Why Anheuser Busch's Director of Consumer Promotions Uses Scrum

In 7 Hours With, we explore the routines of leading professionals in their space to learn the when, why, where and how they work. In each diary, we will look at what they’re doing at seven different check-ins throughout their day. Stewart Lamke is the Director of Consumer Promotions for Anheuser Busch, a leader and pioneer in the beer and beverage market.

7:30 AM

Today I woke up at 7:30AM.  My morning routine is pretty standard - quick shower, shave and brush teeth.  I will take a glance at my calendar to see if anything has changed for the day and then it's out the door!

Each morning I walk to work. It's about 12 blocks, and I love starting my day that way.  If I am feeling particularly sluggish, I will stop off at a coffee shop I enjoy on the way. Drink of choice is an iced Americano, regardless of what the temp might be outside.  Outside of the occasional coffee, I rarely eat anything for breakfast.  That's been my m.o. since childhood.

9 AM

I get to the office around 9:00 AM.  First thing I do when I get to my desk is review and respond to email.  I try not to check my inbox very often, however when I do I make sure I am thorough. I will check my inbox two more times throughout the day, once after lunch and just before I leave. To be honest though, there are some days that require me to check it more often.

To add more color to this daily routine, my job title at AB is Director of Consumer Promotions. I work within our revenue management team and collaborate with a variety of teams.  Most recently I have been working on projects that revolve around machine learning, which has been really cool.

10 AM

There isn't a ton of variation in my mornings at work.  We will kick things off with a 9:30 AM or 10 AM stand up meeting to discuss the progress of our projects and establish what needs to be done for the day.  Things really start to vary on a monthly basis as projects change and mature.  These changes can result in new goals, new timelines and new team dynamics.

In terms of things that really help me get my work done, my number one productivity hack is keeping a scrum board for myself.  Moving things through 'To do', 'Doing' and 'Done' helps me compartmentalize and prioritize.  Not only that, it allows me to communicate much more effectively with my boss.  Being able to share a list of outstanding tasks and get his feedback on what to do first not only helps productivity but really improves communication.  That makes things much less stressful!

12 PM

I usually take about 30 minutes between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to get my lunch and walk through a nearby park.  This is a really important part of my day because it is a chance to consolidate thoughts from the morning.  After I return, I usually sit at my desk and eat while taking a second look at email.

2 PM

After lunch, we had a meeting to report on some of the insights and tools our projects have been providing.  Because we operate using scrum, I feel like we haven't had to do a large amount of prep work.  We document as we go, do routine code reviews and discuss this content every day.  So really the biggest thing was making sure the content was tailored to our audience.  As a result, I don’t find myself having to block time to get work finished.  There are certain times of the year where presentations and meetings become more of a focus.  Sometimes I will block a few hours to work, but it is a rare occurrence.

6:30 PM

Around 6:30PM I will begin to think about leaving the office and after a final check on email, I'll head out.  On rare occasions I will stay later if I feel like I am really doing well with my workload and want to keep things going.  Over the past two years I have become a golf fanatic, so my after work routine usually consists of practicing at the driving range or putting in the apartment (we have a great putting set up). If it isn’t golf, the gym or errands, I will catch up on HBO with my wife or hang out with friends.

11 PM

I used to work when I got home, but decided to stop doing that for good.  I found that my hours spent working at home were unproductive and uncreative.  If there is something that absolutely can't wait until the next morning I will do it, but that hasn’t been the case for a couple of years.  It was tough transition but I think it has made me better at my work.  My day will officially end around 11:00 PM with a little bit of reading and scrolling through Instagram.  If there is one thing I want to cut out of my daily routine it is Instagram.