How COOs manage up to free the CEO for high-value work
Cameron Herold
March 18, 2026
Management
9
Outsourcing & delegation
6
- Remove tasks below the CEO's effective hourly rate ruthlessly.
- Coach the CEO on blind spots — privately, not in front of the team.
- Ensure the CEO owns the right projects, channels, and metrics.
Why "Painted Picture" became Vivid Vision
Cameron Herold
March 16, 2026
Vision & mission
9
Long-term planning
6
- "Painted picture" made people think of vision boards, not strategy.
- Vivid Vision: a 3–4 page written description of your company in 3 years.
- The concept came from an Olympic coach, not Cameron Herold.
Deep work & focus
YouTube
Two hours of daily focused work puts you in the top 1%
Tim Ferriss
March 16, 2026
Deep work & focus
10
Productivity & habits
6
Resilience & grit
5
- Deleting social apps from your phone breaks compulsive dopamine loops.
- Examining fears reveals the downside is almost always limited.
- Two uninterrupted daily hours of focus already beats most people.
Why your team breaks at scale and how to fix it
Cameron Herold
March 13, 2026
Management
9
Culture building
6
- Fast-scaling companies routinely outgrow the people who built them.
- Grow confidence, connections, and competence — or keep replacing people.
- Internal growth preserves culture; constant external hiring destroys it.
Always run an auction to maximise your exit valuation
Scaling Up with Verne Harnish
March 13, 2026
Exit strategy
9
Pitching investors
6
- Signing an exclusive with the first buyer destroys your leverage.
- One auction process turned a 7x offer into a 25x exit.
- Even the option to walk away creates enough competitive pressure.
Accounting basics
YouTube
How tax write-offs actually work for small business owners
HR Party of One
March 10, 2026
Accounting basics
9
Compliance & regulation
7
- A deduction lowers taxable profit, not your tax bill directly.
- Meals, travel, and car expenses are routinely misused as write-offs.
- Employee wages and benefits are often the largest legitimate deductions.
AI strategy & adoption
YouTube
AI strengthens your weaknesses without touching your strengths
KeyPersonOfInfluence
March 8, 2026
AI strategy & adoption
8
Identity & self-belief
6
- Top performers gain almost nothing from AI on their strengths
- Two-week employees using AI outperformed six-month veterans
- AI closes skill gaps — double down on what makes you world-class
Scaling your business by strengthening your customers
Scaling Up with Verne Harnish
March 6, 2026
Business models
9
Retention & loyalty
7
- Help your customers grow and your own revenue follows.
- Leader Systems scaled from $50M to $1B in eight years.
- Microsoft's partner investment model proves the same principle.
Identity & self-belief
YouTube
Why COOs feel like impostors — and how to stop
Cameron Herold
March 4, 2026
Identity & self-belief
9
Management
5
- Every COO in the room raised their hand — imposter syndrome is universal
- The feeling comes from outpacing your own experience, not incompetence
- Confidence and connections come first; systems and skills follow in year two
Hiring & recruitment
YouTube
Hiring ahead of the curve: a reverse-engineering framework
Cameron Herold
March 2, 2026
Hiring & recruitment
9
Processes & SOPs
6
- Reactive hiring delays key hires by months and costs millions
- A productive January hire requires recruiting to start in April
- Map your org chart 12 months out, then reverse-engineer start dates
Amazon's Rise to Number One Is Driven by Organisational Soul
Scaling Up with Verne Harnish
February 27, 2026
Vision & mission
9
Culture building
8
- Amazon overtook Walmart through maniacal customer obsession, not scale.
- Founders returning to Google and Starbucks each triggered a trillion-dollar rebound.
- Soul — the 'how' behind purpose — is the compounding advantage that lasts.
How to roll out leadership training across your entire company
Cameron Herold
February 25, 2026
Management
9
Processes & SOPs
5
- Train leaders first, managers second, emerging leaders third — in sequence.
- Repeating the programme after 90 days doubles what actually sticks.
- Untrained people who stay cost more than trained people who leave.
Content marketing
YouTube
ACA Affordability Safe Harbors: W-2, Rate of Pay, and Federal Poverty Line
HR Party of One
February 24, 2026
Content marketing
9
Copywriting
5
- Rate of Pay safe harbor works year-round; W-2 method only after year-end.
- Federal Poverty Line method guarantees compliance but requires higher employer contributions.
- Correct 1095-C Line 16 safe harbor code is the primary IRS penalty shield.
The Olympic lesson every leader needs: personal best over medals
Scaling Up with Verne Harnish
February 20, 2026
Management
9
Goal setting
7
Communication
6
- 99% of Olympians chase personal best, not medals — so should your team
- One top performer a month is not a scaling strategy
- Daily progress toward a meaningful goal beats any award programme
Being five minutes early as a core value in practice
Cameron Herold
February 16, 2026
Culture building
9
Productivity & habits
6
- Late arrivals signal your time matters more than theirs.
- End every meeting five minutes early to start the next on time.
- 1-800-GOT-JUNK ran a precise 7-minute daily huddle for 25 years.