Sitting on a File Cabinet, Naked, With a Gun offers an engaging, entertaining insider’s look into the offices of some of the most powerful men and women in Silicon Valley, as executive assistants spill the beans about their CEOs.
Executive assistants are arguably the most influential people on a chief executive’s staff. Currently, over 8 million administrative professionals help over 4 million executives & general managers to broker and schedule meetings, decide who gets the CEO’s ear, and select airlines, hotels, car rentals, and other vendors. In addition, they often support the CEOs’ personal needs. They also regularly give input to the CEO on employees, from new candidates to old-timers, and they most definitely impact the fortunes of the businesses that serve them.
CEO executive assistants are historically a “secret weapon” — typically not even recognized for their power to influence the CEO, and often written off as “just a secretary.” Beware of making that outdated mistake. Today, the executive assistant to a CEO wields a huge amount of power and is engaged in all aspects of the business. They continually seek out ways to make their jobs more efficient, more enriching, and more empowering. They leverage their CEOs’ highly valuable time to enable them to devote their total energies to making the major strategic decisions for their companies.
Sitting on a File Cabinet, Naked, With a Gun is a book for anyone who has ever wondered about what goes on behind the closed doors of the executive suite. It’s especially useful for anyone who has his or her eyes on a spot reporting to a CEO one day.
Linda McFarland has spent over 30 years mastering her “never-panic-under-fire” demeanor. She has held CEO Assistant positions with a variety of Fortune listed companies, spanning the high-technology, legal, and medical industries. With a passion for developing and training, Linda is a co-founder and member of the Silicon Valley Catalysts Association (SVCA) which is a group of CEO Assistants. She serves on the advisory board of the Administrative and Executive Assistant Certificate Program for UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, and is a master instructor for that program. Linda has delivered training programs to multi-national companies and has been an invited speaker at administrative and event planner conferences. She is a Sr. Partner at PlanetAdmin which provides consulting and training for administrative professionals. Linda currently holds the title of CEO Assistant at 2Wire.
Joanne Linden has a background that spans more than 30 years as an Executive Assistant. With the majority of her career in Silicon Valley, she has worked with and has been part of both successful start-ups and billion-dollar corporations. A true activist for professional administrators, she instructs at UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley’s Administrative and Executive Assistant Certificate Program and is on the advisory board for that program. Joanne is a current member of Silicon Valley Catalysts Association (SVCA) and past President of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), San Jose and Crossroads Chapters. She is a Sr. Partner at PlanetAdmin which provides consulting and training for administrative professionals. Joanne currently holds the title of Chief Executive Assistant at Synopsys.
Sharon Turnoy has been an editor, speechwriter, ghostwriter, communications manager, and executive assistant to a Silicon Valley CEO. She welcomes comments at sturnoy@yahoo.com
AN IRON FIST IN A VELVET GLOVE
Linda McFarland shares a story about her bumpy rise to her first CEO assistant position.
At just under the age of 18, I began my secretarial career. I was recruited for my first job at a job fair at our high school. Somewhere along the way, I managed to go to a university for a year, but the demands of a full-time job, a university education, and a brand-new husband forced me to re-evaluate my choices. Something had to give.
I wasn’t about to give up my husband; but between college and work, I enjoyed work more. Besides, work brought money in, while college just took it out. In a parallel universe somewhere, I have an MBA. But in this one, I never did finish my undergraduate degree.
Over the next few years, I worked my way up through the ranks as a secretary, eventually supporting high-level division managers and executives at a large company. After four years, I left to take a position supporting the CFO at a local hospital. It was during that time that I realized how much I truly enjoyed supporting C-level executives. I learned more about the inside workings of the business in this spot than I had in any of my prior lower-level positions. My ambition to become a CEO’s assistant was born right then and there.
Unfortunately, the woman currently in that position had planted barbed wire firmly around her territory. So, I eventually left to take a position supporting the branch president at a nationwide office furniture supplier. The CFO at the hospital tried to talk me out of leaving. He said I was the best assistant he’d ever had, and he didn’t know how he would replace me. Though I felt a little guilty as he had done a lot for my development, I was determined to pursue my dream.
As fate would have it, just after I arrived at the furniture supply company, my new boss got caught in the crossfire of a corporate restructure. Within three days of starting my new job, he was demoted. I had no idea if I even had a job, much less one supporting an executive. I called the CFO at the hospital and asked him, “Will you still take me back?” He hadn’t filled the position yet and was ecstatic to hear from me. As ours was a small hospital, the CEO routinely signed off on all the executive assistant hires and terminations. The CFO approached the CEO, fully expecting that my reinstatement would be a no-brainer. However, life takes an unexpected turn occasionally, and this happened to be one of those times. Neither of us knew that the CEO’s assistant was relieved when I left. She probably sensed my career ambition and felt threatened by it, so she “poisoned the well.” When she learned that I was hoping to return, she told the CEO that I was returning because I “couldn’t cut it” at the new company, and that the hospital shouldn’t take back any “losers.” Due to this woman’s slander, the net result was that, despite the CFO’s protestations, my reinstatement was not approved. Although being dealt such a blow, I ended up in a good position after all. Everything worked out well at my new job with the furniture supply company. The new branch president decided to keep me as his assistant, and we developed a great partnership. My experiences with him strengthened my skills to support a CEO whenever the opportunity arose.
After just two years, the hospital I had formerly worked for went through a reorganization of its own. The CEO who had rejected my reinstatement departed, and without the CEO around to protect her, it was only a matter of time before his former executive assistant was terminated.
The newly appointed CEO at the hospital needed an executive assistant, and he asked the CFO for recommendations. My former boss didn’t waste any time in calling me. He brought me up to date on the changes at the hospital and asked if I would be interested in coming back to interview for the CEO assistant position.
Was I interested? Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.
During my interview, the new CEO explained that he had been sent by the corporate office to clean up a number of management and budgetary problems as well as to implement some pilot programs. He had no less than 49 major action items to take care of in 18 months and told me that he needed to find someone with enough initiative and energy not just to keep up with his projects, but to stay one step ahead of him.
In addition, the CEO was very concerned with the political situation that had developed under the previous administration. He asked some very pointed questions to determine whether I would be likely to abuse the inherent power of my position. I answered honestly, point for point; and I must have satisfied him that my motives were pure.
Perhaps to ensure that I wouldn’t get too full of myself, he asked, “What do you think about being called an ‘executive secretary’ instead of a ‘CEO assistant’?” Though my heart sank a little, I bravely replied that the title wasn’t as important as the opportunity that the position represented.
Within a week, I was hired. I was thrilled when I received the offer. Ten years into my career, I had finally landed the CEO assistant position.
As my new executive had previously informed me, I was given the title of “Executive Secretary.” That didn’t keep him from treating me like a full-fledged assistant who was expected to make independent decisions and manage an extremely busy office. He came to depend on me more and more with each passing day.