The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s (Bethany Ayers & Brandon Mensinga)

In this episode we discuss: the art and science of 1 to 1 meetings. We are joined by Dr. Steven Rogelberg, CEO, Board Member, Editor, Author, Chief Talent Officer, Director.

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We chat about the following with Steven Rogelberg: 

1. Are your one-on-ones actually driving engagement, or are they just another meeting on the calendar?
2. What message are you really sending when you cancel a one-on-one—and how does it impact employee trust?
3. Why is listening more than speaking the secret to making one-on-ones truly effective?
4. How can structured one-on-ones boost productivity, retention, and even inclusion within your team?
5. Are most managers failing at one-on-ones simply because they’ve never been trained to do them well?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogelberg/
• stevenrogelberg.com

Biography 

Dr. Steven G. Rogelberg is a Chancellor’s Professor at UNC Charlotte and a leading expert on meetings. An award-winning organizational psychologist, he has over 200 publications, 12,000+ citations, and received the prestigious Humboldt Award for his research. Adam Grant calls him the “world’s leading expert on how to fix meetings.”

His book The Surprising Science of Meetings appeared on 25+ “best of” lists, including The Washington Post’s #1 leadership book to watch. His latest book, Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings, has earned high praise, including recognition from SHRM and Forbes.

Rogelberg has been featured on CBS This Morning, CNN, BBC World, NPR’s Morning Edition, and major publications like The WSJ, NY Times, Bloomberg, and National Geographic. His keynotes have been delivered worldwide at top organizations including Google, Amazon, Pfizer, and the United Nations.

In 2022, he testified before the U.S. Congress and was the inaugural winner of SIOP’s Humanitarian Award.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

14:40 The Importance of One-on-Ones

17:48 Common Mistakes in One-on-Ones

23:40 Building Trust and Connection

26:51 Key Elements of Effective One-on-Ones

27:22 Surprising Insights from Research

30:34 Training and Supporting Line Managers

33:28 Creating a Culture of Effective Meetings

In this episode we discuss: How do you scale from 100 employees to IPO? We are joined by Mark Logan, ex-COO of Skyscanner and currently Chief Entrepreneurial Advisor to the Scottish Government

We chat about the following with Mark: 

• What are the foundations of scale? 
• How do you prevent command and control from creeping in? 
• What goes wrong with organisational alignment over time? 
• Why doesn’t OKR cascading work? 
• What are the three golden processes of an organisation?
• Why do things break when you scale? What do you need to look out for? 
• What are the three golden processes of an organisation?
• How do you get the innovation process to work? 
• When does it make sense to go cross-functional across the organisation? 
• What is expected from a C-level role?

Biography: 

I have over 25 years' experience in highly successful startups and 1st-tier internet tech companies. I have been instrumental in the success of multiple award-winning start-ups, including Skyscanner, one of Europe's most successful tech companies, where I joined in 2012 to take on the general management of the business, culminating in a £1.5billion acquisition in 2016. 

My experience spans consumer internet economy startups, executive management, organisational development, change management, strategy development, contract negotiation and delivery, software development, growth science, sales and marketing , HR, large scale programme delivery and operations management, including lean agile techniques. 

Currently mainly focused on helping to nurture the start-up community in Scotland and the UK as an investor, non-executive director and advisor.

Summary: 

• Scaling a business from 100 employees to IPO with ex-Skyscanner CEO Mark Logan. 0:06
• Bethany: Investing in individual competence is essential for setting up employees for success within their roles.
• Brandon M: Mark Logan prioritized this by focusing on developing the skills of each employee at Skyscanner.
• Bethany highlights the importance of career development and line management effectiveness in retaining staff, rather than allocating budget to wellness programmes.
• Bethany suggests that companies need to carve out time and give permission for employees to think and learn at work, and celebrate their efforts to create a learning environment.
• Brandon M. shared his experience with OKRs, highlighting the importance of practical application and alignment with business strategy.
• Bethany agreed, emphasizing the need to balance structure with flexibility and contextual understanding, citing Nike as an example of a company that executes OKRs effectively.
• Resource allocation and technology adoption in business. 8:17
• Bethany highlights the challenge of resource allocation in product development, particularly when it comes to balancing the need for new technologies with the reality of limited resources.
• Bethany emphasizes the importance of having a clear understanding of how new technology will improve processes and outcomes before investing in it.
• Scaling organizations and maintaining agency. 11:03
• Bethany: Friend's security company has accidentally implemented decentralized decision-making, leading to no bottlenecks as they scale.
• Mark Logan: Foundation of scale is agency, as company grows, founders'...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Leadership Transitions: Uncompromising Strategies for Success with Andrew Duncan, Talent @ Atomico (ex-UpGroup) and Maddy Cross Partner @ Erevena (ex-Notion Capital)

We discuss the following with Maddy and Andrew: 

• Given the average tenure of senior execs in scaleups, what advice would you give execs and what should companies that are hiring consider? 
• How uncompromising do you need to be to get the right leaders in place?
• What is the difference in leadership skills needed between early and late stage? 
• Do we need someone that has been there and done that? 
• What is the right mix of experience needed for a leadership team? 
• How do you identify gaps in a leadership team?  

References

• Barry McCarthy (story mentioned by Andrew)
• Former Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy Joins Super-Secretive Payments Startup Clinkle As COO
• Clinkle's Still a Hot Mess as Its Big Shot COO Departs
• Clinkle Up In Smoke As Investors Want Their Money Back
• The COO role (giving context for how Andrew thinks about the role)
• Stepping up: What COOs will need to succeed in 2023 and beyond
• Second in Command: The Misunderstood Role of the Chief Operating Officer
• How Best To Onboard Into Different Types Of COO Role
• What is a Chief Operating Officer? 
• From the beginning to a billion. How unicorns built their leadership teams (mentioned by Maddy)
• What to Look for in Your VC's Talent Arm (mentioned by Brandon and loved by Maddy)
• How to Understand the ROI of Investing in People (wasn’t mentioned but Maddy thinks is a great piece)

Biography: 

Maddy Cross is a Partner at Erevena, an Executive Search firm focussed on investor backed businesses, where she leads the European Technology and Engineering practice for B2B. Previously she was Talent Director at Notion Capital, a $1bn B2B SaaS focussed VC, and she holds an MBA from London Business School.

Andrew is a Talent Director at Atomico, one of Europe's largest venture capital funds. He supports portfolio companies in finding and hiring elite executive talent and is responsible for advising founders on the evolution of their leadership

In this episode we discuss: When it is the right time to quit. We are joined by Eleena Broadfoot, Advisor and Executive Coach. 

