Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

Meet the CEO whisperer behind hundreds of high-growth companies

5 Aug 2026 · 2 min

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1:32

Cameron Herold argues leaders must develop people so thoroughly they can delegate everything except each employee's unique genius. He warns that most companies claim values they don't actually live, and that leaders waste time on underperformers instead of focusing on A-players. Investing in people might make them leave, but not investing keeps them trapped.

Chapters

You are actually your own biggest threat, not AI. Our job as a leader is to grow people. It's to grow their skills, to grow their confidence, and to grow their connections so that we can delegate everything except genius. I think you have to actually indoctrinate people in your cult. The history of your company, your core values, your core purpose, your BHAG, your vivid vision. Most of you say you have core values, but you don't even know them, which means your employees don't know them. And you certainly don't live them because you have people coming to work every day who break your core values, which means they're not core values, they're merely aspirational core values. The COO's job is to be the brakes to the entrepreneur's gas, but not the parking brake. Our job is to be the leash to the dragon, but not choke you. Stop spending time with your underperformers. Fire your underperformers and spend your time with your A players. Why am I not spending time with my A players and I'm spending time with the Cs? Somebody said to me one time, well, what if I invest in my people and they quit? What if you don't invest in them and they stay? Thank you.