10 personal questions and 10 personal answers from Geoff Lyon, CEO of CoolIT Systems. CoolIt is one of those companies that brought once terribly expensive water cooling products into the mainstream. Read on to find out how Geoff answered our questions.



I couldn't survive without my ... family. Although most people who know me would have likely guessed my blackberry... the balance I get from my wife, Rebecca and my two girls (now 5 and 7 years old) keeps my world together and in perspective.

The best advice I ever got was ... to think differently. I had a calculus teacher in high school who encouraged lateral thinking to solve problems. This was one of the few occasions that my "unique" approach to reaching conclusions was called a good thing. This approach has opened many opportunities for innovation, a few patents and some profitable business deals. Conventional thinking can be good as well, but not always.

A person/people I admire ... are teachers. Simple logic with this: I consider myself to be a capable adult, but often find it challenging to manage my two girls. Weighing that against the task of educating our youth (who will decide our future), 20 plus kids at a time for a relatively modest salary, it seems clear to me that teachers deserve our support and thanks.  While there are always marginal and extraordinary examples in any field, I believe that teachers, collectively, shape our world twenty or thirty kids at a time.

If I could go anywhere, or do anything, I would ... live in Greece for a couple of years. A few years back, my wife and I visited some of the islands of Greece. With the weather, the water, the history and culture, I found myself scheming the entire time to figure out a way to live there for a while (still trying to figure that out...)

A technology I have no use for ... CD's and DVD's.  With data availability and bandwidth I see no reason to burden the earth with unnecessary hard media. (and yes, even Blu-ray)

The best idea I had ... still waiting for a really good one to come to me ...

Luxury is ... having no cell phone. Actually the real luxury is time without interuption and although the industry we're in right now rewards instantaneous responses and churn which fuels the adrenaline in this incredibly fast paced business, it might be nice to have more time to hang out with my kids.

I wish I had invented ... teleporter.  There might still be time for this one. Are they out yet?

My tombstone should read ... not sure about this one. I'm a little bit unrealistic in my expectation to live to over 100 years old and I'm not much of a planner. If I'm that old hopefully by then I will have accumulated some wisdom and come up with something clever, insightful and timeless. Or maybe I'll let someone else write it and let the chips fall where they may. After all, this really isn't up to me :-)

A person/trend/technology to watch ... pro gaming and cyber athletics. With spectator sport marketing trends moving to higher cost driven by huge pro athlete salaries and the cost of ESPN to the cable companies, there is a huge opportunity for new forms of competitive entertainment. If competition is the essence of the attraction and spectacular visual conflict is the fuel for ratings, imagine infinite interactive viewing options, replays, and near photographic resolution and no limitations for safety, setting or even the basic laws of physics.  The surreal existence of the pro sports athlete is nearly cartoon-like anyway. I think the entertainment value potential of stadiums not bound by the physical world will be an area of growth for years to come, fueled by a demographic that is currently growing up with a strong computer gaming appreciation. It's a sure thing ;-)