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Eleena Broadfoot: 

• What are the important factors to consider when deciding to leave a job.
• Adding value to the business and making a meaningful impact should be a priority.
• Leaving a job requires careful planning and consideration of personal and professional factors.
• Why is identity so closely tied to job titles?
• What is a good time to reassess your learning and value-add opportunities in a high-growth company?
• How to leave a positive legacy for the team. 
• Be curious and open to new opportunities, and have conversations with recruiters and friends in different industries to explore potential career paths.

References: 

• linkedin.com/in/eleena-broadfoot

Biography: 

Most recently CFO at Beauty Pie, Eleena has over 20 years’ experience in senior finance roles at Virgin, Trainline & Funding Circle amongst others, working alongside leadership teams of both high-growth startups and global groups. Her experience of working with founders and their teams as a CFO and NED has provided her with some fantastic opportunities to reach beyond the traditional finance remit and enabled her to use her skills and knowledge to create value and deliver strategic insight to help drive growth.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

00:00 Introduction

28:29 Welcoming Alina Broadfoot

29:50 Lessons Learned

32:26 Deciding When to Leave a Job

34:37 The Tipping Point: Leaving Virgin for Train Line

34:59 Navigating Job Titles and Social Expectations

37:33 The Right Time to Leave a VC-Backed Company

41:55 Leaving a Positive Legacy and Smooth Transition

42:47 Embracing Curiosity and Exploring New Opportunities

In this episode we discuss: Board Relationships. We are joined by Helen Hopper and Joy Harcup, authors of book, The Art and Psychology of Board Relationships.  

We chat about the following:

• Unravelling Boardroom Dynamics: What's Really at Stake?
• The Power of Psychological Safety: A Boardroom Imperative?
• Self-Awareness: The Boardroom Game Changer?
• Mastering Conflict Resolution in the Boardroom: Strategies Unveiled
• Trust, Collaboration, Success: The Boardroom Trifecta?

References: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-hopper-h3/
• https://www.hcubed.co.uk/who-we-are
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-harcup-9392352/

Biography: 

HELEN HOPPER trained in management consultancy with Accenture, and in occupational psychology with SHL, before co-founding the leadership consulting firm hCubed in 2010, where she is a Partner. h3’s mission is to stimulate growth through learning and Helen pursues this with individuals, teams and organisations as a coach and facilitator. She is an active supporter of mental health charities, most recently as COO of The Listening Place, and Trustee at The Mix.

JOY HARCUP is an executive coach with international coaching firm Praesta LLP, working with individuals, top executive teams and boards. She has 20 years’ leadership coaching experience with clients including the FTSE 100, professional services, public and not-for-profit sectors. Joy was President of the UK Board of the International Coaching Federation. A former lawyer specialising in dispute resolution, she’s also sat on boards in the education and charitable sectors. 

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

• Bullying in board meetings and its impact on individuals. 0:06
• Bethany Ayers experienced issues with her phone number porting and international roaming, leading to a frustrating conversation with Oh Two customer support.
• Despite being told her case was closed, Bethany was able to get her number back after waiting for a couple of days.
• Bethany acknowledges being a potential bully in the past, recognizing behaviors that could be harmful to others.
• Brandon M. questions the use of the term "bullying," suggesting that it can be subjective and context-dependent.
• Effective board meetings, leadership, and conflict resolution. 5:18
• Brandon M. and Bethany discuss ways to address unhelpful behavior in meetings, including intervening, redirecting, and parking the issue for later discussion.
• Effective chairperson engagement is critical for maintaining a functional board, according to Brandon M. and Bethany.
• Bethany emphasizes the importance of having a pre-agreed contract, such as a team canvas, to establish expectations and prevent conflicts within teams.
• Bethany criticizes traditional board dynamics, citing a lack of modernization and unrealistic expectations of chairs, and argues for more inclusive and empathetic approaches to leadership.
• Effective board meetings, including setting a strong chair, providing clear agendas, and making an ask of the board.

In this episode we tackle the question of: How do I hire a COO? Our special guest is James Mitra, Founder of JBM, an executive search firm that specialises in placing COO’s. 

In this episode we get his experiences on the following questions: 

• When a CEO comes to you and says “we need to hire a COO”. What is your approach? 
• 
  
• What is your take on “assignments”? 
• 
  
• What does that salary equity ban situation look like right now?
• 
  
• What advice do you give to women or to others who might not, who might be accepting less than they should?
• 
  
• What is your take on back channel references? 
• 
  
• 
  

Speaker notes and references:

40 Minute Mentor – https://linktr.ee/40minutementor

COO Secrets - https://jbmc.co.uk/insights/category/coo-secrets/

Chief of Staff hiring guide - https://mailchi.mp/jbmc/the-chief-of-staff-role-uncovered

Ravio (real time comp data) – https://ravio.com/partners/jbm/ 

JBM have partnered up with Ravio, Europe's first real-time compensation benchmarking platform for Tech Startups (backed by Northzone). You can connect your HR systems to see what the market is paying today, including salary, equity and benefits. 

Our partnership gives free access to Ravio’s core benchmarking solution (and 15% off Ravio Pro for the 1st year). Apply to Ravio using the below landing page and entering the discount code; https://ravio.com/partners/jbm/ - WBGRDX.

James Mitra is the Founder of JBM, an award-winning executive search firm that specialises in placing COO’s and GM’s.

He’s also the Host of one of the UK’s most popular business and career podcasts, 40 Minute Mentor. It’s approaching 1 million downloads and features inspiring career stories and mentorship from world class business leaders, entrepreneurs and sporting legends. 

James has been recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Careers and sits on the Board of 3 organisations: Foundrs, Ivy Rock Partners and Unrest. 

JBM - https://jbmc.co.uk/

In this episode we discuss: What is a COO's strengths and gaps? We are joined by Divinia Knowles, The COO Coach. 

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following: 

• How do COOs build trust with key decision-makers while staying behind the scenes?
• What’s the secret to thriving in a role that demands constant adaptability?
• How can COOs master resource allocation when scaling feels chaotic?
• Why is being an external spokesperson a game-changer for COOs?
• How do COOs and CEOs create a partnership that drives success?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/diviniaknowles
• www.daijo.io
• www.cooroundtable.com

Biography 

Divinia Knowles is an accomplished operator and coach with extensive experience supporting startup and scale-up COOs, CEOs, and leadership teams through growth, exit, and beyond. With a career spanning roles as COO, CFO, CEO, and Board Advisor, Divinia has worked with companies like Pact Coffee and Mind Candy, helping scale global brands and drive success.

