The COO – The Conductor of the Business Orchestra

As the Director of the San Ramon, California Chapter of the Chief Operating Officer Business Forum, I have the opportunity to work with a number of COOs from a wide variety of industries. In addition to sharing best practices and helping with business acceleration, we work to help define the role of the COO in organizations. The CEO role is well known and many have written about it, including me in my “CEO Tips I Wish I had When I Started” series. But the COO role is different. It is complex and often varies depending upon the CEO’s particular strengths.

There is a lighthearted analogy that may be appropriate - an orchestra conductor. Musical theater and particularly the big Broadway musicals are multifaceted just like a business. The story and the score are written, comparable to a strategic plan. Many different functions are involved, generally under the leadership of the producer and the director. They co-ordinate everything right up until show time, similar to the executive team. And there is a product to sell for revenue and profitability.

Show time and the conductor takes over. This is comparable to how the COO takes over as businesses reach the market and everything comes together. The performers, the business units if you will, the production team for lighting and sound and stage movement, the product supply, and even the ushers, the customer service people, are under his direction. He starts the show by a tap of his baton to focus everyone’s attention. He then brings everyone to action and the show starts. He determines the volume of the music. The right level sets the tone of the score most effectively. If it is too loud, it will drown out the performers and their roles will be lost. If it is too soft, the melodies are lost and the “imperfections” in the casts’ voices can be uncovered. He sets the tempo to facilitate the delivery of the songs in the score. His fine hand on the controls with his baton can build up the performers on stage and make them stars. If he fails, he can destroy not only the show, but the singers as well. Careers are in his hand.

How is this similar to the COO? The COO is charged with the operation of the company. It is their responsibility to make certain that the execution of the plan is done with excellence and that all of the functions work in harmony, just like the orchestra. Certainly, all of the functions and senior executives have their roles just as the actors and actresses do in the stage production, but they must be co-ordinated well. The results of the conductor’s work can be seen in the box office receipts and the results of the COO’s work can be seen on the bottom line profitability of the company.

How important is the conductor to the production in the eyes of the cast? Here is what happens at the end of every performance. After the performers have taken their bows and received the accolades from the audience, the lead performers steps forward. They direct the cast’s and audience’s attention to the orchestra pit and to the orchestra director. Then the cast applauds the conductor. They recognize his critical importance to their success and the success of the show. The audience leaves the theater often singing or humming parts of the score and continuing the tribute to the conductor.

The orchestra conductor is a critical factor in the success of the musical business. The COO is a critical factor in the success of a business. One may very well say that there is much more that a COO does to make a company successful and that is true. However, it serves as a good analogy for the critical role of the COO.

So applause, applause.




John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

The Art of Execution – For Entrepreneurs and Others

Guy Kawasaki had some thoughts about this and I’d like to build on them.

After you raise the money, “now what”? Every entrepreneur has to answer the same question. The answer to this question is, “Now you execute.” And the next question is, “How do we execute?” It actually is the same question that faces established businesses and why we work so hard to get businesses to commit to creating a strategic business plan and writing it down.

1. Create something worth executing. You may think that you have created the greatest thing since sliced bread or if you are Al Gore, the Internet. But do some more research and make sure. Pitching, demonstrating, bootstrapping and executing are a lot easier if you've created something meaningful. Would you care to guess how many established companies are spending substantial sums and employee’s time on projects that have no market viability? So if you and your team are having a hard time executing, maybe you're working on the wrong thing.

2. Set goals. The next step is to set goals that embody these four qualities:
o Relevant. A good goal is relevant. If you're a software company, it's the number of downloads of your demo version. It isn’t being the number 2 site on Google.
o Measurable. If a goal isn't measurable, it's unlikely you'll achieve it. For a startup, quantifiable goals are things like shipping deadlines, downloads, sales volume, whatever. For established companies with new projects add revenue timing and customer acceptance levels. Keep the number of measurables meaningful since too many dictates failure. Three to five goals are plenty.
o Achievable. Take your “conservative” forecast for these goals and multiply them by 10% then use that as your goal. There is nothing more demoralizing than setting a “conservative” goal and falling short; instead take 10% of your forecast, make this your goal, and blow it away. You might think that such a practice will lead to under-achieving organizations because they aren't being challenged. Not so, since it cause you to get the traction and success you need to build upon..
o Viabile. Ensure that your goal encompasses all the factors that will make your organization viable. Postpone, or at least de-emphasize, touchy feely goals. They may make the founders feel good. They may even make the employees feel good. But companies that execute on measurable goals are happy. Those that don't, aren't. As soon as you start missing the measurable goals, all the touchy feely stuff goes out the window.

3. Establish a culture of execution. Execution is not an event--a onetime push towards achieving goals. Rather it is a way of life, and this way of life (execution versus non-execution) is set in the early days of the organization. The best way to establish this culture is for the founders, particularly the CEO, to set an example of filling goals, responding to customers, and heeding and measuring employees.

4. Communicate the goals. Many executive teams set goals, but they don't communicate these goals to the organization. For goals to be effective, they have to be communicated to every employee in the organization. Employees should wake up in the morning thinking about how they're going to help achieve these goals and in fact take “ownership” for their role.

