Mintzberg presents a picture of an all-consuming role for managers and prescriptions about how to behave or techniques to use should be treated with caution. Minzberg concluded that Senior management jobs are open-ended, managers feel compelled to tackle a large workload at demanding pace.
Breaks are rare.
Managers seem to prefer this and become conditioned by workload. Use of time reflects close, immediate pressures rather than future, broader issues. Live action pushes the manager away from thinking and planning. Verbal contacts and media are preferred over written. Written communications get cursory treatment, but must be processed regularly.