How many times have you looked around your office and cringed at all the piles of paperwork? You're not alone, says Barbara Hemphill, author of "Taming the Paper Tiger at Work" and president of Hemphill Productivity Institute. People everywhere"especially top executives and entrepreneurs"are finding themselves bogged down by the clutter that's taken over their desks.

As a top dog, how can you ensure that your executives"and you"are doing everything possible to engineer a creative environment? Hemphill offers insights on how to clear the way for strategic thinking as well as how hiring and training your dream strategic assistant can be the best investment you'll ever make.

Gone are the old days in business, when the top brass had secretaries and assistants at their disposal, many of who spent part of their days trying to look busy.

"Now the pendulum has swung too far the other way," Hemphill explains. "Because of cutbacks in staffing budgets, the top dog now spends part of his or her day performing administrative tasks, following up on details and filing paperwork.

Most executives and entrepreneurs are dreamers and thinkers, not organizers. "The top dogs come up with ideas," Hemphill says. "They're not as good at following through"that's the purpose of a team. The papers and files piled high on their desks only serve as reminders of ideas that didn't work. You can't be a visionary when you're bogged down in paperwork."