There are no shortcuts at a startup. It’s consistent hard work over time. Here’s the thing though…Having internal clarity on: what the work is, who is doing it, and when it will be done ...can 5x your company’s pace and effectiveness without changing anything else!
Read MoreThere are no shortcuts at a startup. It’s consistent hard work over time.
Here’s the thing though…
Having internal clarity on:
...can 5x 1 your company’s pace and effectiveness without changing anything else!
If you’ve ever said:
Me?!? I thought you were going to do it.
What came out of that awesome brainstorm session?
I feel like we have good meetings but nothing comes of it...
You need 3D:
After every meeting —formal or informal — ask a single question:
What are next steps?
Pause. Reflect on your 3D list.
Think about overall company priorities.
😊 YES → Proceed. Enjoy the progress and clarity!
🙁 NO → Scrap everything without hesitation. You may have wasted time with this meeting but don’t make it worse. Get back to important things!
3D Recap:
Quick, simple, game-changing.
If you’re an early stage startup that wants to go faster, try this alignment and clarity tip. Let me know how it goes or if you’re one of the magical startups already doing it!
1 Estimated. Could be 2x, 10x, 1000x. No time to collect official data when we implemented this at Rigor and Pardot. We were moving too fast 😉
Operations at a fast growing startup can be like walking into a messy closet. Lots of potential but in need of some organization. You’re not sure where to start and it can be overwhelming to a Type A closet neat freak (not that I would be one of those… ;) )
Read MoreOperations at a fast growing startup can be like walking into a messy closet. Lots of potential but in need of some organization. You’re not sure where to start and it can be overwhelming to a Type A closet neat freak (not that I would be one of those… ;) )
If your early stage startup feels like a messy closet right now, is that bad? No! It’s completely normal. In fact, I would say, it’s a great sign that you’re focused on the right things (customers and growth) early on. If you add detailed planning structure too early, you’ll kill creativity, speed, and focus.
At some point though, the paradigm flips and without more clarity and structure, creativity, speed, and focus will fall off.
Whether you’re an ops leader with a “messy closet” or a CEO ready to scale, here is a *real life* story of incremental improvements over time to create operational excellence.
Our first quarterly planning session at Rigor:
8 quarters later:
Did we implement all of these changes in a single quarter? Nope. It would have been incredibly time intensive with little adoption and minimal long term value.
Instead, we picked 1-3 things to add or focus on each quarter.
First, it was consistency with metrics and setting SMART goals. Next quarter, we added a leadership review and alignment process. Then, it was viewer-friendly presentations instead of one page templates. After one quarter of presentations, we started doing dry runs and using beautiful, branded templates. By then, we had also redefined our company Core Values and incorporated those into planning, presentations, and performance.
How did we decide the “next thing” to add each quarter?
Based on those inputs, we’d make a plan for what to improve next quarter. We’d also drop things that didn’t work and streamline areas that didn’t need hands-on management anymore.
Improvement Over Time
Like the famous British cycling team, we focused on consistent improvements over time which resulted in big gains in the long run. No single item was transformational but the operations snowball grew steadily.
Within a year, Rigor had developed strong operational muscle. Habits like using SMART goals started to happen automatically. Team members would remind each other about it and train new hires on it. We could focus on new habits like incorporating quarterly targets into daily and weekly cadences or project planning best practices. As familiarity with the process, expectations, and feedback loop grew, each subsequent improvement was easier to layer on.
This kind of operational rigor (see what I did there?) is always a team effort. It starts at the top with the CEO and depends on each team member adding their ideas, executing daily, and caring about improvement.
By building organically, incorporating feedback, and improving over time, a startup’s “messy closet” can become a highly-adopted, employee-driven system of operational excellence. It doesn’t happen overnight but, like most things at a startup, it will happen faster than you think!
The Pursuit of Happiness. One of my favorite things to read is happiness research. Except don’t call it “happiness”! It’s satisfaction. Purpose. Enjoyment. Living a good life. And it’s harder than it sounds.
Read MoreOne of my favorite things to read is happiness research. Except don’t call it “happiness”!
It’s satisfaction. Purpose. Enjoyment. Living a good life.
And it’s harder than it sounds.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of:
Then you achieve those things, and voila!
You feel...pretty much the same as before. Whomp whomp.
So you set a new goal and get back on that hamster wheel to hit the next milestone. Because THEN, when you get to THAT ONE, for sure you’ll be happy.
And whaddya know? Same as before. Whompppp whompppp.
So what really matters? What are the traps we fall into? What should we do in our lives to bring happiness and meaning? These are my favorite questions and here are five of my most recommended happiness resources (with a bonus item!).
