ROZ BREWER

“I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE IF A BARISTA IS MAKING COFFEE, I SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING.”

- TIM MCDONAGH

COO AND GROUP PRESIDENT, STARBUCKS

When I look at the combination of my personal and professional life, I often feel like a traffic cop, trying to get everyone in their lane. . . . As the COO for Starbucks, it is a lot about creating the operational plan for the workweek, and setting the strategy and vision for the largest part of the company.

My assistant and I have a calendar coding system. For example, meetings with direct reports are color-coded in orange, meetings with other senior leaders are coded in green, personal time is coded as purple, and office time is coded in gray. Every Friday, I review my tentative schedule for Monday—tentative because it usually changes over the weekend—and take note of important upcoming meetings, team anniversaries, birthdays, etc.