One of my clients, “Sam,” the chief revenue officer at a manufacturing company, experiences this firsthand. His CEO spends two months each summer away from the office, and when he is working, maintains a two- to three-day weekly schedule. However, he still expects to make the final call on matters large and small with no predictability about when and how he engages. On some days, he wants to personally approve a director-level job description; on others, he reopens or redirects major strategic decisions. The executive team continues planning, but many doubt their work will hold once the CEO inevitably reenters and shifts direction.