Book SummaryHow to be a Chief Operating Officer, by Jennifer Geary

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of How to be a Chief Operating Officer

In How to Be a Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer Geary provides a comprehensive guide for current and aspiring COOs to excel in their roles. She argues that the COO position is one of the most challenging and diverse in any organization, requiring a unique blend of strategic thinking, operational expertise, and leadership skills. Geary aims to demystify the COO role and provide a practical framework for success, drawing on her extensive experience in operations and risk management across various industries.

Geary is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the financial services and technology sectors. She has held COO and CRO positions at several...

How to be a Chief Operating Officer Summary Core Principles for COOs

Geary outlines several core principles for COOs. First, a COO must be outcome-focused and capable of translating vision into results. This requires directing conversations toward the subsequent actions that will move the organization toward its goal. A COO must also have the capability to see across the organization, filter out noise, and spot opportunities and connections. They must identify obstacles, weaknesses, and inefficiencies, and figure out methods to resolve them.

(Shortform note: While being outcome-focused and filtering out noise can help a COO keep the organization on track, these traits can also backfire. In Managing the Unexpected, Karl E. Weick and Kathleen M. Sutcliffe argue that organizations that are too focused on outcomes and too quick to dismiss “noise” are more likely to be blindsided by unexpected failures. They recommend that organizations stay alert to weak signals and anomalies, as these can be early warning signs of bigger problems.)

According to Geary, a COO must switch between strategic thinking and dealing with minutiae. They should be a generalist, possessing practical understanding of all the...

How to be a Chief Operating Officer Summary Areas of Operational Supervision

Geary explains that COOs oversee various technical areas, including facilities management and finance. Facilities management involves uniting individuals, locations, and procedures in the physical setting to improve quality of life and business productivity. She adds that facilities management is integral to your organizational identity. The location, appearance, and layout of your facilities can significantly inspire your team to perform optimally. Geary notes that facilities will probably be among the organization's most significant costs, and that owned properties will be the biggest assets in your financial statements.

(Shortform note: Ben Waber, Jennifer Magnolfi, and Greg Lindsay argue that the most effective way to improve a workplace is to treat it as a living laboratory: organizations should make small, targeted changes to the physical setting—such as adjusting seating arrangements, relocating shared resources like coffee machines or printers, or reconfiguring communal areas—and then rigorously measure how those changes affect observable behaviors, especially the frequency and pattern of face-to-face encounters,...

Shortform Exercise: Balancing Empathy and Decision-Making

Consider the challenges a COO might face when trying to balance empathy with objective decision-making in an organization.

How can a COO show empathy toward employees while making tough business decisions?