Hire an EA before a COO: audit your time first

Executive overview

CEOs overwhelmed by workload often jump to hiring a second-in-command. Most of that workload is low-skill admin that an executive assistant can handle for a fraction of the cost.

Do an activity inventory: list everything on your plate and assign an effective hourly rate to each task. Delegate the cheap work first.

Hiring a COO to do $15/hour tasks is the wrong sequence — get an EA first.

The activity inventory

• List every task on your plate and estimate its effective hourly rate
• Low-skill tasks belong with an EA, not a COO or VP of Operations
• AI and automation can absorb routine workflows before any hire is needed
• If you don't have an EA, you are one

Reading the signals for when you need a second-in-command

• Your intuition that you're missing strategic opportunities is likely correct
• Poll your management team: three strengths, three weaknesses, three opportunities, three threats — about you as CEO
• If you have 30 goals and can realistically hit five, and you're the bottleneck, that's a red flag
• Hire an EA first; only then consider a director/VP of operations or COO