Algebra: What is the role of a COO?

The role of a COO (Chief Operating Officer) is not always clear to outsiders.  Nor, I would I add, is it always clear to us COO's.  It's different from company to company and from time to time.

As a member of the Executive Team, the COO contributes to making decisions on the direction of the company.  Figuring out what direction to take and why.

Direction = Vision + Strategy

And for the company to be successful it needs to be capable to pursue that direction.

Success = Direction x Capability

The word "Capability" in the above equation is where the COO has to focus.  He/she needs to create and improve the "capability" of the company in order that it can pursue it's objectives effectively.

Digging deeper, capability has two main drivers...

Capability = Competence x Capacity

Competence is how good we are at doing something and it's driven by 4 main factors;

Competence = Communication x Skills x Experience x Information

Capacity however is how fast we are at doing it and it's driven by how many resources we have (money, people, assets) and how productive or efficient we are with those resources.

Capacity = Resources x Efficiency

If the COO is concerned with Capability, then the COO's time by neccessity needs to centre around Communication, Skills, Information, Resources and Efficiency.

That means that COOs tend to think about organisational health, talent, inventory, feedback loops, processes, procedures, controls, systems, planning, reporting and troubleshooting.

So if Success = Direction x Capability

then

Success = (Vision + Strategy) x ((Resources x Efficiency) x (Communication x Experience x Skills x Information))

The COO contributes in part to "Direction" but mainly to "Capability".

At least that's the way I understand things, for now.

What Google Says Makes A Good Manager

The latest issue of Wired UK magazine has a great section on initiatives companies are taking to improve their workplace and culture.

Of note, there's a section on Google's approach to measuring the quality of it's managers.

In 2009 their HR team analysed who were the best and most successful managers and what particular traits they had.  This research led them to conclude that there are 8 behaviours that make a great manager and they measure their managers against these 8 behaviours.

The project was called "Project Oxygen" and they call these 8 traits the "Oxygen Eight"...

1. Be a good coach

2. Don't micromanage

3. Express interest in employees' well-being

4. Be productive and results orientated

5. Listen to your team

6. Help employees' career development

7. Have a clear vision

8. Have key technical skills

Spending one to one time with people and taking a genuine interest in their lives was the single most appreciated trait of a manager by their team.

Here's a report in more detail from the NY Times (2011)

The 123 of Great Customer Service

I've heard many theories of what makes great customer service.

In my mind though it's really simple.  Simple as 1, 2, 3.

If there's one golden rule in life it's this... to always do your best to treat people as you would like to be treated.  This is the foundation of a meaningful life and it's also what underpins great service.

To do that, practically, there are 3 things that matter;

   1. Solve the problem that the person has

   2. Be fast

   3. Do it with a smile

We can add on to the above a lot of detail, but let's not.  It really should be that simple. Great service is really those three things whichever way you look at it;

Be helpful, be fast, be friendly.

As a P.S. I'd add a fourth principle, to always do everything possible to prevent the issue from happening again.

Delivering that simplicity time and time again is a real challenge, as an individual, as a manager or as a company.  It's a challenge that is very rewarding to get right.

Is it really that simple?  What do you think?

Give In Order To Receive

My Grandmother taught me that the best thing about presents is the giving, not the receiving.  There is great pleasure to be had in giving something to someone that they truly appreciate.

To solve someone else's need or want is a great human gesture.  We humans are social creatures and the act of giving is at the heart of all great relationships.  

It seems true in life that by giving we create goodwill and goodwill has value.  Reflecting on this, I realised that great relationships can exist between companies and a) their customers and b) their employees. And it all starts with giving.  Giving people what they need.

For example, every time I call my bank, they answer my phone call almost straight away.  When I get through, they answer my question, they are friendly and helpful.  I am a very satisfied customer and if ever get the chance, I tell my friends what a great bank they are.  I have been a loyal customer for over 15 years and will probably be for life.

My bank attracted my attention because they solved a problem for me.  My need. In 1997 my need was that I didn't want to have to walk down the high street to the bank. It was an inconvenience.  They promised 24/7 telephone banking (and later, when the time came, they provided all of this online). They made it easy for me to switch my account from my previous bank and they gave me a cash reward to say thank you.

They provided me with what I wanted, where I wanted it, when I wanted it and how I wanted it.  And they did it with a smile.  I rewarded them with my business and my recommendation.  It's a very positive relationship.

I realised that the positive relationship between a customer and a company has many similarities between an employee and a company.  Especially when it goes right.

Do you manage people?

If you do, don't you wish your team were as positive about you and as loyal to you as I am to my bank?

Here it seems lies a fundamental truth; your team are your customers and you are the customer of your manager.

Yes, people management is actually marketing.

In life if we solve other people's problems and provide people with what they need they will pay us for what they need.  That's business.  Any business is in business because it solves a problem or fulfils a need for it's customers. Give in order to receive.

