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THE SCHEDULEYou are in charge of the Boss’ schedule. No appointments should go onto the schedule without your approval. If the Boss has a secretary, it is important that you two work closely on the schedule. While the secretary may functionally maintain the schedule (e.g., makes entries, changes entries, prints the daily, weekly and monthly copies, etc.), the Exec must approve what goes on the schedule in order to prepare or request the appropriate background information for the Boss. There should be three versions of the schedule—a daily, weekly, and monthly version. The daily schedule for the next day should be placed in the upper center area of the Boss’ desk so it is there when he/she arrives after lunch (see Figure 1). Another copy of the daily schedule, along with the weekly and monthly versions, should be placed in the Boss’ quick reference guide in his briefcase for reference at home and while traveling. Depending on the Boss, appointments and events should not be scheduled during certain periods, e.g., before 0800, 1100-1300, and after 1600 without the Boss’ direct approval. This will help discipline the staff to better plan for their meetings, and it will ensure the Boss has adequate time to get work done. When annotating appointments and events on the schedule, ensure the secretary notes the building and room number, plus a list of DVs who may be in attendance at the event. As the Exec, you must always know the purpose for an appointment and ensure the Boss has preparatory materials at least one day (24 hours) prior to the meeting. For internal meetings, you should task the appropriate senior staff member involved to provide a Read-Ahead folder. This folder could contain an agenda along with any pertinent background material. These folders are placed on the Boss’ desk after lunch. For external meetings, you should follow the same steps as much as possible. When interacting with external units, you may have to explain your process to get the information needed. NEVER send the Boss to a meeting unprepared—it reflects poorly on the Boss and you. Appendix B contains a sample bullet background paper (BBP) found in a Read-Ahead folder. As a general rule, no one should see the Boss without the Exec knowing in advance. However, a small circle of key staff members will most likely have direct access to the Boss, e.g., deputy or vice commander, secretary, first sergeant, squadron section commander, etc. Establish a close relationship with these key team members and ask them to keep you in the loop on any issues you may need to know about. When office visitors come to see the Boss, always include a 3X5 card with their first names (what they go by), their organization (if the Boss is not familiar with them), and the first name of any tag-along. The secretary can and should do most of these cards, because he/she will have access to the information. However, as the Exec, you must ensure the information gets to the Boss—don’t rely on anyone else. Appendix D contains a sample 3X5 card. |
