Siemens
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Roland Busch, the 61-year-old CEO of Siemens AG, based in Munich, about his daily routine. It’s been edited for length and clarity.
I became the president and CEO of Siemens AG in February 2021. I’ve spent 32 years at the company, rising from my first role as a project head in corporate research and development to the top job.
I lead a global technology company that combines the physical and digital worlds, with businesses spanning industrial automation, smart infrastructure, mobility, and healthcare. Our team includes over 300,000 people worldwide.
Throughout my career, I was repeatedly handed turnarounds and troubled businesses. Once you prove you can fix something, top managers keep giving you more problem businesses and divisions to fix. Those experiences taught me that problems always get solved somehow, even when you wake up thinking you have no clue how to proceed.
Here’s what a typical day in my life in Germany looks like.
6 a.m. — My alarm rings, and I’m in the gym by 6:30 a.m.
Once I wake up, I immediately put on the T-shirt and shorts I laid out the night before and head to the gym. By 6:30 a.m., I’ve started my workout.
We have a gym here at headquarters in Munich and one in Erlangen, where my family lives. My wife and I joke that we have a “weekend marriage” because I usually come home on weekends and spend weekdays in my Munich apartment. I couldn’t do this job without her support.
If I’m traveling, I use the hotel gym. Regardless of where I am, I work out for 75 to 90 minutes. My routine is mostly weightlifting, with some HIIT, especially boxing, and jump rope.
8 a.m. — Working breakfast with the team
After my workout, I either have a breakfast meeting — which I prefer because I can work while eating — or I grab breakfast in my office.
I know people say, “When you eat, you eat. When you work, you work,” but I eat, check my emails, and read press clippings at the same time.
The 100-email rule that keeps me sane
I get about 200 emails a day. Sometimes I get emails from customers asking me to repair their washing machines or coffee machines. I unfortunately cannot help them because we sold that business to Bosch a while back.
I try to keep my inbox below 100. If you have more than 100 emails in your inbox, you lose the overview of what’s actually on your plate. I accomplish this by answering messages quickly and using a few words.
Very often, my reply has just two letters: “OK” or “No.” I make it simple and fast. My team is trained to communicate this way. If I need to write something longer, I dictate my response while walking through the office.
Morning meetings — The “No Recurring Meetings” Rule
My background in theoretical physics has shaped how I lead. As a CEO, you’re always making decisions with incomplete and ambiguous information. Physics taught me how to de-layer a problem, separating the core issues from the less important ones. Once you isolate the core variables, you have a much better chance of making the right decision.
Because I value efficiency, I don’t have recurring meetings with my direct reports. I tell them, “You come to me whenever you need me.” It could be five times a week or once a month. I don’t need to entertain people, and they don’t need to entertain me.
Afternoons — Paperless desk and technology deep dives
My afternoons are often back-to-back meetings. I don’t typically take breaks. I usually have a light lunch, like a Caesar salad, and keep going. If you visit my office, you’ll see a clean desk. I went paperless years ago and work with a software tool that mimics paper.
While my days are very busy, I have a secret weapon, my assistant, Gundula. We’ve been working together for over 10 years now. Gundula manages my schedule brilliantly all by herself. I really admire her — she’s always very calm and manages everything with a cool head.
Maintaining my daily schedule despite my frequent travel
I have a very intense travel schedule. Lufthansa once sent me a little ‘tombstone’ memento with a model Earth that showed all my flights with them that year, totaling the distance to the moon and almost back to Earth. Since I take many flights with other airlines, too, I’m certain I cover the full round-trip distance of about 477,710 miles every year.
To maintain my rhythm while traveling, I have a particular protocol. When traveling westbound, I try not to sleep on the plane or only nap for one or two hours. That way, I arrive tired and can sleep through the night in the new time zone. When traveling eastbound, I take a night flight and try to sleep as much as possible.
When I land, if I have an hour and a half before my first meeting, I use 30 minutes to shower and the rest to hit the hotel gym.
Evening — Dinner meetings with clients and my team
I usually have dinner appointments with customers, partners, and my internal team. I try to give my core team opportunities to have dinner meetings with me. Sometimes we talk shop, but because there’s no strict set agenda, we often talk about our private lives and where the world is going.
During the week, after I’ve left the office, I catch up on emails, prepare for the next day, and connect with teams in different time zones late into the evening.
I try to disconnect late at night. Recently, I picked up the guitar again after decades of not playing. Even if I only play for 20 minutes, it shifts my mood completely because I have to concentrate on my fingers, not my work.
Weekends — Rotating dinners with friends and nurturing long-term bonds
I don’t see my close friends as often as I would like to. For my friends who live near me in Erlangen, my wife and I try to go out to dinner with them on the weekends. We also play golf and take holiday trips together.
Some of my closest friends are from China, so our families will decide on a location, and we’ll meet somewhere and have a good time together. I’m aware that if you don’t invest in your friendships and relationships, they fade. It’s an investment in a positive sense. I’m not seeking a return. I want to stay connected and be around the people I care about.