The Chief of Staff Podcast Beyond Excel: Building Operating Rhythm from Scratch
Dec 17, 2025
Jamie Dalton, Chief of Staff at Adobe, shares her journey from program management at Ancestry to shaping a CoS role at Adobe. She discusses creating an effective operating rhythm from scratch, emphasizing the importance of clear roadmaps and strategic meeting agendas. Jamie reveals her approach to limiting meeting attendance to enhance productivity and prevent FOMO. She highlights the Chief of Staff's unique position in fostering cross-functional alignment and shares innovative practices like using internal podcasts for better communication.
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Carving The Role From Scratch
- Jamie carved the Chief of Staff role out for herself at Ancestry after being asked to lead cross-functional work on a new search engine.
- That early evolution led to later roles including her current position at Adobe.
Limit Attendees To Keep Momentum
- Limit operational committees and steering committees to a targeted audience to keep decisions moving.
- Share outputs broadly but protect execution meetings from meeting-FOMO and excess attendees.
Operating Rhythm Is A Full System
- Jamie defines operating rhythm as a system spanning annual planning down to weekly check-ins.
- She uses a triangular model that links annual AOP, quarterly objectives, and weekly execution points.