She says:
Many successful women have become successful because they're just awfully good at being compulsive and organized and doers. But it's hard to be successful and be a control freak, because if you cling to things, you're going to be a bottleneck. Delegating to other people -- appropriately delegating -- is very liberating. There isn't anybody on my team I don't trust 100 percent. Remember, I've been building this team for ten years.
I have two assistants now. I have an assistant from 7 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, and then an assistant from 4 to midnight. I wake up somewhere between 5 and 6 A.M., and get to the office about 8, before the phone calls start. On the days that I'm not traveling -- I travel probably 50 percent of my life -- I try to get home by 7:30 P.M. I typically don't sign off e-mail until midnight.
I get around 600 e-mails a day. I divide them into four categories, and I deal with them immediately, by and large. First are e- mails that I forward to someone else. Next are where somebody's giving me information that I need to cascade to somebody else with instructions. Third are the ones that I can read later on an airplane. Fourth are those that require me to respond immediately.
I used to have two cell phones because coverage is erratic. I decided one service provider worked best here and the other there. At some point I decided that was insane.
I don't leave my cell phone on. I'm often in meetings or with clients, and I don't want people to assume that they can dial my cell phone and get me, unless it's an emergency. You can't leave it on if you're in a meeting with the CEO or a witness. It's really important to focus on the problem at hand. You get into a rhythm of a conversation, and you have to honor that rhythm. People get anxious when they feel they're going to be interrupted. What a good lawyer brings to a problem, in addition to creative solutions, is a quality of attentiveness. You can't listen with half an ear.
The BlackBerry was at first a significant intrusion on family life. But my family has gotten used to the fact that I'm more relaxed if I can take care of my e-mails. I don't generally look at my e-mail during mealtimes, and I try not to look at it in movie theaters.
Many successful women have become successful because they're just awfully good at being compulsive and organized and doers. But it's hard to be successful and be a control freak, because if you cling to things, you're going to be a bottleneck. Delegating to other people -- appropriately delegating -- is very liberating. There isn't anybody on my team I don't trust 100 percent. Remember, I've been building this team for ten years.
I have two assistants now. I have an assistant from 7 in the morning till 4 in the afternoon, and then an assistant from 4 to midnight. I wake up somewhere between 5 and 6 A.M., and get to the office about 8, before the phone calls start. On the days that I'm not traveling -- I travel probably 50 percent of my life -- I try to get home by 7:30 P.M. I typically don't sign off e-mail until midnight.
I get around 600 e-mails a day. I divide them into four categories, and I deal with them immediately, by and large. First are e- mails that I forward to someone else. Next are where somebody's giving me information that I need to cascade to somebody else with instructions. Third are the ones that I can read later on an airplane. Fourth are those that require me to respond immediately.
I used to have two cell phones because coverage is erratic. I decided one service provider worked best here and the other there. At some point I decided that was insane.
I don't leave my cell phone on. I'm often in meetings or with clients, and I don't want people to assume that they can dial my cell phone and get me, unless it's an emergency. You can't leave it on if you're in a meeting with the CEO or a witness. It's really important to focus on the problem at hand. You get into a rhythm of a conversation, and you have to honor that rhythm. People get anxious when they feel they're going to be interrupted. What a good lawyer brings to a problem, in addition to creative solutions, is a quality of attentiveness. You can't listen with half an ear.
The BlackBerry was at first a significant intrusion on family life. But my family has gotten used to the fact that I'm more relaxed if I can take care of my e-mails. I don't generally look at my e-mail during mealtimes, and I try not to look at it in movie theaters.
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