Butcher spends the remainder of the afternoon in more meetings. Those may include contract negotiations, one-on-one discussions with direct reports, Sarbanes- Oxley reviews or budget planning sessions.

And, of course, there's e-mail to deal with, but that happens mostly after Butcher gets home and starts her "second shift."

Night shift

I try to leave work early enough to spend time with my family," Butcher explains. After her children finish their homework, typically around 8 p.m., Butcher starts up her PC and tackles the 200-plus e-mails she receives every day -- a big chunk of them from vendors. "I stay in touch with vendors as much as I can, but that needs to be managed well," she says. "It can become overwhelming."

But the biggest everyday challenge, Butcher says, is keeping people focused on providing quality service and delivering what the business needs.