COO Archives

From Operator to Strategist: The Toughest Transition of Your Career

Most leaders don’t fail because they lack drive but because they stay operators long after the business needs a strategist. In the early stage, being the operator is your superpower: you see everything, fix everything, and keep the company alive through sheer...

Inside the COO Alliance: A Conversation with Our Second in Command, Meridith Kuba

Behind every great founder is a Second in Command who makes it all work.And behind the COO Alliance — there’s Meridith Kuba. In this special 500th episode of The Second in Command Podcast, Cameron Herold (our CEO and Founder) sits down with Meridith Kuba, his...

How to Build a CEO–COO Partnership That Actually Works

Every great company has two engines. One drives vision. The other drives execution. When those two stay in sync, growth feels effortless. When they don’t, everything slows down. That’s why the CEO–COO relationship is the most powerful (and most fragile) partnership in...

Why Every COO Needs a Peer Network to Grow Faster

Most COOs feel like they’re building the plane while flying it.They’re expected to execute flawlessly, scale systems, and keep culture intact — all while solving problems only another COO would understand. The truth? Even the best Second in Command can’t do it alone....

When to Hire a COO: 7 Signs Your Company Is Ready

Every founder dreams of scaling their business.But at some point, growth outpaces instinct. Deadlines slip, decisions bottleneck, and the CEO spends more time putting out fires than thinking about the future. That’s when the thought hits: “I need a COO.”The question...