As the founder of the London COO Roundtable, Divinia has built a thriving network for operational leaders. Since 2017, she’s coached over 150 executives, combining advanced coaching accreditation with expertise in organizational psychology, resilience, and team dynamics.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

04:49 Introduction to COO Strengths and Weaknesses

19:23 Exploring COO Strengths

20:33 Identifying Gaps in COO Skills

21:22 The Role of External Spokesperson

26:37 Resource Allocation Challenges for COOs

31:16 Understanding Financial Reports and Business Metrics

32:44 The Importance of Financial Forecasting

31:23 Exploring Business Models and Metrics

40:18 Future-Facing Opportunities in Business

46:04 Strengths-Based Management and Just-in-Time Learning

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Why is hybrid working an inclusivity issue?. We talked with Brian Elliott, he is the co-founder of Future Forum, author of the bestseller How the Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams to do the Best Work of Their Lives 

We then discuss the following with Brian: 

• What does the data say on return to work and the push back from employees? 
• What is the connection between inclusivity and remote working? 
• What do you do when the CEO blames missed targets on remote working? 
• Is Thursday the new Friday? 
• Why is there resistance to remote working from senior execs? 
• What are the right policies or tactics one can take? 
• How do you make Zoom-based team calls effective? 
• Do mandated days make sense for hybrid? 

References

• Hybrid work: Making it fit with your diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy
• Follow Brian on LinkedIn
• How the Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams to do the Best Work of Their Lives
• Future Forum

Biography: 

Brian Elliott is a seasoned executive turned leadership advisor and speaker. He's the co-founder of Future Forum, author of the bestseller How the Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams to do the Best Work of Their Lives and one of Forbes’ Future of Work 50. Brian’s work enables leaders to build a future of work that’s better for people and organizations.

Prior to Future Forum, Brian spent 25 years building and leading teams and companies as a startup CEO, and as an executive at Google and Slack. Brian got his MBA from Harvard Business School and BA at Northwestern and started his career at Boston Consulting Group, where he’s now a Senior Advisor. 

Brian is also the proud dad of two young men and one middle-aged dog. You can find Brian on LinkedIn.

Summary: 

• Hybrid working and inclusion issues. 0:05
• Bethany discusses the challenges of hybrid working versus remote working, particularly for women dealing with intersectional issues such as discrimination and microaggressions.
• Bethany shares her personal experience of lounging in bed doing crossword puzzles while working from home, highlighting the importance of work-life balance and personal preferences.
• Bethany believes hybrid working and remote working are inclusion issues due to the disproportionate burden of child and elder care on women.
• Microaggressions and lack of privacy in the workplace make it difficult for women to consistently attend in-office days, despite inclusive work environments.
• Hybrid work and its impact on gender and privacy. 6:12
• Brandon M

In this episode we discuss: Jumpstarting your workplace culture. We are joined by Eric Stone, International Keynote Speaker | Award Winning Author | Expert in Building High-Performance Cultures | Empowering Leaders to Drive Engagement & Transform Workplaces

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Eric Stone: 

• Is your workplace culture truly driving success, or just a ‘flavor of the week’ experiment?
• How can leaders balance structure and empowerment without losing control?
• What does a simple story like ‘Johnny the Bagger’ reveal about ownership and impact at work?
• Are we equipping employees with the right tools and trust, or just expecting results without support?
• What makes relationships the hidden engine behind high-performance workplace cultures?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-stone-clear-path/
• ericdstone.com and clearpathventures.com
• https://www.instagram.com/clearpathventures_/ c. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100040382190383 d. https://www.youtube.com/@ericdstone1/about

Biography 

ERIC D. STONE’S passion for business led him to an influential twenty-six-year career at the iconic rental car company Enterprise Holdings, where he quickly became one of the most decorated Regional Vice Presidents in the company’s history. His ability to connect and motivate employees from all different generations and demographics allowed his teams to sustain top-level results and a culture of pride. Eric attributes much of this success to his ability to create, ignite, and sustain a high-performance culture—one that enabled him to lead his teams through challenges like 9/11, the Great Recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Great Resignation—along with an extraordinary ability to adapt to the unexpected and help others do the same.

Eric is the author of the award-winning book Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture and an international speaker on leadership, employee engagement, and creating high-performance organizations. He retired from Enterprise in 2018 and founded Clear Path Ventures, which specializes in guiding young professionals and businesses as they navigate their path to success.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

17:17 Core Thesis of 'Jumpstart Your Workplace Culture'

18:25 Understanding Employee Engagement

19:04 Building Strong Relationships in the Workplace

20:17 Leadership's Role in Workplace Culture

23:57 Effective Communication Strategies

26:54 The Johnny the Bagger Story: A Lesson in Ownership

30:05 Empowerment vs. Accountability in Leadership

31:04 Balancing Standardization and Empowerment

32:33 Ego and Leadership: Letting Go of Control

34:18 Identifying and Nurturing Culture Carriers

36:12 The Importance of Clear Communication and Culture 

In this episode we discuss: How do you build trust across the organisation? We are joined by Nellie Wartoft, CEO, Founder of Tigerhall and Chair of the Executive Council for Leading Change.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Nellie Wartoft: 

• Why trust is a crucial element in building successful organisations.
• How leaders can give trust before they can receive it.
• Why transparent and authentic communication is key to building trust.
• The importance of constant communication.
• Transparency around the pros and cons of change.
• Leaders need to adapt and change as their companies grow, understanding that what worked in the past may not work in the future.
• Why building trust and creating a psychologically safe environment are essential for effective communication and collaboration.
• What is the effect of Virtual backgrounds on trust?
• The importance of setting the right example. What is the right example?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelliewartoft/
• https://tigerhall.com/

Biography 

Nellie Wartoft, CEO and founder of Tigerhall since 2019, aims to overhaul how large enterprises approach driving change, transformation and knowledge sharing. With expertise from leading Sales & Marketing at Michael Page, she recognized the clash between traditional communication and modern content consumption, inspiring Tigerhall’s creation. Under her leadership, Tigerhall gained global recognition, attracting Fortune 500 firms and securing over $10 million in venture capital. Tigerhall operates in 32 countries and 12 markets, facilitating organisational engagement that drives buy-in and support for change and transformation initiatives.

