. – Brittany Hodak, ZinePak
4. Pocket
Pocket is an app I use every day. Any time you come across an article you want to read later, press the pocket button in your browser and it will be stored and saved for later. Articles are also synced across all devices and available offline so they can be read on the go. – Josh Weiss, Bluegala
5. SaneBox
SaneBox allows you to manage email reminders and create a rock-solid process that helps you remember when to nag others. SaneBox runs my life and can do the same for others who ascribe to the getting-things-done philosophy. – Jason Lange, BloomBoard
6. TextExpander
This little utility runs in the background of my Mac at all times. With hundreds of my own custom text shortcuts, it’s saved me many thousands of hours when coding, using reusable “swipe” emails and responses or common messages and domains I visit, as well as helping remember my different phone numbers, mailing addresses, and other recurring details so I never have to go searching for them. – Cody McKibben, Thrilling Heroics
7. LastPass
I have hundreds of logins for many different sites; I couldn’t possibly try to memorize them all. It’s great too, because they encrypt everything nicely, so security isn’t an issue. Since I got the premium LastPass subscription, it’s made my online life so much easier. I really don’t know what I’d do without it. – Daniel Wesley, DebtConsolidation.com
8. FollowUp.cc
I love integrating everything I do, or need to do, into FollowUp.cc. All you have to do is send an email to an address that is designated as any time in the future, and the tool will send you the email back at that moment. It’s a great way to stay organized and postpone the things that get in the way throughout the day. – Logan Lenz, Endagon
9. Rapportive
This plugin sits on the side of your email and shows a picture of the person with whom you’re writing and all the info about them professionally that can be pulled from their social media connected to their email. This gives you an opportunity to learn more about him or her, the people you’re mutually connected with, and allows you to send social media invitations all from your inbox. – Darrah Brustein, Network Under 40 / Finance Whiz Kids
10. Fancy Hands
Fancy Hands is a network of remote assistants that will take care of everything from delivering flowers to finding and comparing price points for a service you’re looking to buy. Beyond organizational tasks, virtual assistants can be extremely helpful for things like researching and buying domain names so that, as a CEO, you are not taken advantage of by sites controlling domain prices. – Zach Robbins, Leadnomics
11. Flowdock
The most important aspect is to be in touch with team members at all times. Being be able to do that anytime or anywhere, in groups (flows) or one-to-one, and having the ability to make the communication meaningful with powerful share features is crucial. Flowdock is a great multi-device tool that lets us be in in touch and in sync at all times. – Tolga Tanriseven, GirlsAskGuys
12. MailTrack
I love using MailTrack on Gmail as a sales tool to see who actually opens my email. This helps me judge the response rates for certain messages I send out. – Kenny Nguyen, Big Fish Presentations