You will hear a successful executive addressing a group of trainees on a business course. She is describing her job to them.

Woman: Well, I’ve heard you are not expecting to hear it’s all easy, because let me tell you, it isn’t . Right. So this is our typical day for me you might start. Once I found a parking space, and that can feel like a job itself, I go up to my office, and my secretary greets me with an enormous pile of post. So the first task of the day is to get through that lot.
When that’s out of the way, the next thing is the diary. I sit down with my secretary, and we check through all the various appointments I’ve got. How many there are varies a lot according to whether or not I’m negotiating any big contracts.
Oh, there is one thing I should mention. There is something I always make sure I do before I go home at night. And that’s tidy my desk. I had to do that, otherwise it’s just impossible to start the next day with any feeling of energy.
Well, as I’m sure you know, business is basically meetings. Meetings, meetings, meetings! Every day I get together with my line manager and we go over the day ahead and everything else that’s coming up. That never lasts more than an hour. I get on pretty well with him, so I don’t mind that.
    Then there are weekly sessions with the head of marketing. Those meetings are much tougher. We have a really hard look at the sales figures. As if that weren’t enough, every month I have to go and present a progress report to the rest of the team. But some of these sessions can be very rewarding, because that’s when we put together ideas and plans for the coming month. The only problem is that getting ready for these presentations can be difficult, because they involve analysing statistics from various departments. Although it is essential, it’s very demanding.
    What you need for this kind of work? Well, I think it’s a question of balance. You need the right training, but you also have to be the right kind of person for the job. Every one of you who wants to do the kind of work I do will need to take the institute of business diploma as a starting point. And after a few years of experience, you will find it’s time to start on a Master’s in business administration. But pieces of paper themselves don’t make you good at business. You have to have certain qualities: patience, the ability to work hard, creativity, and most of all, ambition. You’ve got to be one of those people who really drive themselves on because if you aren’t, you won’t get anywhere.