Steve Jobs said he was best when 50% of his time was unscheduled.
This is a little counter intuitive. It would seem that at a company the size of Apple he would need to constantly be in meetings in order to help with decisions and provide input and advice. But he had no need for constant meetings. He trusted his senior management team to lead their respective divisions.
He was best during this “free” time because it allowed him to:
- think deeply about the future of the company
- freely walk around and get the “pulse” of the company
Remember that Steve was best when he had 50% of his time unscheduled.