Just as different customers have different needs and companies provide products and services to meet these needs, people working at those companies have needs.

You have needs and wants.  You need money to buy food, pay the rent.  You probably you want a purpose in life.  You will need to feel important and that what you do with your life matters.  You want to feel in control and therefore free of unnecessary anxiety.  You might want friends and need social stimulation.  Maybe you want to learn, develop and grow as a person.  Maybe you just want recognition and a "thank you".  You want information.

Employment can provide for some of these needs.  Just as great companies spend a lot of effort to understand their customers and provide what they need, I believe really great managers spend time to understand what their team truly need and want and figure out how to provide it.  Employees reward the company with their effort, creativity and loyalty.

(Note: people don't always know what they want.  Phone manufacturers used to think that what we wanted was a smaller and smaller phone.  It turns out we wanted a big flat screen.  We didn't know that. True needs are often hidden, often driven by emotion not logic.  Your team might say they want to be paid more.  This might be not their real need.  Their real need might be say, freedom to act, recognition or purpose. It's often these deep needs that are most powerful).

Think about the best manager that you ever worked for. Think about the best company that you ever worked for.  What needs and wants did they provide for you?  And did you give your effort in return?

When managers succeed, it's because they provide for these needs.  The need could be a training opportunity, it could just be encouragement and praise, it could be a fancy job title, it could be the freedom to make decisions, it could be a company social event, it could be a clear vision of what the company is trying to achieve, it could be the sharing of useful information.  When a manager or company gets this right, it seems like magic.  It's not magic, it's marketing.

Management is marketing?

Kind of, yes.

First of all then, what is marketing?

Here's the best definition of marketing I've ever heard...  "Marketing is creating and value and extracting value"

• Creating the value is defining a product or service that people are willing to pay for.  It includes amongst other things the function, the packaging, the place, the design.
• Extracting value how we get people to pay for that product or service. Communication, pricing etc.

If managing people is like marketing then it is all about creating value for employees and extracting value from employees.  So many managers focus on "extracting value" when in fact the focus needs to be on "creating value".  By creating more value, it's easier to extract value and to extract more of it.

Think about the relationship a company has with it's customers...

The best kind of customer is an advocate.  The advocate will tell everyone and anyone about your the great product and service.  Every business wants more advocates.   Then, there are repeat customers.  You like these.  Even if they are not advocates yet, you hope to make them into advocates.

At the other end of the scale are the detractors.  Those who really dislike your company and tell everyone about it. You need to convert these and save this relationship before it damages your business.

Now think about employees in the same way...

Employee advocates are what I call "multipliers".  They not only do a great job, they cause others around them to do a great job.  They do this because their needs are met. Repeat customers are your "adders".  They turn up every day and do good work - solid, dependable, but don't necessarily cause others to do a good job. The detractors are your "dividers".  They not only do a poor job but they cause friction, discontent and misery around them.  You need convert them or remove them if you can't.

Therefore, address needs and wants to build “multipliers”.

If you can provide for their needs, these multipliers will go the extra mile, they'll absorb themselves in their work and they’ll recommend the company to friend.

So many managers act as if they are the customer.  In a way that is perhaps technically correct.  At least that's the way the money flows.  The company pays a salary after all.  I however propose that this is a fundamental error to think this way and although it's counter-intuitive, we should start to think the other way around. Employees are customers.

If you agree with this approach, as a manager, there are implications;

1. Identify what your team need and want (at both an individual level and as a group)

2. Provide it

3. Continuously seek feedback if you are on the right track

4. Show appreciation

  

People management is marketing - the company is the product and the employee is the customer

Do you agree…?

Dr M

I met Dr M on the walk back from the train station today.

It was the first time that I realised that was his name. He'd bounced in and out my life over the past few years but he's never told me his name.

You see the thing is, Dr M is not a real person. He's an idea.

He's what will make your life different in the next year. And like the Holy Trinity there's three parts to his character.

D = Do

R = Read

M = Meet

These are the three things that will change your life in the next year
- what you do
- what you read
- who you meet

Do

I learn by doing. By trying things out, I develop skills, knowledge and understanding. I also put myself into new challenges, see new problems, find new solutions.

Read

Reading is nourishment for the mind. Ideas are planted, mental frameworks are thrown around, concepts are born, knowledge is gained. Ideas were born to have sex with each other. The more you read, the more ideas you have and these ideas synthesize with others to create new views of reality.

Meet

We are social animals. I find that it's by meeting with others, having conversations and doing things together that I learn new things, hear of new opportunities and (importantly) have fun.

Mix it all up

The great thing about Dr M though is when you mix it all up. Doing things, reading and then meeting up creates all sorts of new perspectives and opportunities. Reading about an idea and then trying it out. Debating ideas with others. Sharing your knowledge with others. The power is of the combinations. D+R, R+M, M+D. It's the algebra of life.

If you want good things to happen to you, remember Dr M.

Do more stuff. Read more books. Meet more people.