Question: What one quality should I look for in a COO and why?
Micro and Macro Thinking
"A great COO needs the rare ability to be excellent at both micro and macro thinking. They need to create systems that encompass the business' entire ecosystem, while making sure those systems are the best match for all of the little processes that have to happen every day. Find someone who can easily switch between both modes. "
@lkr
Fantastic Experience
"With any C-level position at your startup, the key is finding someone who has more experience and background than you. Since a COO will wear many hats, so look for someone who has experience running many different parts of an organization. The ideal candidate should be a great people person, a skilled manager and someone capable of seeing both the big picture and the smallest details."
@brittanyhodak
Tenacity
"Your COO has to have thick skin and the ability to fail and get up many times. They need to be confident enough to put together a plan and stick with it no matter what. They should be willing to do almost anything for the business and extremely flexible, as there are many surprises in almost any business. Sounds like a tough gig, but they really need to be the behind the scenes leader."
@dnevogt
Excellent Communication Skills
"A good COO has to be a good communicator in order to organize and manage the day to day operations smoothly. He or she is the management glue for the different departments to interact. Also the COO must communicate up to the CEO accurately for larger decisions and initiatives to be successful. "
@nethacker
A Passion for People and Process
"Don't just hire someone who just loves processes and structure. If you do, you're hiring someone who will stomp all over people in order to iron out a few minor wrinkles. Find someone will high character and who loves people -- who can work with people to improve processes and implement structure -- so you don't destroy your culture by prioritizing efficiency over people."
@sethtalbott
Improvement Oriented
"Someone who measures everything with the purpose of improving it's processes and then makes those changes. I have a friend who, when he had his first daughter, built a line graph to measure the effectiveness of diaper changing and put it in his nursery. He would make the best COO out of anyone I have met. "
@adamroot
Attentive and Forward Thinking
"Your COO needs to be able to answer two questions at any point in time. "What is the company doing today?" And, "What will the company doing at this time next year?" "
@prolificbobby