Nellie’s entrepreneurial prowess earned her acclaim, including recognition on the 2021 Gen T list of Leaders of Tomorrow. Additionally, she’s a Swedish National Champion in skeet shooting and contributes to industry development on boards like the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Singapore. Driven by innovation and a global outlook, Nellie continues to lead Tigerhall in transformative change, solidifying her legacy as a visionary in technology and business.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

00:00 Introduction and Background

17:23 The Importance of Trust in Organisations

18:57 Giving Trust to Receive Trust

21:19 Transparent and Authentic Communication

25:50 Treating Bad News as an Education Opportunity

32:26 Two-Way Feedback Loops and Instant Communication

34:45 Communicating Even When There Are No Updates

36:19 Transparency in Change

38:30 The Impact of Virtual Backgrounds on Trust

39:46 Understanding Psychological Safety

In this episode, we discuss usage-based pricing, seat pricing, maximising margin and customer expansion. We are joined by Mark Stiving, Founder of Impact Pricing.

We chat about: 

• What exactly is usage-based pricing?
• How do we correlate pricing metrics with how customers are using the product?
• What are the criteria and considerations when choosing the value metric?
• How do you choose between true usage-based pricing and tiered usage-based pricing?
• How do we work around the pricing mechanisms that our clients or vendors are giving us?
• Is there more of a move towards straight usage or is tiered pricing here to stay?
• How do we expand our customers?
• Who should be responsible for pricing and packaging within the company? 

References:

Mark on LinkedIN

Mark’s podcast, Impact Pricing

Biography: 

Mark Stiving, Pricing Educator, Coach, Podcast Host & 2x Author. He has driven business initiatives worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He is sought after for his superpower of finding invincible profits in every company he works with.

He is an award-winning international speaker known for helping audiences find hidden value and more profit, immediately.

Mark started and successfully sold three powerful companies in the tech sector.

His forthcoming book is "Invincible Profits: How to Lead a Value Revolution and Dominate Your Market"

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

• Usage-based pricing with a focus on personalization and avoiding seat-based pricing. 0:05
• Bethany shares her recent haircut experience with Brandon, including the surprise of finding a large amount of hair after cutting it.
• Brandon discusses usage-based pricing, highlighting its potential cleverness and limitations.
• Pricing strategies for SaaS companies, including usage-based pricing and subscription packages. 4:02
• Brandon: Value metric should be clear, easy to understand, and tie to usage (e.g., transcription files, contacts in HubSpot)
• Brandon: Finding a single value metric to scale can be challenging, as customers may not understand usage outside of vendor-supplied calculators
• Brandon discusses challenges in customer success with usage-based pricing, including unhappy customers who want to downgrade and the potential for unused value.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the importance of commissioning based on usage and actual money being seen, with a...

In this episode we discuss the topic of: How does a COO work effectively with the board? Our special guest is Keith Wallington, the former COO of Mimecast and currently Chairperson working across five B2B SaaS organisations. Keith lays out “what good looks like” in board stewardship for growth stage businesses. He also lifts the hood on expectations for the COO.

• What do you know now that you wish you had known as a COO?
• What do you want from a COO in board meetings
• How much do you tow the line if you are disagreeing with your CEO when in front of the board?
• If you see a CEO and COO always agreeing in board meetings is that a red flag or do you assume they are simply well aligned.
• What's the role of the board in the hiring process for a COO?
• Should the entire exec team be a part of the board and what role should the COO play?
• How should the COO prepare for a board meeting, without killing themselves in the process?
• Do you feel like COOs should have a close relationship with the chairperson?
• What's your advice to the COO’s dealing with an old skool board?
• To minimise board reporting effort can you simply re-purpose reporting you already do with the exec team and wider company? 
• 
  

References: 

10 tips for running board meetings as efficiently as Hanno Renner, CEO of Personio

Biography: 

Keith has led strategy and execution in technology businesses since the 1990’s, driving growth in Europe, the USA and Africa: His experience in driving online business models spans Retail Banking, Telecommunications, Online Live Broadcasting, Software and Software as a Service (SaaS): he has led online initiatives at businesses including Microsoft, Standard Bank, Omnicom/TBWA, MTN Group, Truphone and Mimecast.

From 2008 – 2014 Keith spent 6 years driving growth at Mimecast, best in class and global leader in SaaS based email security, archiving and continuity: Here he assumed a number of C Level roles, including COO, spanning most of the business from Marketing to Customer Experience to Technical Operations as he championed scalable, efficient growth during this phase of hyper growth (from $6m to over $110m Annual Recurring Revenue) and global expansion from the UK base. 

After preparing Mimecast for IPO Keith refocused his attention to support businesses on their growth journey. Keith invests in and assumes board roles with Series A to Growth stage companies. He engages directly and also collaborates with Venture Capital and Private Equity teams to co-invest and add depth to portfolio company boards.

In this episode we discuss: how to implement the first team concept. We are joined by Cassie Young, General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, and seasoned SaaS CRO/CCO.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Cassie Young: 

• How can leaders ensure that their "first team" prioritises organisational success over individual functions?
• What steps can teams take to align incentives and build trust to resolve conflicts more effectively?
• How does empathy in communication and transparency enhance team dynamics, especially in structured yet flexible meeting cadences?
• Why is developing P&L fluency and understanding market dynamics essential for senior executives, and how can organisations address these gaps?
• How can leaders strategically network and cascade critical insights to maintain clarity and alignment within teams?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassyoung/
• https://www.primary.vc/

Biography 

Cassie Young is a General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, a $1B AUM early-stage venture capital firm in New York, backing companies like Chief, Alma, and K Health. She leads B2B software investments and oversees the firm's portfolio impact team, the largest of its kind among seed funds globally.

Previously, Cassie was Chief Customer and Commercial Officer at Marigold (formerly CM Group), where she led global operations and strategy across a portfolio of marketing tech brands, following Marigold’s acquisition of Sailthru in 2018. At Sailthru, she held multiple executive roles, ultimately serving as Chief Revenue Officer. Earlier, she led marketing and analytics teams at GLG, Savored (acquired by Groupon), and TheLadders, starting her career as an analyst at Citigroup.

