Business Infrastructure - Curing Back Office Blues

According to Jay Hassell, "Getting things done requires a culture of learning." As the COO of Novologic, he advocates for people and company culture as the key ingredients for improving operations.  His H.R. background gives him a strategic advantage in driving learning and training initiatives. In this episode, Jay explains how a focus on people, products, and processes leads to increased profit...

We did it – this is our 100th episode!  And joining us to celebrate this milestone is Jared Easley, the co-founder of Podcast Movement.  In this episode, Jared reveals how his military experiences and background in project management served him in helping to build the world's largest community of podcasters. He not only shares the behind-the-scenes operations of their annual conference, but we als...

Marshall Freeman is the COO of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), a non-profit organization on a mission to make Atlanta America's safest large city. In this episode, he details why the APF's public-private partnership model enables them to pivot and act quickly leading to one of the lowest reported cases of COVID-19 for police officers. Discover what goes on behind-the-scenes as Marshall descri...

TV Producers have more in common with COOs and Project Managers than you might think. As Emmy-nominated producer Janice Jensen explains, "We're all responsible for putting together the pieces" to deliver a profitable product on time and within budget. In this episode, Janice draws from her experience in producing hit shows like Tiny House, Big Living to explain what goes on behind the scenes in co...

Jon Reid's exposure to operations, auditing, and finance began during his tenure at General Electric. That experience serves as the cornerstone of his longevity as a C-suite executive and advisor. In this episode, Jon draws from his experience working with various Fortune 500 companies to give small business owners an operational model to aspire to. He explains why introverts make great COOs, why...

"If you don't have customers, you don't have a business," and this is why "You have to always think about continuous improvement." Wise words from Adam Hayes, a civil engineer who now consults and serves as an operations advisor across various industries.  In this episode, Adam reveals the three types of customers every business should consider as well as internal questions you should ask yourself...

Operational excellence and business infrastructure are common threads throughout Elzie Flenard's career. As a former electronics engineer and operations manager, turned podcast producer, he can attest to how important company culture along with a validated improvement model is in getting things done. In this episode, Elzie breaks down the correct order in building business infrastructure as he emp...

As technology and customers become smarter so does the expectation for companies to be faster, better, and cheaper. Back-office workflows now go beyond order-to-delivery, procure-to-pay, and intake-to-discharge. They also include customer engagement – a task once owned by marketing. In this episode, David Ellin taps into his experiences as a COO and VP of Customer Success to give a crash course on...

With a background in cultural anthropology, certified coaching, and leadership development, Marvell Allen brings a distinct perspective to her C-suite clients. She has a particular knack for helping them eliminate egos and silos as barriers to getting things done. In this episode, Marvell explains how COOs (or anyone in charge of operations) can keep CEOs off the ledge. But, she says, they in turn...

"Operations is the most important part of doing your business," says Joseph Powell. As the founder of TenDollarTutors.com and the creator of the ThinkSmart Whiteboard app, he knows firsthand the importance of operational excellence. In this episode, Joseph candidly shares the story of his roller-coaster tech journey and why he decided to step down as CEO of his company and serve as the COO instead...

Maria Jones describes Chief Operating Officers (COOs) as the "Innovators of execution." Their role as second-in-command to CEOs is vital to business continuity and delivering on sales promises. Yet, many leaders don't understand what they do and overlook operations as the core of any business.  In this episode, Maria kicks off Season 8 by debunking common myths about COOs as well as operations usi...

Disaster comes in many forms and we don't always know when it will strike. Developing contingency plans to plan for and recover from the aftermath isn't an easy sell, especially when companies are riding high on profits. No one likes to think about what can happen if/when things go wrong. In this episode, host Alicia Butler Pierre shares her personal story of how she forfeited income for nearly a...

Wingman. The No. 2. The Second-in-Command – all of these terms describe the Chief Operating Officer (COO). When Bill Shepard pivoted from a 25+ year tenure in the C-suite to independent consulting, he couldn't find a supportive group of COOs. So he started his own. 15 years later, The COO Forum boasts 35 chapters and 18k members in their online group.  In this episode, Bill describes the three are...

