Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

How to carry out a good plan. What to do to be sucesfull COO in our sporting goods store. any suggestions will really be a great help.

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*RUTH*

I`ve been reading a book called `Execution: the discipline of getting things
done` by Larry Bossidy. It`s all about creating a culture of execution, as
the book puts it. I`d recommend it for good ideas about how, as an
executive, to carry out plans from the top down.

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Steve Lowtwa

Wasn`t that book, "Execution," written by a hired professional killer? :-D
Okay...I HAD to put that in....

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) nowadays has often taken on the tasks of computer technology (aka Information Technology, or IT). Some large companies have a specific Chief Information Officer (CIO), or Chief Technology Officer (CTO). However, the COO often oversees the VP of Information Systems, and is the final authority on all things computer.

Secondly, the COO is the one who examines, analyzes, and plots the "implementation" of the business---the "doing things."

If the CEO looks at "what are we gonna do," and the CFO looks at "how are we gonna pay for it," the COO looks at "how is all this happening."

To be a successful COO you`ll want to focus in on the field (and skills) of Logistics. Simply put, this has come to mean the details of how Thing gets from Point A to Point Z.

Think about these two examples. Suppose you run the classic lemonade stand. You sell 10 glasses of lemonade in 1 week. Each glass costs 10-cents to make, and you sell it for 20-cents. At the end of the week you`ve spent $1 to earn $2 in *revenues,* with a $1 basic profit. That`s one situation.

But now consider the idea that you have one person making the lemonade, while another one is selling the drinks out on the corner. The "operation" of the business includes: buying lemons and sugar, connecting to a water supply, having on hand glasses and pitchers, the cost of the squeezer (employee), and the cost of the sales force (the one selling the drinks).

One of your decisions as COO---the Head Honcho in Charge of Operations---would be whether or not to consolidate the manufacturing and the sales. Could you fire the squeezer, and tell the sales person they have to also make the drink?

Another option is to examine how much you`re currently spending for lemons. That would be based on a report from the Chief Financial Officer (the CFO). Let`s say you`re buying them for 40-cents each, but you know someone in Mexico who can sell them to you for 30-cents.

If you fire the squeezer, and tell the CFO that you`re "switching your operations" so that you get the lemons from Mexico for 30-cents, that`s part of your job. It also means some hard emotional decisions. That squeezer lady has 3 kids, her husband died, the car was hit by a train, and her dog just died.

I think to be a successful COO means having a clear handle on the Details. Somebody has to "sweat the details," while everyone else is running around not worrying and being happy. Somebody has to make hard decisions about who keeps or loses their job, why, and how it`ll benefit the overall running of the business.

That means knowing who YOU are, so that you can hold your reasoned position when you have to make hard decisions.

As a side note, many times when a company is about to fall into, or already has declared bankruptcy, the stockholders bring in a "Turnaround CEO." In many cases, those "gunslingers" have a very strong background in operations. They`re the ones who take over control of the company, and make the reality decisions that the previous administration didn`t know how to, or couldn`t make, which led to the bankruptcy.

COO, three words for you, process and procedures. Once these are developed and you can get everyone on the same page things should run smoothly. They are the basis on how things are done and why. They made need to evaluated on a annual basis to work out the bugs to keep things running smoothly in the field.