Favorite to-do list system : A weekly to-do list . Every Sunday night , she uses a Word doc to create a list that includes notes from meetings and conversations with staff and clients , marking high-priority items in red . “ If I write it down , I will get it done .”
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Meetings Work ( excluding meetings ) Sleep Eat Family Downtime Exercise
Item on desk that might surprise you : Two side-by-side photos , one with former President George W . Bush and one with former California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown . Pye endorses bipartisanship , as “ I believe my success in this business and our success as a firm is a result of caring far more about the future of California than anyone ’ s party affiliation .”
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7.5 hours of my clients are my friends , so I can ’ t screw up ,” she says with a laugh .
9AM - Two or three days a week she makes the five-minute drive from her two-bedroom condo to the firm ’ s office on K Street . On “ home days ” she uses the bedroom as an office ; her husband Kelvin takes the guest bedroom . “ We ’ ve established our parameters , a routine and a rhythm that mostly works .”
9:10AM - Once a week Pye adds something called the “ Blue Zone ” to her calendar — a two-hour block of time that her executive assistant treats as untouchable . The Blue Zone is used for writing , reading and special projects . A chunk of the Blue Zone inevitably gets hijacked for urgent work , but “ blocking it off still leaves me a bit of quiet time each week to play catch up , and have time to think and focus .”
11AM - Management team call . Afterwards , Pye might sneak in time to consume more news ( including Politico and CalMatters ) and check Twitter throughout the day , as “ I like to read what reporters are reading .”
12PM - On office days , lunch with clients or teammates — usually at Aioli Bodega Espanola or Brasserie du Monde . Twice a week she ’ ll use her lunch break to work out with a personal trainer . Occasionally during lunch , if at home , she ’ ll catch the first half of a European soccer match . ( Her four grown sons are all soccer fans , and their group texts are heavy on soccer .)
2PM - More client calls and meetings . Pye gets into the weeds of client work herself , such as analyzing the data for a survey of a client ’ s board of directors — the results will help frame an agenda for an upcoming “ Mission , Vision and Values ” session .
4:30PM - Weekly check-in call with CEO Donna Lucas to run through the firm ’ s financials , staff issues and other pressing matters .
6:30PM - If in the office , over a glass of wine , Pye and Lucas meet again to more thoroughly discuss the firm ’ s strategic thinking and long-term goals . One area of focus right now is their diversity , equity and inclusion strategy . “ It ’ s important . It always has been ,” she says , adding that they ’ re searching for ways to improve . “ What ’ s our strategy ? Where do we want to get to ? What do we want to measure ?”
7:30PM - Gourmet dinner courtesy of Kelvin , her husband of almost 40 years , whom Pye describes as an “ exceptional amateur chef .” The Food Network ( or maybe a soccer game ) plays in the background .
8:30PM - “ Binge time .” This is often Star Wars related ( such as “ The Mandorolian ” or “ Obi-Wan Kenobi ”), and she says , “ I refuse to admit how many times we ’ ve watched Star Wars trilogies and prequels .”
10:30PM - One final email check . The firm ’ s CFO Roxie Williams is also a night owl , so she and Pye “ often trade emails later than we should .”
11PM - A quick glance at the top stories on KCRA , then off to sleep .
Jeff Wilser is the author of seven books , most recently “ Becoming a Firefighter ,” from Simon & Schuster ’ s Masters at Work series . On Twitter @ jeffwilser .
Each issue , we dig into the working habits of a top executive in the Capital Region , providing insight into how they get things done .
September 2022 | comstocksmag . com 31