I suspect we were far too quick to get rid of secretaries as actual job-performing useful people rather than just status-signaling living perks. Also I think much of our workforce is wildly over-qualified and over-educated for what they actually do. I suspect there are more people than ever in the proverbial "mail room" that are plenty capable of rising to CEO or President of a region or division and doing a fine job without taking time and money to qualify for then attain an MBA at a top school, but we just don't really do that anymore. 500 people with the education and smarts, given a tiny amount of coaching, to do jobs two notches up the "ladder" for every such position that exists, but several HBS grads applied so we're taking one of them anyway.

I agree completely. I miss having a Department Administrative Assistant who was expert at the things I shouldn't need to be expert at. Like "I need to go to San Francisco next month; please take care of my travel arrangements." Or, "how do you use this Excel feature I never heard of and will never need to use again?"

Our AA saved us countless thousands of hours each year. She was worth her weight in platinum.