How to hire the right COO by auditing your own strengths

Executive overview

Most CEOs hire a COO because they're overwhelmed — but without knowing what to delegate, they hire for someone else's problem. The fix starts with an honest audit of your own activities, not a job description.

Map every task you do into four categories: incompetent, competent, excellent, or unique ability (UA). A COO fills the gap between your UA and everything else that still needs doing.

The right COO doesn't just free up time — they amplify the CEO's energy across the whole organisation.

The activity inventory framework

• List every task you do, as if a camera followed you for a month
• Categorise each task: I (incompetent), C (competent), E (excellent, but drains you), UA (unique ability — you'd do it for free)
• UA is often invisible to you; what feels natural to you is not natural to everyone
• Being excellent at something doesn't make it UA — if it drains you, it's an E
• Delegate or eliminate I and C tasks first; build a COO role from the E tasks too high-level for an EA

Why energy matters more than time

• Tasks outside your UA don't just waste time — they drain energy from you and the organisation
• CEOs set the emotional tone; projecting exhaustion is as harmful as poor strategy
• The CEO's job is to be the chief energising officer, not just the chief executive
• A COO takes the operational load so the CEO can channel positive energy outward

Trusted partner, not just an operator

• The CEO role is lonely — you can't be fully honest with the board, staff, or spouse
• A good COO serves as confidant, sounding board, and sometimes therapist
• You must like and respect the COO enough to spend non-work time together; natural affinity builds the trust required
• The "two in a box" model only works when both people trust each other completely

Positioning the company for growth or exit

• Every CEO will eventually exit; a COO builds the systems that let the company outlive any individual leader
• The COO's job is to create an organisation that runs itself
• A COO may become the heir apparent — build that succession into the role from the start

Keeping up with disruption

• The pace of external change consistently outpaces internal change in most businesses — that gap kills companies
• COOs must not just understand change; they must get ahead of it
• Younger COOs often bring strength in technology, automation, and digital marketing
• Skills in people management — hiring, onboarding, conflict resolution — can be developed quickly
• Cross-industry exposure (e.g. through peer networks) helps COOs spot opportunities others miss

The exponential effect of the right pairing

• The right CEO–COO combination is not additive — it is multiplicative
• Complementary skills and genuine trust allow each person to stay in their lane without interference
• The COO executes the CEO's vision; the CEO trusts the COO to own that execution fully