Where I Work: I Have a Certain Advantage

On my desk sits the Bloomberg Terminal, my lifeline for information on everything from the state of the eurozone to the bio of that pesky guest on TV.

Charlie Gogolak, former Redskins and Patriots placekicker, stepped into the hallway and said, "Tom, come help me with this Bloomberg machine." That was my first look at the miracle that I "see" 24/7.

A few months later, a new "Bloomberg machine" showed up. It had a big green Message key on the keyboard. It didn't work. For months, the Message Key was just there. And then it worked, and then, the Bloomberg Terminal got better and better and better.

The hallmark of what Tom Secunda and our Terminal group do is to listen to customers; put out new and original functions; and, then relentlessly enhance them.

The Right of my four screen set-up (I would kill for eight screens) is a perfect example of the certain advantage I live every day. It is EURUSD Crncy OVDV <GO>. Translated, it is a three-dimensional picture of what the investors think the future of the eurodollar will be.

It is a snapshot into the currency market to help you make money and far more importantly not lose money. I use it, in the Media, as a measurement of the emotion or belief in a currency pair.

To the Left, is a Bio page for one Daniel Roth. He is with a small start-up called LinkedIn. The zillions of Bio pages we have give a terrific advantage to me, combined with the Internet, Wikipedia and the growing authoritative sites of excellence like say, the Council on Foreign Relations. Not shown, is OED <GO>. That function saves me daily as I am the Worst Speller in the World.

My Web window is Google Chrome with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the various good competitors we have in News. I have stopped using Pinterest and have started playing with Vimeo and Vine.

Finally, to the far Left is a "Launchpad" screen. It contains my data check data including equities, bonds, currencies and commodities. It is critical to go beyond the superficial. Like the classic "Good to Great," a good data check has become a commodity.

This is my standard set-up. People ask, "How do I do it?" It's simple. I have the gift of a killer team led by Emily Haas-Godsil, executives that listen carefully and put me in my place every once and a while and, the Bloomberg Terminal. I have a certain advantage.