A Day in the Life: Strategic Planning Entertainment Executive

While there's no 'typical' day, below are some of the most common tasks in Strategic Planning:

• Interfacing with other business units, domestically and abroad, either in calls or in meetings (25%)

• Presentations to the senior executive team on key decisions (25%)

• Presentations from the business units on growth initiatives within other groups (10%)

• Responding to requests from senior management (25%)

• Managing junior team members (15%)

If this sounds murky or unclear, read on for an illustration of the specifics. Overall, the hours are long. There are often stories of many executives who do not have families or children, or often forsake them for their careers.

7:00 a.m.: Arrive at work, makes conference calls to Europe to discuss progress on a major new initiative to expand in Europe.

8:00 a.m.: Breakfast meeting with a manager in another business unit, to update one another on work and 'keep both ears close to the ground.'

9:00 a.m.: Review a subordinate's presentation, assigned last night. The presentation is due early tomorrow for the CEO -- revisions must be made with haste.

10:00 a.m.: Return some morning phone calls. Glance at e-mail for anything urgent.

10:30 a.m.: Leave for an off-site meeting to discuss what to do with a waning division in which the top chief just left.

10:45 a.m.: Call in to assistant. Have her type up e-mail responses to some new e-mails and send them off on your behalf.

10:55 a.m.: Arrive at off-site meeting. Listen to presentations from key leaders on what to do next.

12:00 p.m.: Depart for lunch meeting with a senior VP at another small entertainment company to propose an acquisition.

1:30 p.m.: Return to office to debrief with CFO on the numbers needed for a 5-year plan

3:00 p.m.: Answer e-mails, review daily trade publications, the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety

3:45 p.m.: For fun and to build team morale, responds to office pool on what the weekend's box office will be.

3:47 p.m.: Spontaneous meeting with CEO in the hallway -- turns out the presentation originally due tomorrow is not that urgent.

4:00 p.m.: Tell junior manager to call off work and go home since she's been pulling all-nighters for a couple of days.

4:10 p.m.: Start reviewing budget requests and expense reports of department employees.

5:00 p.m.: Peruse the proposals from three top management consulting firms all vying for a piece of a major project.

6:30 p.m.: Make conference call to Asia executives to mirror to discuss progress on their latest initiative.

7:30 p.m.: Answer all outstanding e-mails.

8:30 p.m.: Leave office.