Cameron Herold says a COO's metrics depend entirely on what they actually do. Finance, IT, operations, strategy, P&L responsibility. At 1-800-GOT-JUNK, finance didn't report to him, so he wasn't measured on it. The CEO's preferences and company context matter too.
They're coming in with a level of P and L responsibility which might determine some of the metrics. They're coming in with a level of strategic insights which might determine some of the metrics. And then it also depends on which business areas report to them. Every CEO is completely different and the needs of the company is completely different. So I get asked all the time, what are the metrics that you have to measure a second in command by? And the reality is that changes based on the second command, based on the roles and responsibilities they have. Every CEO is completely different because their company is completely different. The CEO that they're working with is completely different. Their roles and responsibilities are completely different. And then also the pay grade that they have really can determine some of the metrics as well. Because the higher their pay grade, right? If they're truly a COO and they're making a few hundred thousand a year and they're really running a bigger company, they're coming in with a level of P and L responsibility which might determine some of the metrics. They're coming in with a level of strategic insights which might determine some of the metrics. And then it also depends on which business areas report to them. Every CEO is completely different and the needs of the company is completely different. As an example, when I was the second in command for 1-800-got- junk, I did not have it and finance reporting to me, so I would not have had any metrics associated with those. There's other CEOs who have their COO overseeing finance and IT. It's all based on the roles and responsibilities, the style that the COO is kind of showing up at inside of the organization and what they're taking off the CEO's plate and then the level of strategy and P and L oversight that they have as well, that determines the metrics that COO is going to be accountable to and responsible for. All right, don't stop now. Click here to keep going. There's lots more videos here with more insights for you, so keep growing.
Flutterwave Former Global Head of Operations Awa Kone | When Growth Outruns Operations (Podcast 611)