5. Establish a single point of responsibility. If you ask your employees who is responsible for a goal, and no one can answer you in ten seconds, then it means that there's not enough accountability. If more than one person is responsible for the achievement of a goal, then no one is responsible. Good employees accept responsibility. Great employees seek responsibility.

6. Measure progress on a weekly basis. The goals that people achieve are the goals that are measured. If you don't measure progress towards a goal, you might as well not set it. This is also another reason for setting only three to five goals: people can't focus on more than five, and measuring many more that five is difficult too. The optimal time period to review progress is weekly: monthly is too little pressure; daily is too anal. Then follow through until the goal is met or becomes less relevant and is replaced.

7. Reward the achievers. Rewarding the people who achieve their goals has two positive effects. First, the achievers feel rewarded and become even more excited about doing their job. Second, the under- and non-achievers know that the company takes execution very seriously. The form of the reward can be money, stock options, time off--whatever works to serve notice to everyone that “this person delivered.”

Clearly, having the plan and having the resources are the right way to start. BUT!!!! It is critical that you execute and execute brilliantly. If this part of business isn’t your strong suit, get some help from people who have this strength. Focus your efforts on what you do brilliantly and the company can prosper.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Comment - Why Putting People First is Good Business

Lewis Green's post today about Customers is right on. Check it out.

I left the following comment on it.

Lewis, I couldn’t agree more. Without the customer and the valued customer experience we have no business or at least not for long.

I wrote about this on my website back in January as part of my "CEO tips I wish I had had when I started". If you will permit me a tag to this part “What’s in it for me – The customer.”

I see so many companies going for the cheaper solution not the more cost effective but just cheaper. Look at what the airlines are doing in an effort to make us believe that they are holding prices steady. They clearly don’t see what this does to their “brand” and the quality image they have spent BILLIONS to develop.

Thanks for another great article.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management

Leaders - You Can’t Send a Duck to Eagle School

I saw this headline on the Simple Truths website. Simple Truths was started by Mac Anderson after he sold off Successories and is filled with motivational and inspiration material. The basic message is that there are certain character attributes that are essential and if you want a company led by eagles you can’t expect to make them out of ducks. They are just too different.

That made me think more about eagles, which are my favorite from the animal world and the differences compared to ducks.

This is eagle school. Duck school is down on the lake.

Lesson 1: Eagles are Majestic with Character all their own
The eagle is the most majestic of all birds and not solely for its size and spirit. An eagle is around 3 feet tall and reaches over 6 ½ feet between the wings. A large bird! The eagle has come to symbolize the majesty of the air. The eagle takes the high ground if you will. A person's true character is revealed by what he does when no one is watching. The eagle is most often out of sight and out in the wild, the eagle is a very clean bird. Is this “eagle integrity”? Now on the other hand if you have seen ducks around lakes you know that they are not so clean.

Lesson 2: Eagles Are Made For the High Places
Unlike other birds like ducks that fly in the lowlands, eagles are made to fly in the high places, out of sight of the naked human eye and out of range of the hunter's rifle. Executives are meant to fly in high places and lead their company. The “high place” enables the leader to have the vision and the clarity to lead the company along the right path successful. Eagle-like executives are required to lead companies.

Lesson 3: Eagles Do Not Fly, They Soar
Eagles do not fly like other birds, flapping their wings profusely and using their own strength. Instead, eagles SOAR majestically, making use of the wind currents to gain height. What makes the eagle so special is that she sits on the rock and reads the wind and when the time is perfect she takes off and soars upward with her great wings. How will you know when the updraft is coming? How will you know how to avoid the hurricane or at least survive it? You need the right plan and then be able to capitalize on the right time to move. You will move with far more success and you can soar. Ducks fly but don’t soar.

Lesson 4: Eagles Go Through Specific Periods of Renewal
When they are about 60 years old, eagles go through a period of renewal. An eagle would find a secret place up in the mountains. It would start to claw at its face and tear out the feathers that have been damaged over the years. Through this, the eagle renews its strength by getting rid of the unnecessary things otherwise it would not be able to live till 120 years that it normally does. Business executives have business plans that need periodic renewal. Certainly not every 60 years. More like a quarterly refresher and then an annual in-depth review. Be like the eagles and do the plan renewals.

Lesson 5: Eagles Get Sick, Just Like Humans
When an eagle gets sick, it does not go to the doctor. It simply finds a favorite spot in the mountains and awaits the rays of the sun to heal it. The sun plays a major role in the life of an eagle and as such, is a major source of healing too. What is your “sun”? Is it a business coach, guide or mentor? Is it some motivational or inspirational element that has proven successful for you before? Keep these handy and use them often. They may not only help cure the sickness, they may prevent it.

Lesson 6: Even Eagles Need a Push Sometimes
High in the mountains, a baby eagle is born. One day, mama eagle takes one of her babies in her mouth and starts soaring into the skies. Suddenly, she drops the baby eaglet who starts to struggle. Just before the eaglet smashes against the rocks, mama eagle would sweep down and pick it up. This goes on for about five to eight times. Every time it is being dropped from the sky, the eaglet would struggle by flapping its wings. Mama is teaching her young to fly. Everyone needs some help sometimes. It may be a new idea, some coaching or just some reinforcement from a valued confidant.

So if you want to have eagles in your company, start with eagles not ducks.

John

John Maver
President
Maver Management Group
(925) 648-7561
Maver Management