A Duke graduate with an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where she earned the Dero Saunders Award, Cassie is passionate about advancing women in leadership. In 2023, she launched On the Business, a program helping hundreds of senior women in software enhance their P&L fluency and boardroom skills.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

08:12 Introduction and Context Setting

19:17 Understanding the Concept of First Team

21:00 The Importance of Team Dynamics

21:35 Creating a First Team Mindset

23:00 Fostering Cross-Functional Collaboration

24:13 Aligning Incentives for Team Success

28:25 Overcoming Pushback on Team Engagement

31:12 Communicating with Empathy

34:04 Effective Meeting Cadences

41:03 Navigating Conflict and Accountability

42:23 Essential Skills for Executives

46:06 The Role of Founders and Leadership Styles

48:43 The Importance of Alignment and Communication

In this episode we discuss: The Evolution of a COO: From Doing to Coaching. We are joined by Andrew Robb, Marketplace & Technology Executive, Board Member & Investor

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Andrew Robb: 

• What does it take to scale a company?
• How does the role of the COO evolve? 
• What does it take to stay engaged and motivated in a role for a long time?
• Focus on what you can control and don't lose sleep over things outside of your control.
• Scaling culture requires clear goals, accountability, and a strong hiring process.
• Be thoughtful about culture, but don't overcomplicate it. It will naturally develop with the right people.

References: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewrobb/

Biography: 

Andrew has 25 years’ experience as an executive in technology companies, notably Farfetch where he served as Chief Operating Officer for 10 years until 2020, prior to which he founded fashion ecommerce business Cocosa following time at eBay and in strategy consulting with Gemini in the 1990s. He is currently Chair of edtech business Twinkl and Non-Executive Director of 1stdibs in the US and Carwow and GetHarley in London. He also is a non-executive advisor to the Ministry of Justice. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a BA Law from Oxford University.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

16:00 Introduction and Background

18:48 The Three Stages of CEO Evolution

20:08 Transitioning to a Coaching Role

20:49 The Importance of Feedback and Results

23:15 The Power of Executive Coaching

29:11 Staying Engaged and Motivated in a Long-Term Role

30:36 Navigating Challenges and Low Points While Scaling

32:12 Scaling Culture: Clear Goals, Accountability, and Hiring

45:23 Patience and Personal Development for Long-Term Success

In this episode we discuss: Is the COO the single source of truth? We are joined by Eric Collins, Investor, Serial Entrepreneur, CEO & Founding Member at Impact X Capital investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs; Author of We Don’t Need Permission (amzn.to/3Qp6G9d); & Host of Channel 4's The Money Maker.

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We chat about the following with Eric Collins: 

1. What makes the COO the true "source of truth" in scaling a venture-backed company?
2. How can COOs balance growth while CFOs maintain financial discipline—and why does this partnership make or break success?
3. Why is succession planning not just a CEO concern, but a critical step for every COO aiming to lead?
4. Can a COO ever match a founder's passion, or is their power found in something entirely different?
5. What does it really take for a COO to transition into the CEO seat—and what role does backfilling play in that journey?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericdcollinsba/?originalSubdomain=uk
• www.impactxcapital.com

Biography 

Eric Collins is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and host of Channel 4's The Money Maker. He’s held leadership roles at AOL, TimeWarner, SwiftKey/Microsoft, and Touch Surgery/Medtronic.

Appointed by President Obama to the Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities, Eric now serves on the boards of Cirata, UnLtd, Crux, and Autograph ABP. A sought-after speaker and Audi brand ambassador, he’s consistently featured on The Powerlist of influential Black Britons.

His award-winning book, We Don’t Need Permission (Penguin), advocates for investing in Black and underrepresented entrepreneurs as a powerful driver of social change.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

23:55 The unique role that the CEO plays in a scaling organisation 

28:05 The value of the COO next to the CFO

30:58 Progressing as a COO

33:11 CEO and COO Succession Planning

33:51 The Passion of Founders vs. COOs

39:56 Planning for Success as a COO

43:16 Setting the Agenda in Board Meetings

In this episode we discuss: Is wellbeing a complete waste of time? We are joined by Gethin Nadin, cited as one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers and author of the bestseller “A Work In Progress: Unlocking Wellbeing to Create More Sustainable and Resilient Organisations.”

Bethany and I discuss: 

• What is the COO’s role in solving workplace stress? 
• What can a COO do to optimise employees and support their mental health? 

We chat about the following with Gethin: 

• What is wellbeing? In the context of a company, what are we talking about? 
• What is the view on the Guardian article that suggests wellness programmes are a waste of time? 
• What is the impact of DE&I on mental health? 
• How has the social contract changed between employee and employer? 
• Where does corporate responsibility end and personal responsibility start?
• How does an organisation optimise employees to achieve the biggest shareholder return? 

References:

• A Work In Progress: Unlocking Wellbeing to Create More Sustainable and Resilient Organisations
• Workplace wellbeing is a complete waste of time (Gethin’s response to the Guardian article)
• Work ‘wellness’ programmes don’t make employees happier - but I know what does (Guardian article)
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/gethinnadin/
• http://www.hellobenefex.com
• Spill. Mental health provider

Biography: 

I am a leading psychologist and author with over 20 years of experience in HR tech, employee wellbeing, and engagement. As a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the British Psychological Society, I have been recognised as one of the world's most influential HR thinkers and a top global employee experience influencer. 

Currently, I serve as the Chief Innovation Officer at both Benefex and Zellis, two of the UK's leading providers of employee benefits and payroll solutions. In this role, I leverage my expertise in wellbeing, employee experience, and financial wellbeing to create innovative and sustainable solutions for organisations and their people. I am also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Employability, where I advise on policy and practice for improving the employability of the UK workforce. 

I am passionate about sharing my knowledge and insights with others through speaking, writing, and teaching. I have published two bestselling books, 'A World of Good' and 'A Work in Progress', which explore the best practices and emerging trends in improving the employee experience and wellbeing across the globe. I have also contributed to various media outlets, such as Forbes, The Financial Times, and The Guardian, and co-hosted a UK tour with Ruby Wax OBE to campaign for better mental health in the workplace. My mission is to help organisations and individuals thrive in the changing world of work.

Summary:

• Walking in London, exhaustion, and appreciation for the city.

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy and Embodiment” This is Part 1 in our emotional literacy and embodiment series. Our special guests are returning alumni with Divinia Knowles, Founder of the COO Roundtable and Maddie Fox, a leadership development coach across venture-backed organisations. 

Bethany and I discuss the concept of “reading the room” and “the pause”. 

We discuss the following with Maddie and Divinia: 

• How far can you push as a challenger COO to the CEO? 
• What is emotional literacy and embodiment? 
• How do you move from your head and into your body
• Can you have emotional literacy without embodiment? 
• Is embodiment a personal journey? If so, what does that mean? 
• How do you stop yourself from taking on other people's emotions? 
• What was your personal journey to embodied leadership? 

