
98 ◾ A Factory of One
The executive, of course, had that calendar front and center
because he (and it was always a man) needed to know where
he was going and what he needed to do. The telephone—his
version of e-mail—was off to the side, ready when he needed
it, but not the focus of his work. Big hitters like President
Obama have the same setup today (Figure4.9).
Now, think about your desk. You’ve got your computer
screen front and center—which makes sense, because that’s
where you do your work—but you probably have your e-mail
open and in front of you 80% of your day. That would be as
silly as Mr. Potter, or any of those old movie executiv ...