What makes a *great* COO?

In the midst of my self-imposed sabbatical, some of my ex-investors have kept me reasonably busy with some of their stage portfolio companies that want a fresh eye on all sorts of scaling topics. The single most common recruiting-related topic I've spent time on is how to hire a COO. This applies just as well to GMs/operators at large companies as it does to a startup leader. 

I've kinda played the role and enjoyed it. I've hired for the role. I’ve hired well and also misfired badly.

These are my learnings....

 First, do you really need a typical COO? Here is an easy framework to sort it out:

• “I want to prioritize my minutes and hours every day on the 30% that gets us a 10x return” - you need a Chief of Staff who can block and tackle in the daily game of time management whack-a-mole. 
• “I want a clone who can make decisions as I would on the 70% so that I can focus on the 30% that gets us a 10x return” - you need a VP of Operations.
• “I want someone who can execute my decisions on the 70% so that I can focus on the 30%” - you need a Chief Operating Officer. 

Obviously, there are overlaps but these are the guiding principles for what criteria must be at the tip of the spear based on the type of help you seek. All of them give you scale but in different ways. That said, peanut butter this decision and you will regret it.

As CEO or large-co GM, are you really looking for someone who is an operator or a VP of Operations? 

A VP of Operations can be an interim owner of functions especially when you are looking for a functional leader but in general, doesn’t manage functions. What she does do is intimately know how you think and work, what your immediate priorities are, and most importantly how you would make a decision. She can be your proxy on a chunk of the decisions so that you can scale by focusing on stuff that strategically really moves the needle. A great VP of Operations can bring thrust to how fast you move as an organization by removing you as the single chokepoint on every decision. She is your proxy in many cases so the level of trust between you both needs to be over the top. She also helps guide the rest of the management team, (especially new members) on how to add rigor when framing the ask in a way that will help you, the CEO to make a call. 

 A VP of Operations gives you speed.

A COO, on the other hand, is an operator. He not only can play the role of a VP of Operations, but can manage budgets, own forecasts, and they can run key G&A functions. He has the skill to vacillate from function to function and see stuff across the organizational tapestry to find both opportunities and trouble spots and act. The analytics he uses goes across the demand and supply chain. And he operates functions so that you can scale yourself by doubling down on the functions that need your direct attention right, right now. 

A COO gives you speed and accuracy.

What traits do the best COOs have in common?

Well, ironically, that depends on your personality and leadership style:

If you are the big picture, outbound type of CEO, you need an operator who can keep you grounded and help you keep the team accountable at a much more granular level than you generally can or want to but you know is needed. This COO has a handle on all the big dials as well as the small levers that can be moved up and down to adjust how the company operates to meet your goals in the face of constantly changing market conditions. In this case, many decisions get made without you, but you have faith that your decision-making framework is always used, that your strategic goals are always adhered to. But it requires that you're disciplined to stay in the know in a timely way so that you have the chance to pull out your veto card when market conditions that you are so on top of need a different lens on the problem. But it falls apart if you need to do it all the time. This is super useful if your market is in a state of intense land grab, transformation or growth.

If you are the operational type of CEO who does get into the details, a COO becomes more of an enforcer, making sure that your every preference for detail is borne out. You own the operational dashboard and they see to it that every metric is met.

 That brings me to the last super important distinction: 

What do great COOs do?

Good COOs can play cop effectively. No one can sneak anything past them, and the rest of the team knows this and are constructively weary of them. But great COOs? Great COOs can play cop but can also give the team wings. They have the business acumen to know a good deal when they see one and the management team knows that they will find them the budget and give them both air cover and immense encouragement to take a big swing. They exude a personal brand as such to the rest of the management team every day and are very approachable.  It's finding this COO that will deliver exponential growth. I’ve only come across 2 such great COOs in my career.

This last point about great COOs deserves its own post that I might get to at some point.

But this should get you started if you're wrestling with the topic.