References:

COO Roundtable - https://www.cooroundtable.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/diviniaknowles/

Divinia’s email - divinia@diviniaknowles.com

Biography: 

Divinia was COO, CFO & a director at both Mind Candy and Pact Coffee, where she also served as interim CEO.  She has held or still holds chair and board seats at too many companies to list and is occasionally an angel investor. Divinia re-trained as a coach in 2017 and combined it with her previous experience to become the COO Coach, working with start up/scale up COOs/CEOs to help guide them through successfully starting up, scaling up and exiting. And in addition to all that, she is also the Founder of the London COO Roundtable, a community that brings operations professionals together to define what it means to be a highly effective startup and scale up Chief Operating Officer.

Maddie has over 20 years experience in HR and Learning & Development working with various organizations from corporate to fast growing tech, in Europe, the US and Australia. She is an ICF accredited executive coach, leadership and HR consultant with a wide range of experience, however specialising in developing leaders from emerging leaders to seasoned CEO’s, building high-performing sustainable teams and helping clients successfully navigate change. Her style is eclectic, using research, theory and direct experiences to ensure individuals find ways to effectively embed new behaviours, build resilience and deliver results. More recently she has been working in VC backed start-ups, series A-B, working for mostly founder led businesses as a Chief People Officer, Leadership Coach and Advisor. Clients include Blippar, Lantum, Trint, Mixcloud, amongst others. 

Summary:

• Emotional intelligence and leadership in the workplace. 0:05
• Brandon and Bethany discuss emotional literacy and embodied leadership with guests Devaney and Maddy, focusing on reading the room in tense team situations and galvanizing the wider organization around new initiatives.
• Reading the room in meetings. 1:31
• Bethany and Brandon discuss leadership skills in meetings, with Bethany focusing on reading the room and Brandon using a surprising tactic to get teams to work together.
• Participants in a meeting shared their emotions using a "vibe check" technique, allowing for a more empathetic and understanding atmosphere.
• Emotional preparation for...

In this episode we discuss: "Revolutionising Workplace Honesty: The Radical Candor Experiment". Our special guest is Ben Gateley, CEO at CharlieHR. Ben is an outspoken champion of positive workplace culture and is a passionate advocate for all things “people”. 

Bethany and I discuss the following:

• Praising publicly and criticising privately
• Giving criticism within 24 hours 
• Killing the “shit” sandwich
• What to do with moaning 
• The synergy between asking for feedback and giving feedback
• Coaching vs. Evaluation feedback
• 
  

We discuss the following with Ben:

• What made you decide to implement Radical Candor? 
• How did you implement Radical Candor? What were the learnings? 
• How do you now build and operationalise a strong culture of feedback? 
• What is the cultural difference between the UK and US styles? Why does it matter? 
• To what degree do values matter in developing a strong culture of feedback? 
• 
  

References: 

Ben’s podcast with Kim Scott: The Culture Ops Podcast: How do you build a culture where people “care personally” ?

Legal law firm for scaleups that Brandon used: Harper James

Biography: 

Ben is the CEO and co-founder of CharlieHR: an HR software used by thousands of small businesses worldwide. He has started and grown a number of successful companies since his teenage years — including BORN SOCIAL, one of the most successful social media agencies for challenger brands in the world. 

In this episode we discuss: Making AI happen in 2025 for your organization. We are joined by Charlie Cowan, Author of "How To Sell Tech" and “The Revenue Operations Playbook”.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Charlie Cowan: 

• How can professionals stay updated in an era where AI is rapidly disrupting industries like sales and marketing?
• With AI advancing faster than its everyday adoption, how can businesses bridge the gap between innovation and practical implementation?
• How can non-developers leverage AI tools to accelerate product development while overcoming emotional and technical challenges?
• In a world where restrictive AI policies hinder adoption, how can organisations balance data privacy concerns with fostering innovation?
• Rather than replacing jobs, how can AI be used to supercharge teams, enhance leadership effectiveness, and drive productivity?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliecowan/
• charliecowan.ai
• https://v0.dev/
• https://replit.com/ai
• https://lovable.dev/
• Bolt.new
• https://www.cursor.com/
• https://codeium.com/windsurf
• https://notebooklm.google.com/

Biography 

Charlie Cowan helps organisations accelerate AI adoption, guiding CxOs in embedding AI-driven processes to unlock new opportunities. As the founder of Kowalah, an AI-powered buying platform, he built the business from scratch—without prior coding experience—using AI tools. Now, he shares his journey to inspire others to embrace AI innovation.

An author of four books on sales, revenue operations, and go-to-market strategy, Charlie provides practical insights for scaling startups and sales teams. Passionate about AI and business transformation, he continues to drive conversations on the future of AI adoption and leadership.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

20:13 Introduction to Charlie Cowan and His Journey

23:14 The Impact of AI on Business and Personal Reinvention

25:35 Building Koala: The Journey of a Non-Developer

28:00 Navigating Challenges in AI Development

30:48 Balancing Consulting and Product Development

31:27 Leveraging LinkedIn for AI Insights

32:40 The AI Bubble and Company Policies

34:55 Embracing AI: Opportunities and Risks

41:28 Transforming Organisations with AI

44:02 Innovative Tools for Information Management

46:38 Practical AI Applications in Leadership

49:23 Final Thoughts on AI and Automation

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Decoding the CEO-COO Relationship: Strategies to Thrive Our special guest is Scott Gellman, COO of Nowsta. We discuss the following:

• How do you think the role of a COO differs from that of a CFO in terms of responsibilities and dynamics with the CEO
• How do you think the power dynamic between CEO and COO can affect decision-making and the overall functioning of an organization?
• How can effective communication positively impact the working relationship between a CEO and a COO?
• How do you think gender dynamics can influence the working relationship between a CEO and a COO?
• Why do you think managing the relationship with the CEO during difficult times or crises is particularly crucial in maintaining an effective working relationship?
• What interview questions do you think would be important to ask to assess compatibility and potential challenges in the working relationship?
• What do you think are some key principles for establishing and maintaining a successful working relationship between a CEO and a COO?
• 
  

References: 

The First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter. https://amzn.eu/d/0YDQcpH

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-gellman-9622634/

In this episode we discuss a topic that is one everyone’s agenda: Efficiency vs. Growth: What does the new world look like? Our special guest is Reece Howe, CFO at C TWO. Reece tells it like it is when it comes to efficiency, ownership and organisational impact. 

