As chief operating officer for Zillow Group, Amy Bohutinsky spearheads learning and development for the Seattle-based real estate media company’s 2,400 employees. She manages the “people side” of the business, focusing on company culture, hiring, retention, and marketing across Zillow Group’s portfolio of brands.
Bohutinsky joined Zillow’s marketing department 11 years ago, rising to chief marketing officer and then expanding her position to COO last year, after the company completed its acquisition of Trulia.
We caught up with Bohutinsky to learn her productivity tricks, favorite apps, and more. Continue reading for her answers to our questionnaire.
Current Location: Our Zillow Tower headquarters (2nd & Union) in downtown Seattle. I also try to visit one or more of our other Zillow Group offices at least one a month – most frequently it’s San Francisco.
Computer types: Lenovo ThinkPad for work, gold MacBook for home.
Mobile devices: iPhone.
Favorite apps, cloud services, and software tools: Zillow, Trulia, Uber, Google Maps, Spotify, Alaska Airlines app, Fitbit, Bar Method scheduling app. Sonos, Nest, Apple TV and Netflix at home.
Describe your workspace. Why does it work for you? Our Zillow Group workspace is open, with amazing views of downtown Seattle, Elliott Bay and the Olympics. We have standup desks, treadmill desks and lots of cozy nooks to get quiet work done. I love the communication and collaboration of an open office, and I love the bright light and open space of our views – it’s impossible to be in a bad mood looking out at ferries and mountains and bald eagles swooping around.
Your best advice for managing everyday work and life? Accept that in a given day, you’re not going to be awesome at everything on your plate. In fact, you’ll probably suck at something, that’s the balance of life. As long as it’s not the same thing every day, you’re doing pretty well.
Your preferred social network? How do you use it for business/work? I use LinkedIn for work and networking, Facebook for keeping up with friends, and Snapchat and Instagram for entertainment.
Current number of unanswered emails in your inbox? Five I need to answer, 25 I need to skim or read.
Number of appointments/meetings on your calendar this week? 33 over four days (one day I’m traveling).
How do you run meetings? Succinctly and preferably 30 min or less.
Everyday work uniform? Dressed-up denim.
How do you make time for family? I’m home for dinnertime every night I can – my kids are 6 and 8 so that’s usually by 6 or 6:30. If I have a work commitment in the evening, then I take extra time in the morning for a longer breakfast or to take the kids to the bus stop. It’s a daily calendar balance. Also, weekends are pretty sacred – I need it and my family needs it.
Best stress reliever? How do you unplug? We are lucky enough to have a home on Lake Washington (bought as a bargain short sale when the housing market bottomed – thanks Zillow), and this time of year I love to go standup paddleboarding in the early morning. The lake is smooth, Rainier is out and I leave my phone behind.
What are you listening to? Justin Timberlake “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” Along with the rest of America.
Daily reads? Favorite sites and newsletters? GeekWire, of course! New York Times on Kindle, and lately a lot of Washington Post and Politico.
Book on your nightstand (or e-reader)? Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, on my Kindle. I’m reading it because my 8-year-old son got tired of me asking questions and told me I should just read it. I thought I’d suffer through the first book but now I’m really into the series.
Night owl or early riser? What are your sleep patterns? Early riser; I’m usually up by six and either working out or having a latte with my husband before the kids wake up.
Where do you get your best ideas? In any kind of solitary exercise outdoors – paddleboarding, walking or running, cycling.
Whose work style would you want to learn more about or emulate? Arianna Huffington. I interviewed her in our Zillow Speaker Series a few years ago and she talked about her book Thrive, and her campaign to get busy executives to be more mindful and specifically, get more sleep. I love this message – being overworked and under-slept shouldn’t be a badge of honor. We all perform better when we take better care of ourselves.
