This story is part of our December 2024 issue. To subscribe, click here.

This story is part of our December 2024 issue. Click here to subscribe.

Lance Hastings is a Sacramento lifer. “I applied to only one university in the entire state of California, and that was Sac State,” says Hastings, president and CEO of the California Manufacturers & Technology Association. “I put all my eggs in one basket.”

Hastings did this because he was passionate about government, and Sacramento State is literally in the center of the government. “What makes me tick is the ability to engage in legislative politics, to bring in outcomes that improve California, whether that’s for business or society,” says Hastings.

The scope of the CMTA, as Hastings puts it, is “staggering”: 30,000 manufacturers — most of them small to medium, with 25 to 100 employees — and 1.3 million employees. “This might sound like a self-serving cliche, but we’re the driver of the state’s economy,” says Hastings. “We constantly remind all the policymakers that without manufacturing, you really don’t have an economy.”

His trick for handling this responsibility? It starts with a coop full of chickens.

How he tames email: His goal is to keep his inbox under 500. He reads every single email the day they come in, responds to most when he can, and then once a month does a full cleanse.

Favorite to-do list system: Uses Outlook for miscellaneous tasks; keeps a pad of paper on his desk and writes the top three things he needs to do every day. “And then there’s the pleasure of running a line through them.”

6:30AM – First things first: Every morning he plays Wordle. “I approach that as a mind exercise rather than a game.” Hastings was heartbroken when his 207-day streak was snapped by the word “corer.” Checks email for the avalanche of inbound from D.C. and the East Coast. 

6:45AM – Breakfast is a bowl of cereal, OJ and eggs that he sourced locally — quite local, as Hastings built a 10-by-12 coop on his rural home in Wilton, where he keeps eight chickens. “They’re pretty low maintenance. I just refresh their shavings every other week or so.” 

7:30AM – He’ll sometimes make calls on his hour-long commute, but rarely to his staff. “I try to respect my staffs’ lives by not engaging with them until I get to the office.” Gathers his thoughts while listening to “The Spectrum” — new-and-classic rock on Sirius radio.

8:30AM – Greets each of his 11 staff members when he arrives at the office. Flips on CNN, which he mostly leaves on mute throughout the day. 

9:00AM – Email, email, email. Knocks out the quick hits that he can do right away. 

10:00AM – Full staff meeting. Hastings views his role as “keeping everyone going and motivated, and to connect the dots.” 

10:45AM – Smaller meeting with the leadership team that focuses on the week’s projects and initiatives to grow their brand, such as the “Coolest Thing Made in California” competition, which led to 250,000 votes cast this year. “Our overall objective is to grow in size and relevance,” says Hastings. “Nearly all of our individual goals and organizational goals point to those two things.”

12:00PM – Lunch is at noon, sharp, every day, with no exceptions. “It breaks up my day, and I’ve done this my whole career.” Ninety-nine percent of the time he ditches the office for a restaurant, such as Ella or the buffet at Thee Upper Crust Pizza. 

1:00PM – As he knows that most of the working world (including him) is less sharp immediately after lunch, he focuses on the tedious work that requires less brainpower, like returning basic calls or approving invoices.

2:00PM – Knocks out to-dos and actions required by his emails, such as reviewing documents or meeting with the legal team. 
3:30PM – Focuses on strategy work, such as honing CMTA’s views on air regulation. 

5:00PM – Most days, he’ll go to a networking event, as the traditional “grip and grin” is still inescapable. “We’re out there promoting ourselves and connecting because we’re in the people business, and sometimes that requires additional activities.” Sometimes the CMTA hosts events, and sometimes he’ll attend events from organizations like the Sacramento State Alumni Association, where he serves as president. 

6:30PM – On the way home, he blasts classic rock as loud as he can. He likes that this would surprise people, as “looks aren’t always like they appear, and here’s this guy rocking out.” 

7:30PM – Cooks dinner with his wife, Mary Hastings. The two are empty-nesters but they take care of their dog Winston, an English springer spaniel. Checks on the chickens.

9:00PM – Maybe catches a Kings game, watches some news, unwinds with a gin and tonic. 

10:00PM – Heads to sleep as soon as he can, as “the mornings come early.” 

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