• How do you shift the culture of a company used to “growth at all costs” to one of capital efficiency and prudence? 
• How should one think about the value and risks attached to sharing the cash burn and cash runway with the organisation?
• What does it mean to get “more from less?” and does this make sense? 
• What is the best approach to budget ownership and responsibility?
• What do you expect from the COO in driving efficiency? 
• Does it make sense for the COO to own operations across the organisation? 
• How do you approach ownership of SaaS software spend across functions? 
• 
  

References: 

• A company replaced all of its managers with coaches. Employees became 20% more productive–and much happier
• 
  
• 
  

Biography: 

Reece Howe qualified as an accountant and started his career at Deloitte, working in Audit and Corporate Finance. After a move to Innocent Drinks, where he assisted with the exit to Coca Cola, he founded two of his own startups, in elderly care and digital marketing, seeing them through to exit.

Prior to his current role as CFO at C TWO, an Enterprise B2B SaaS company that develops an Automation Management Platform, he led finance at Signal AI (another Enterprise B2B SaaS startup) from Series A to Series D. Reece has a degree in Astrophysics from University College London and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Follow Reece on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reecekhowe/

In this episode we discuss: "The Wartime COO”. Our special guest is Huw Slater, COO of Oliva Health, formerly COO of TravelPerk and Bella Riemer, Head of Operations at Joblift. We discuss the following with Huw and Bella: 

• What is a Wartime COO? How does this impact how you operate the business?
• How do you surface existential threats to the organisation and inject a sense of focus, without scaring folks?
• What have been some of the worst storms you’ve weathered? Lessons learned?
• More broadly, what are risks the COO should always be vigilant about? 
• What would you recommend tactically in a wartime setting? 
• How do values pragmatically inform your decision-making process in wartime? 
• Who was in your war room? Why? 

References: The Hard Thing About Hard Things

Biography: 

Huw Slater, COO and Co-founder @Oliva. With >10 years of experience in scaling tech companies in Europe, Huw Slater is the COO and co-Founder at Oliva. Prior to this, Huw was the Chief Operating Officer of TravelPerk, helped Box through their IPO by globalising their growth, scaled Typeform’s expansion from Europe to the US and drove the series B funding, and has 10 additional years’ experience as the Finance Director of a $5bn turnover division in a FTSE 10 company. A passionate leader, Huw is excited by making an impact and instilling a growth mindset in his people where transparency and clarity are key.

Bella Reimer, Operational Leader | Strategy Growth | Speaker & Mentor. With over 14 years of experience in various roles and industries. I am a passionate operational leader with a proven track record of driving efficiency, strategic growth, and cross-functional collaboration. I specialise in overseeing end-to-end processes, optimising operations, and aligning teams to achieve impactful results.

In this episode we discuss: What can companies do to become more inclusive, equitable and diverse? We are joined by Audrey ROOFEH, Founder & CEO Mariana Strategies-Tory Burch Foundation Fellow-DEIA lead

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Audrey Roofeh: 

• What are the crucial components for implementing effective DEI policies?
• Why investing in middle managers and equipping them with skills in emotional intelligence, conflict management, and building psychological safety is essential.
• What does the retention of diverse talent require? 
• How leadership can become more comfortable and capable in discussing DEI topics.
• How to take action on DEI.

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/roofeh/
• www.marianastrategies.com
• youtube.com/@mariana_strategies/

Biography 

Audrey Roofeh is the CEO of Mariana Strategies, a workplace culture consulting firm focused on creating safe and inclusive workplaces. We make it possible to have the important, difficult conversations that drive change. 

In 2017 when #MeToo hit, Audrey quit her job managing a team of lawyers at a non-profit to start Mariana Strategies. From the beginning, her goal was to help organizations build and sustain workplaces where people feel valued, trusted, and able to be their authentic selves - without harassment, discrimination, or other all too prevalent workplace challenges. 

Since then, Audrey and her team has worked with government agencies, non-profit clients, and private sector businesses in the US and beyond. 

The best thing any client has said about Audrey is that she makes hard conversations easy to have. 

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

00:00 Introduction

19:22 The Importance of Policies and the 'Boring Stuff'

20:28 The Role of Leadership in Promoting DEI

25:35 Equipping Middle Managers for DEI Success

31:31 Measuring Progress and Taking Action to Subvert Biases

33:52 Creating an Inclusive Environment

39:11 Using Empathy to Address Inclusion Challenges

42:49 Resources

44:33 Taking Action on DEI

In this episode we discuss: how to be a COO in today's complex world. We are joined by Jennifer Geary, Seasoned C-Suite executive across multiple industries and roles from fractional COO to Managing Director. Author of bestselling books How To Be a COO, CRO, CPO and CSO.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Jennifer Geary: 

• The role of a COO involves being the second-in-command and bridging the gap between strategy and operations.
• Can AI enhance the efficiency and creativity of the COO role, with human judgement and decision-making remaining essential?
• Should COOs prioritise efficiency and creativity when implementing AI, while also considering sustainability and ESG metrics?
• Why should we consider suppliers, supply chain, software suppliers, facilities, power consumption, and social context in sustainability efforts?
• How important are flexibility, choice, in-person collaboration, and open communication in creating a positive work environment?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-geary-8419082a/
• www.coo-author.com
• https://gosupercritical.com/carbon-removal/biochar
• https://www.socraticarts.com/thought-leadership/exploring-ai-and-learning-with-ethan-mollicks-cointelligence

Biography 

Jennifer Geary is a former MD, COO and CRO with over 25 years of experience in finance, technology, risk and legal, across diverse industries from financial services to not-for-profit. 

She is also an author, speaker, board advisor and mentor to emerging businesses. She has attained qualification as a chartered accountant, PRINCE 2 practitioner, CISA and CISSP, with recent certifications in Sustainable Finance and ESG Investing and Ethical AI.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:02 Defining the Role of a COO

07:28 Implementing AI: Efficiency and Creativity

12:25 Prioritising Sustainability and ESG Metrics

16:30 Considering Suppliers and Supply Chain

18:00 Creating a Positive Work Environment

20:50 Respecting Privacy in the Workplace

22:53 The Next Step: CEO or COO?

29:15 What CEOs are concerned about now

31:38 Post IPO resources

32:44 Wrap up

In this episode we discuss: "Efficiency Unleashed: NoCode Revolutionising Operations”. Our special guest is Philip Lakin, Co-Founder & CEO of NoCodeOps. He is the ultimate MacGyver and an ambassador for reimagining the future of internal innovation. We discuss the following with Philip: 

• What is NoCode? Why does it matter? 
• What is a tangible example of business impact? 
• Should ops professionals report into the COO or the functional lead? 
• How do you get buy-in to internal operations initiatives? 
• How do you manage dependencies and scale no-code automations? 
• What is the impact of AI on NoCode? What should we do in ops to get prepared? 

