What if the smartest move you can make is to disrupt your own company before a competitor does?
In this episode, Lindsay Smith sits down with John Durocher, the self-described accidental COO of Calix. John never set out to run operations. He came up through consulting and customer success, never managed a supply chain or an IT org, and that is exactly why his CEO wanted him in the seat. His mandate: question everything.
John and Lindsay get into how to lead change when everyone is comfortable, build a leadership team that actually trusts each other, give feedback in the moment rather than at review season, and use AI to take drudgery off people rather than cut headcount. He also shares the directive that shaped his role: go build the company that would beat us.
For any second-in-command driving transformation without breaking their people, this is a playbook. Listen now.
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This episode is brought to you by our Silver Sponsor, Next Level Growth.
They help COOs and leadership teams build Elite Organizations through a proven, customizable framework built around the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations.
If you and your leadership team are ready to operate at the next level, take the Elite Organizations Assessment and receive a free 20-page customized report based on your answers, plus a complimentary one-hour coaching session with a Next Level Growth Partner and Business Guide to begin implementing tools that will help you build an even more elite business.
Complete the assessment here to get started – nextlevelgrowth.com/cooassessment
Timestamped Highlights
- [00:01:32] The accidental COO: how a late-night phone call rewrote John’s career
- [00:08:46] Why the people who succeeded longest have the hardest time changing
- [00:10:05] Disrupt yourself, or wait to be disrupted… the directive that built his role
- [00:10:59] When your CEO used to work for you: inside an unusually honest relationship
- [00:16:11] Why John never waits for a formal review to give hard feedback
- [00:18:22] The courageous conversation with his boss that became a breakthrough
- [00:21:03] The team reset that exposes how little colleagues really know each other
- [00:27:26] Seeing the seams: the bird’s eye view nobody else in the company has
- [00:29:28] “Staple yourself to the order form” and other ways to fix the customer experience
- [00:33:46] Fast isn’t always good… what moving too quickly does to an organization
- [00:36:08] Stop telling your boss why it won’t work. Do this instead.
- [00:37:25] The COO’s job is to slow down the CEO, not slam on the brakes
- [00:42:43] Does remote work actually work? John’s rebuttal to the water-cooler myth
- [00:46:41] What’s next for Calix: AI agents and the smart apartment
About the Guest
John Durocher is the Chief Operations Officer at Calix, where he leads operations across the company, from customer success and commercial operations to supply chain and IT. He joined Calix in 2023 as Chief Customer Officer and stepped into the COO role about a year ago. Before Calix, John spent 17 years at Salesforce leading customer success, where he watched the company grow from $250M to $30B in revenue. He began his career in consulting, including time at Accenture and Arthur Andersen, and describes himself as an accidental COO who treats the job like one long consulting project.
? LinkedIn | Website
Mentioned Resources
- Salesforce
- Accenture
- Michael Weening – President and CEO of Calix
About the Co-Host
Lindsay Smith is an experience-driven growth strategist and former Chief Strategy Officer who scaled a new region without a traditional sales team or bloated marketing budget by turning relationships, culture, and execution into revenue. She is the author of No One Needs Another Company Mug. Stop Branding. Start Experiencing and helps leadership teams use experience as a competitive growth lever.
? Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn
Important Links
- Connect with Cameron: Website | LinkedIn
- Explore the COO Alliance – The World’s Leading Community for Seconds in Command
- Get Cameron’s book: Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO Book
- Take Cameron’s leadership course: Invest In Your Leaders Online Course (Use promo code PODCAST10 before the end of the month for 10% off)
- Chat or video call with AI Cameron via Delphi
The Second in Command Podcast is an original production hosted by Cameron Herold and co-hosted by Lindsay Smith. Brought to you by COO Alliance. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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This episode is brought to you by our Silver Sponsor, Next Level Growth.
They help COOs and leadership teams build Elite Organizations through a proven, customizable framework built around the Five Obsessions of Elite Organizations.
If you and your leadership team are ready to operate at the next level, take the Elite Organizations Assessment and receive a free 20-page customized report based on your answers, plus a complimentary one-hour coaching session with a Next Level Growth Partner and Business Guide to begin implementing tools that will help you build an even more elite business.
Complete the assessment here to get started – nextlevelgrowth.com/cooassessment
