What a COO actually does and how to hire the right one

Executive overview

Most CEOs hire a COO without a clear picture of what the role requires. The result is a mismatch that costs momentum. A COO's job is to take the CEO's vision and make it operational — not to be a more senior employee who handles overflow.

The right COO is defined by fit with the CEO, not a generic skill profile. They toggle between strategic oversight and day-to-day execution, grow people rather than fix problems directly, and act as the internal face of the company.

The wrong COO drains the CEO; the right one multiplies them.

Inward vs. outward facing

• An outward-facing CEO (Jobs, Musk) needs an inward-facing COO focused on internal operations.
• An inward-facing CEO needs a COO who can serve as the company's public voice and external face.
• Shopify: CEO Tobias Lutke focuses on product; COO Harley Finkelstein handles media and business development.
• 1-800-GOT-JUNK: Cameron Herold was outward-facing; his successor Eric Church is inward-focused and operational.
• The COO is almost always the internal face of the company and the top-level manager on the org chart.

Coordination, not subject matter expertise

• The COO is a quarterback: calls plays, passes the ball, trusts others to execute.
• Department heads must be domain experts; the COO must be a chameleon who speaks every department's language without being fluent in any.
• The COO's unique expertise is in communications, people skills, and leadership — not finance, IT, or marketing.
• The Socratic method is the core tool: ask the right questions to surface broken systems and unblock collaboration.
• A COO leading seven areas still needs a head of each function as the company scales.

Empowerment, not rescue

• The COO's job is to grow people's capacity, not to fix problems on their behalf.
• Getting involved in every decision leads to incapacitation — it's impossible to manage every business area directly.
• The parent analogy: teach the skill, don't do the task. Same principle applies.
• When a head of product and head of IT at 1-800-GOT-JUNK broke down entirely, the COO coached them to collaborate — without taking over any of their work.
• COOs who rescue create dependency; COOs who coach create leverage.

Systems over firefighting

• People don't fail, systems fail (Michael Gerber, The E-Myth) — the COO creates a no-blame culture focused on fixing systems.
• The Starbucks sign story: the CEO didn't ask why the letter burned out — he asked what system would prevent it across 14,000 locations.
• A good COO sees shortcuts and optimises for simplicity: if a franchisee in a snowstorm with a temp employee can't execute it, the system is too complex.
• Complicated is easy. Simple is hard.
• Insiders miss shortcuts; an outside hire often brings a fresh perspective.

Strategy and tactics

• The CEO owns strategy; the COO owns tactics. Both are useless without the other (Sun Tzu).
• The COO toggles between head-up (strategic) and head-down (operational) — like a whale surfacing, then diving.
• CEOs must take the COO up the mountain to share the view, or the COO gets pushed into pure firefighting.
• At 1-800-GOT-JUNK, monitoring macroeconomic shifts (CAD/USD hedging) wasn't in the brief but was within scope — the COO looks beyond the business to the environment it operates in.
• Recalibrate roles and responsibilities with the CEO regularly; priorities shift.

Culture and energy

• The COO's energy creates a butterfly effect across the organisation.
• Blowing up about wasted meeting time once spread negative energy for a month — worse than the original problem.
• Emotional maturity is a prerequisite; it comes from seeing situations before, not necessarily from years.
• The COO fires toxic people, builds praise cultures, implements accountability systems, and embeds core values.
• In early-stage companies, the COO often builds systems from scratch — a different skill than running mature systems.

Working with the board and customers

• The COO brings operational clarity and data to board meetings; fills gaps the CEO leaves.
• Never contact board members directly between meetings — it causes triangulation and undermines the CEO.
• The COO helps craft board agendas and ensures the CEO walks in with accurate, not alarming, information.
• Direct customer and supplier contact gives the COO a fuller picture of what the business is actually building.

Desirable qualities in a COO

• Adaptability — absorbs and guards the culture rather than reshaping it.
• Drive — momentum-obsessed; wins are a launchpad, not a destination.
• Likeability — builds consensus; people must want to spend time with them.
• Honesty — says what others think but won't say; filters destroy trust.
• Communication — listens first; every message raises energy or drains it.
• Diplomacy — enters established orgs and earns respect without triggering resentment.
• Steadiness — even keel while the CEO is visionary and sometimes erratic.
• Entrepreneurialism — spots unplanned opportunities that fit the vision; not a rigid plan enforcer.
• Coaching instinct — moderates and facilitates rather than mandating solutions.
• Availability — open door to coach problem-solving, not to serve as a dumping ground.