CEO Office Tech Overload

Chiefs of Staff and Executive Assistants are you suffering from tool overload?

When you use too much software, getting something simple done becomes a nightmare. Work complexity gets out of hand. Notifications, pings, emails add lots of headaches.

It’s your job to simplify the tech stack in the CEO Office. Here’s how you get to zen.

1. ASSESS
Make a list of all of the tools used in the Office of the CEO. Define each tool’s purpose (or lack thereof). Assess utility: ask your colleagues about which tools are working well and which ones they hate. Determine frequency - how often is the tool used? And collect pricing data while you’re at it. This is your current state.

2. DECIDE
Once you have assembled your tool assessment matrix, it’s time to make some hard decisions. Can certain tools take on additional responsibilities? How can you simplify or consolidate? Which tools can be deprecated since they’re expensive, hard to use, and/or not used very often? Define your future state where you have far less tools that take on much more work.

3. PLAN
Figure out how you are going to move from your current state to your future state. You’re going to want to change one tool at a time, so determine what sequence you will follow. Don’t forget: you must define communications and design trainings to help your fellow CEO Office colleagues along the path to tech nirvana.

4. EXECUTE
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to execute. Let everyone know about your planned changes and why it will selfishly benefit them. Leverage a project plan to keep everyone in the know about tech changes. Acknowledge that there will be hiccups along the way and troubleshoot as needed.

5. CELEBRATE
Measure the outcomes of your tech bloat elimination project. Analyze how work gets done faster. Take a qualitative survey from your colleagues about their new tech stack. Celebrate your wins during your next weekly CEO Office meeting.

So there you have it - the 5 step process to getting rid of tools that hold you back. Your colleagues and your CEO will thank you for making their lives a heck of a lot easier.

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Are you interested in assessing and simplifying your tech stack in your Office of the CEO? Reply to this email to learn more about how we can help.

Events

The Chief of Staff Playbook 2nd Edition release, sometime in early March.

I released my last Chief of Staff playbook in February 2023, and I’ve been writing furiously since then on LinkedIn on all things related to Executive Operations, Chief of Staff and Office of the CEO.

Stay tuned to this newsletter for the forthcoming publication of the second edition of my Chief of Staff Playbook.

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Regional Chief of Staff - Financial Institutions, BCG, Chicago, IL, Consulting, Corporate

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Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

Until next week,

Mackenzie

Mackenzie Lee | Founder & CEO
M: 650.283.4152 | E: [email protected]
New York City, NY
www.CedarChief.com

At Cedar, we turn executives into fast and fearless leaders.

Thanks to technology, changing markets, and demanding investors, the C-suite job is tougher than ever. We help executives find freedom from blockers and busywork.

Our mission is to help 1 million CEOs and their C-suite teams let go and do more of the things that matter. We help you hire a Chief of Staff, build an Office of the CEO, and implement C-suite systems.

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