So there's no typical day, but I transition through the course of my business day by doing everything from construction meetings on the development project under construction to design meetings for an upcoming apparel delivery to acquisition meetings about projects we're looking to acquire. It's very diverse in terms of content, substance, and what I address on a typical day.
Horizontal meetings are team or project meetings, set up to coordinate individual activities. When I worked in a large tech company, those meetings just popped up in my calendar by the dozen.
We have a series of regular meetings with South African business. Big business. Black business. Agriculture. As well, of course, with the trade unions. A whole series of meetings like that which engage issues that these South African social partners need to address.
My day starts at 8 in the morning. I have meetings through the day into the evening and very often dinners and benefits at night. This is nonstop.
During election time, I work over 21 hours. My day starts around 6 A.M., and I address meetings through the day. Between 10 P.M. and 2 A.M., I meet local leaders, where we discuss local issues and local problems.
A lot of meetings are held to arrange when to have meetings. ... Meetings today are usually called conferences to make them sound more significant.
When I started my ministerial job I brought my daughters into the Department, due to last-minute childcare complications. We had meetings throughout the day and the girls had to play outside the office while mummy went to 'boring' meetings.
I could spend my life having meetings, a meeting to have another meeting, a hundred meetings to have another thousand meetings. It's not what I'm about. I don't want to have to get in a queue; that's not how I like to live.
If you're trying to stay productive, stop and think, 'Are my meetings actually productive, or are we merely having meetings for meetings' sake?'
There are two kinds of typical days. There's the typical day when I'm writing a novel, and there's the typical day when I'm not.
I like working, I'm not into relaxing. Work motivates me, and even when I do take a holiday, I meet friends, talk about projects and set up meetings, set meetings between other people, or get involved.
I start every day reviewing priorities, prepping for meetings, and getting updated on key projects.
One of the most important parts of the civil rights movement that people don't talk about was these mass meetings. It's like "Movement Church." It's a combination of the music of the movement and the church. Those mass meetings are where people got the energy to go on to the next day.
Everything is a blessing, even meetings. Whether it's meetings or running gassers or lifting, it's an opportunity, and the best thing to do is be thankful for it.
I can't say there were parts I was offered and turned down, but there were meetings for parts that I didn't go to, meetings I should have gone to, meetings I was advised against going to. I listened to that advice.
The story [of Allied ] itself is the story I wrote, and that's what's great about Bob [Zemeckis ]. You have meetings, but it's meetings for clarity, not to change what they're saying or doing. He takes what's on the page and executes it so brilliantly.