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Indian-origin Cisco executive works 18-hour days but follows 2 rules for work-life balance
Jeetu Patel works seven days a week, starting at 6 am and often finishing after midnight. He still prioritizes family time and health.
Climbing the corporate ladder comes with many perks — like a bigger office and a bigger salary, to name just two. There are also trade-offs that come with promotions, like longer workdays and sometimes an increasing lack of work-life balance.
For Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s chief product officer, reaching the C-suite has translated into longer working hours. According to a Fortune report, Patel works seven days a week. His day typically starts at 6 am and sometimes he does not wrap up before midnight.
No meetings before 9 am
The Indian-origin executive told Fortune that he does not schedule any meetings before 9 am. The only exception to this rule is if the meeting invite comes from Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins or the Cisco board.
Patel instead uses the time between 6 and 9 am to plan his goals and focus on high-impact work.
“Picking the highest quality problems that you want to spend your time solving is 90% of the battle,” Patel told Fortune. “Because the quality of problem that you pick to solve is actually directly proportional to the outcome that you’re going to have.”
(Also read: Indian immigrant who waited tables for $4 now a high-flying executive at $270 billion company)
But even with this punishing schedule, Jeetu Patel has two non-negotiable rules that allow him some semblance of a work-life balance. Here's what they are:
Time for family
Jeetu Patel works seven days a week, but his 14-year-old daughter is allowed to talk to him any time she wants.
“I still work seven days a week but my daughter is allowed to come into any meeting and ask me for anything—she can just walk in,” he said. “She doesn’t have to knock on the door. She can just walk up anytime.”
Patel also acknowledged that work-life balance is not consistent. There are times when one needs to put their family first — like he did for his mother. Before his mother died in 2023, Patel spent eight weeks at her side in the hospital. He barely worked during this time.
“You have to figure out a way to make sure that it works for you, and you have to make sure that the people around you think that that’s okay, and you have to create that system for yourself. I don’t think anyone else can create it for you,” he said.
Focus on health
Patel takes a similarly non-negotiable approach to staying healthy, even though he acknowledges that his routine is not perfect. He told Fortune that he considers his health more important than anything else, noting that prioritising it allows him to take care of his family and perform at work.
His workout routine remains modest — he aims for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day — but for him, consistency matters more than intensity, especially since no two days in business look the same.
“There are times when I’ll fluctuate in weight and I feel pretty shitty about myself,” he said. “Then I’ll try to get completely into it. Right now, I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m not in great shape, but I’m not in terrible shape. You just have to make sure that you keep adjusting.”
