Part of a series taking a closer look at enterprise organisations

THE COO

Sometimes it seems

the only person

marketers want to talk to is

the CEO…

But there’s

a whole lot more

to enterprise organisations.

Introducing

the COO…

CONTENTS

What else might I be

called?Who am I? What do I do?

What’s my typical background?

Who is my boss and who do I manage?

The world I live in

What are my objectives?A day in the life of the COOHow do my peers see me? And how do I see

them?Who’s targeting me (and who should be)?

WHAT ELSE MIGHT I BE CALLED?

Typical names for this job function include:

• Chief Operations Officer• Deputy CEO• Operations Director

WHO AM I? WHAT DO I DO?

Who am I?• I’m the CEO’s problem-solver• I’m very detail-orientated• I get enterprise cost management• My focus is the internal mechanics of my

organisation • I have a small team • I own the company’s business model and

vision• And I’m responsible for policing it

WHO AM I? WHAT DO I DO?

What do I do?• My focus is internal daily operations• I optimise operations performance • I’m in charge of effective risk management• I instigate transformational and change

management projects • I often do this across the whole business• I own the output of our annual planning

sessions

WHAT’S MY TYPICAL BACKGROUND?

• I’m well-educated 54% of COOs have a masters or higher qualification (source: EY)

• I could have come from a wide range of backgrounds

such as Finance Director or Operations Director

• I tend to be very senior 66% of COOs are on the executive committee or board (source: EY)

WHO IS MY BOSS AND WHO DO I MANAGE?

COO CFO CIO CMO HR Director

CEO

Operations Director

Transformation Director

COO

WHO’S TARGETING ME?

No-one!

Which is surprising, given how

important they are...

THE WORLD I LIVE IN: NOT MUCH FOCUS FROM SUPPLIERS

THE WORLD I LIVE IN: MAYBE THAT’S STARTING TO CHANGE…

THE WORLD I LIVE IN

I like…• Models• Processes• Keeping on track • Keeping on budget • Good Program Directors• Communication

I don’t like…• Surprises • Excuses • Delays • Overspend

WHAT ARE MY OBJECTIVES?

• Managing programme-specific objectives for delivery • Setting key metrics for the business and ensuring

they are met • Ensuring new systems are implemented seamlessly

across the organisation, run to schedule and are within budget.

• Reducing average lead time to delivery • Realising cost savings • Increasing efficiency in operations • Discovering and supporting growth opportunities for

the organisation

WHAT ARE MY OBJECTIVES?

I want to:• Reduce operational costs by 10%• Reduce lead time to delivery by 5%• Grow revenue from department X by 5%• Implement performance management

programme for operations department• Enhance internal programme/ process delivery

HOW DO MY PEERS SEE ME?

Responsible for nothing

Up for change

Excellent understanding

of the underlying

model

A resource to be utilised

Fell 1 x step short of being

the CEO

Interfering

Jack of all trades, master of non

Nice balance between vision and detail

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE COO

Reviews with HR, CFO, CIO

Planning and modelling company targets and how to achieve them

Budget review

Project progress review

Defining new models for change programmes

Departmental planning MeetingOperations staff training and development plan

WHO ARE WE AND WHY DO WE CARE?

ABOUT THE MARKETING PRACTICE

With over 90 people and 10 years’ growth we are 100% B2B-focused and one of the UK’s top 10 B2B agencies

We integrate all the skills you need under one roof to plan and manage end-to-end programmes across EMEA (data, inside sales, creative, content, digital …)

And we focus on working with a few select clients to deliver results and prove ROI

We live and breathe enterprise demand generation

TO TAKE A ONE-MINUTE TOUR OF THE MARKETING PRACTICE, VISIT:www.themarketingpractice.com/the-agency