Special Projects Playbook

Chiefs of Staff, it's time to enter the jungle. When your CEO asks who can take on their latest, most urgent, high impact special project, you should be their #1 pick to go where no one has gone before.

You are uniquely positioned within the Office of the CEO to be the owner of their vital priority, whether it's international expansion or reducing employee attrition. You have the sponsorship and the direct access to your CEO to get it done fast, to their standard.

Need a competitive analysis about a new market? You got it.

Need to stop the sales bleeding in your #1 product category? You got it.

Need to raise emergency funding to pay for product development? You got it.

Smart CEOs rely on their Chief of Staff to get special projects done, especially if their C-suite team is overloaded or they don’t have the skills. You can clear a path into the jungle, find what you’re looking for, and then report back to your boss.

“And even if it isn’t the most glamorous project, you can volunteer to be the company garbageman.” This is a direct quote from our CEO Office research with a former Chief of Staff at a multibillion dollar education company. With all of the resources they had, even he had to take out the trash sometimes.

Remember, the more you get into the muck and emerge victorious, the more you develop your functional skills and reputation as someone who can just do it.

What’s the result? You win in the eyes of your CEO. You win in the eyes of your board and investors. And you win in the eyes of your leadership team. Your bias-towards-action and can-do-attitude on special projects are two qualities that define you as an excellent Chief of Staff and exceptional future C-suite leader.

Chiefs of Staff, are you ready to tackle high-impact projects and become indispensable? Download our Chief of Staff Playbook here to gain the insights and strategies you need to excel and impress your CEO, board, and leadership team.