Business partnerships don't have to end badly.  K.L. Scott & Associates is proof.  When Keith L. Scott started this process management consultancy, he wanted to do everything himself. Two years in, he found himself struggling to keep up with the pace.  That's when he decided to strategically partner, but he did his research first.  In this episode, Keith shares how law firms inspired his business...

After getting blacklisted from a Silicon Valley company, Chitra Lele decided to start her own software consultancy.  She realized entrepreneurship was the only way to achieve her vision of working for profit, people, and the planet.    But it required capital and lots of it. So she and her team sprang into self-funding action. In this episode, Chitra details the people, processes, tools, and techn...

Great leaders surround themselves with smart people.  But when it comes to business partnerships, "Proceed with extreme caution," warns Jason Duncan.   As the founder of a fast-growing lighting company that's made the Inc. 5000 list twice, he has personal experience with starting and terminating partnerships.  In this episode, Jason explains why it's important to read the fine print of operating a...

Dr. Terica Pearson spent her first year in business learning the ropes and getting key processes in place.  By year four, she had a full staff of people to help scale her insurance agency.  But after tracking their performance, she realized that productivity had actually declined and was negatively impacting the bottom line.  In this episode, Terica details her decision to scale back the team she...

Meredith Moore isn't afraid to pivot.  As the CEO of Artisan Financial Strategies, she realized she'd have to break free of the traditional financial planning model if she was to realize her dream of scaling and hiring a junior associate.  Undeterred by naysayers, she assembled a team of various experts, conducted primary research with academia, and even changed the name of her company.  In this e...

When Mike Moll's social media consultancy grew rapidly, he immediately hired more people. But he soon realized he didn't have the bandwidth or business infrastructure to scale at the same rate as his clients' varied requirements. Payroll expenses rose and, eventually, he had to downsize most of the team he built. In this episode, Mike details the specific actions he took to rebuild his team as he...

Have you ever put your business on hiatus so that you could recalibrate?  That's what Don Sevcik, CEO of MathCelebrity.com, did and it paid off handsomely.  After five years in business, his company reached a plateau of 250k visitors per month.  Although things were going well, there were certain math problems that his site could not solve.  In this episode, Don explains how the decision to take t...

"We just made really good money while being on the beach!" exclaimed Phoebe Cornog, CEO and Co-Founder of the Pandr Design Co.  She recounted the day she and her business partner realized the impact of outsourcing.  Determined to not be starving artists, they cracked the code for cloning their murals without a loss in quality control.  In this episode, Phoebe explains how she and her business part...

Marco Champion thought he'd have to forfeit his dream of being a professional skateboarder when he was struck and run over by a car during his teens.  Told he'd never walk again, he decided rather than feeling sorry for himself, he'd train his mind to focus on walking again – and succeeded!  In this episode, Marco shares how his personal story of triumph led him to create and scale two successful...

When Dr. Lewena Bayer and her friend worked in hospitality, they complained to each other about how rude people were.  They never imagined they would start a company to teach civility in the workplace. But nearly 10 years into the business, their partnership would end when Lew learned of her partner's illegal actions.  In this episode, Lew explains how she retained most of the rights to the compan...

"Life is like a bleep," explains Karla Nelson.  When the market crashed in 2008, she sprang into action and shifted careers.  A year later her husband, and the CFO of their three businesses, was diagnosed with cancer.  Together, and undeterred, they continued running operations from his hospital room. In this first episode of Season 7, Karla details her courageous decision to scale despite losing...

Process maps are more than just boxes connected with arrows.  When done correctly, they can help you understand where bottlenecks exist, how long it takes to make your product or deliver a service, and where opportunities to streamline, automate, and/or outsource may exist.  In this Season 6 finale, host Alicia Butler Pierre describes how she used process mapping to increase her company's cash flo...