Today I attended what is known on projects as a Steering Committee meeting. The Steering Committee is the governing body, usually comprised of the executives and decision-makers at the company, that approves or denies decisions related to initiatives. The meeting today was notable because a new CEO joined the company, and this was her first meeting.

The new CEO is no-nonsense. Even though she is new, her style was not to sit back and take everything in. She was immediately asking questions and drilling down into specific details. She has an IT background, and it should be interesting to see what interest she takes in the technical details including my team’s configuration work.

It is clear that you have to be prepared in these meetings. Thankfully, my part of the meeting went well. It can be nerve-wracking when you are in the spotlight and have to play the role of expert and answer any question the executives might have. I think Aerosmith called it “tap-dancing on a land mine.”

I have some takeaways from this meeting and time is of the essence. I will need to fit in my action items with everything else on my plate this week. Just another week in Silicon Valley.