Laurie is amazing. She feels like a friend. You know, a friend who is one of the top professors and researchers in the world at one of the top schools in the world. That friend.
It’s accessible, it’s actionable, and it’s at your own pace.
I did this course in the midst of the pandemic (May 2020) and it:
Just in case my personal testimonial isn’t enough, 30,000+ people gave it an average rating of 4.9/5 stars. So, yeah. Not too shabby ;)
Extra Credit: Dr. Laurie also hosts The Happiness Lab podcast which is excellent.
Dan studies the happiest people around the world to find the common denominators. I love that it’s research-based and global with specific suggestions.
For example, having sex weekly, eating lots of veggies, having a short commute, and owning a dog are common traits of the happiest people regardless of your culture or continent.
One of my most-shared articles, Erin’s research is highly relevant to happiness. She studies workplace expectations, how men and women approach them differently, and highlights real life examples of how to work in demanding jobs but still make time for family, sleep, exercise, and the other things that drive life satisfaction.
If you feel like you “can’t” or want a “life hack” to find time to even think about happiness, read this one.
The name says “money” but it’s really about freedom and happiness. If money doesn’t buy happiness, what does? There’s lots of data and research within his blogs but some of his best are stories or hilarious rants:
Ground-breaking research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi showed that being in “flow” is one of our happiest states. How do you get there? Cal shares the research and gives specific strategies on how to do meaningful, “flow-state” work.
No research, just the feels. If you need a happiness boost RIGHT MEOW, watch this video. Then stop and navigate away immediately. Screen time and social media are no bueno for happiness!
Some of the major happiness themes that have stuck with me:
I’ve found that, like most good things, these strategies and activities are simple but not easy.
It’s a constant work in progress. In fact, I might even be on the happiness hamster wheel. If only I could get more sleep, then I will be happy… but for real this time!
What strategies have worked for you? Do you have favorite happiness resources?
CEOs, COOs, and operations leaders often ask, what is the best metric to assess operational success? Operations roles can vary wildly, especially in high growth startups where company needs evolve quickly. The “right” metric differs based on company stage and role focus.
Read MoreCEOs, COOs, and operations leaders often ask, what is the best metric to assess operational success?
Operations roles can vary wildly, especially in high growth startups where company needs evolve quickly. The “right” metric differs based on company stage and role focus.
As COO at Rigor, our company “North Star” metric was Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). My key operational metric was eNPS. We had other metrics and many operational initiatives but ARR and eNPS anchored our focus.
What other metrics have you seen for operations leaders? What metrics-related resources have been helpful? Any recommendations or learnings on operations metrics at high growth companies?
What does a Chief Operating Officer do? I get this question from early founders, CEOs wondering if they need one, polite friends trying to understand my job, even other COOs! It’s clearly a valid question. Why is the job of COO so murky?
Read MoreWhat does a Chief Operating Officer do?
I get this question from early founders, CEOs wondering if they need one, polite friends trying to understand my job, even other COOs!
It’s clearly a valid question.
Why is the job of COO so murky?
Nathan Bennett and Stephen A. Miles via Harvard Business Review put together one of the best summaries of the different flavors of COO: Second in Command: The Misunderstood Role of the Chief Operating Officer.
They detail the seven (yes, SEVEN - no wonder it’s hard to pin down!) types of COOs.
As COO of Rigor, I handled strategic operations, alignment, communication, facilities, people operations, and finance. My North Star metric was Employee Net Promoter Score.
At other companies, I’ve seen the COO add Go-To-Market, Product, Engineering, or Customer Success to their line up. At public companies, the COO often runs the company while the CEO focuses on vision, press, and investors. Sometimes, the COO is a co-founder or a CEO-in-training.
With all of these different “types” of COO, how should you think about the role?
The most important job of a COO is to complement the CEO.
No, that’s not “compliment” as in, a courteous remark that expresses admiration. That’s “complement” as in, something that completes something else in some way. (Reference for grammar nerds here.)
The COO is fundamentally a balancing role. It’s a leadership role that’s strong in areas where the CEO doesn’t have interest, time, or expertise. And this is different for every company since every CEO is unique.
So, what does a COO do?
Yes, the COO is often a strong “operator” - great at building repeatable programs that incorporate data, accountability, training, and tools in a structured way.
But the most important job of the COO is to see the needs of the CEO and the company and double down in those areas. It requires an honest, trusted relationship with the CEO and a deep understanding of people and business.
It’s a dynamic, challenging, and subtle role. When you get it right, great things happen.
Want to stay up to date? New blogs come out weekly.
