<P> Chris Whipple, author of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency, loosely describes the role of a White House chief of staff through his interview with former President Barack Obama: "During the last days of his presidency, Barack Obama observed:' One of the things I've learned is that the big breakthroughs are typically the result of a lot of grunt work--just a whole lot of blocking and tackling .' Grunt work is what chiefs of staff do ." </P> <P> The responsibilities of the chief of staff are both managerial and advisory and can include the following: </P> <Ul> <Li> Select key White House staff and supervise them; </Li> <Li> Structure the White House staff system; </Li> <Li> Control the flow of people into the Oval Office; </Li> <Li> Manage the flow of information; </Li> <Li> Protect the interests of the president; </Li> <Li> Negotiate with Congress, other members of the executive branch, and extra-governmental political groups to implement the president's agenda; and </Li> <Li> Advise the president on various issues, including telling the president what he does not want to hear . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Select key White House staff and supervise them; </Li>

What does the us chief of staff do
find me the text answering this question