References: 

• NoCodeOps 

Biography: 

Philip Lakin is the co-founder and CEO of NoCodeOps, a community and automation management platform (Operator) dedicated to supporting operations professionals that are reimagining the future of internal innovation with no-code. He was previously the Solutions Architect for National Operations at Compass where he built the onboarding program for over 15,000 real estate agents across the United States. He has more than 8 years of experience in operations, internal system implementation, field marketing, and onboarding.

In this episode we answer the question: How do you build a business that is smarter than you? Our guest is Jennifer Sundberg, the co-CEO of Board Intelligence and author of Collective Intelligence.

We discuss the following with Jennifer: 

• Why is it so hard to get great conversations in business review meetings? 
• How do you get good at asking the right questions? 
• How do you develop the habit of asking good questions in the organisation? 
• How do you create phenomenal meetings? 
• How do you cut through obfuscation of underperformance when it comes to KPI’s? 
• What are the two types of conversations in management meetings? 
• Are written documents the elixir for creating better meetings? 

References

• The Collective Intelligence Book

Biography: 

Jennifer is the founder and co-CEO of Board Intelligence, a mission-led technology firm that helps transform boards and leadership teams into a powerful driver of performance and a force for good.

Jennifer has won numerous awards, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year for London & South East and The Times Young Business Woman of the Year, and has held regular columns with Management Today and the Financial Times.

Together with co-CEO Pippa Begg, Jennifer has authored a book published in November 2023, titled ‘Collective intelligence: How to build a business that’s smarter than you are’.

Summary: 

• Using electric currents for beauty. 0:05
• Bethany Ayers discusses her concerns about her appearance, particularly the jowls and lower face area, and how she has been using microcurrent therapy to address these issues.
• Brandon Mensa responds to Bethany's concerns and provides his own thoughts on the topic, including his belief that face exercise is important for maintaining a youthful appearance.
• Bethany discusses her use of electric currents on her face to reduce the appearance of jowls and improve her appearance, despite being a feminist who questions the societal pressure to conform to beauty standards.
• Bethany mentions the zip Halo, a product she uses for its anti-acne and nano current features, which she believes have helped reduce her breakouts and improve the appearance of her skin.
• Effective questioning and meeting strategies. 5:20
• Bethany highlights the importance of asking simple and open-ended questions that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, rather than complex and leading questions that can limit the conversation.
• Brandon shares how he has shifted from a more directive and challenging approach to a more curious and why-focused line of questioning, which has led to better results in his conversations.
• Bethany prefers meetings with a clear purpose and aligned attendees, avoiding unnecessary or unproductive gatherings.
• Bethany suggests opening meetings with a clear agenda and checking alignment among attendees to maximize productivity.
• Effective meeting practices and pre-reads. 9:52
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the importance of periodically reviewing the purpose and format of meetings to ensure they remain useful and productive.
• Preparing pre-read...

In this episode we discuss the topic of: How does a co-founder COO survive and thrive? Our special guest is Tom Mundy, is the COO of Goodlord which has scaled to over 350 employees, raising more than £50m in capital and turning over tens of millions of pounds.

• How did you end up being COO? Why was that the right title? 
• What were the inflection points for your growth?
• How did you manage to survive for the last 8 years given the ups and downs? 
• What is your view on mentorship? 
• What is a good investor and what does it matter? 
• What is the role of the COO when it comes to unit economics? 
• How have you dealt with burnout? 
• Given you were learning on the job, how did you think about ownership of functions? 
• What happened in that first conversation when the new CEO entered the business? 
• 
  

Biography: Tom started his first business when he was 14 selling fudge at a market stall. He carried on starting businesses throughout university and finally found his calling in tech at the age of 24 where he co-founded Goodlord. During his time at Goodlord as COO he helped the business scale to over 350 employees, raising more than £50m in capital and turning over tens of millions of pounds.

In this episode we discuss: How to hire for excellence. We are joined by James King, Author of 'Accelerating Excellence'.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with James King: 

• How can we align talent identification with individuals' strengths, interests, and values to maximise performance?
• How can cognitive tests and psychological profiling improve our ability to assess baseline skills and training potential?
• What role do simulations and role plays play in assessing candidates for specific roles effectively?
• How can focusing on concordant goals and real-life scenarios reduce bias and improve talent identification outcomes?
• What strategies can we implement to ensure a rigorous and comprehensive assessment process across multiple roles?

References: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/acceleratingexcellence/
• https://jamesaking.com

Biography: 

King is the bestselling author of 'Accelerating Excellence- The Principles that Drive Elite Performance’. James is a trusted advisor to elite military units, owners, leaders and superstar athletes (EPL, NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL).

Within business he has built, managed, led talent identification and development programs within derivatives trading that have generated billions of dollars in net profit. 

James has presented case studies on his successes at the University of Oxford, Harvard University, Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

King is the host of 'The Accelerating Excellence' Podcast. Guests have included General Stanley McChrystal, Mark Shapiro and Sir Clive Woodward.

King holds a first-class degree in Applied Sports Science and an MSc in Performance Psychology, both from the University of Edinburgh.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

00:00 Introduction and Overview

15:59 The Science of Excellence and Performance Sciences

16:48 The Importance of Talent Identification

18:33 Identifying the Parts that Matter for Excellence

20:37 The Concept of Concordant Goals

21:00 Assessing Baseline Abilities and Responsiveness to Training

22:59 Designing Simulations and Role Plays for Assessment

26:15 Making the Assessment Process Hard and Accurate

29:34 Tricks of the Trade in Talent Identification

30:00 Simulating Real-Life Scenarios for Evaluation

34:37 Implementing a Rigorous Assessment Process for Multiple Roles

38:02 Taking Ownership of the Talent Identification Process

39:47 Resources

42:34 Main takeaways

In this episode we discuss: a COO's journey to a Google exit. We are joined by Shane Harris, Former COO @ Cameyo. 

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Shane Harris: 

• What role does sustainable growth, cash flow positivity, and dynamic budgeting play in a company’s success?
• How can company culture and strategic alignment influence decision-making and long-term growth?
• Why is understanding customer lifetime value and identifying productive customers critical for sustainable business strategy?
• What steps should startups take to prepare for a successful exit?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanecharris

Biography 

Shane is a seasoned tech executive with a passion for building high performance teams, optimizing business systems and establishing KPI frameworks that drive scalable growth. As COO of enterprise software company Cameyo, acquired by Google, he has a proven track record of strategic leadership through scale and exit. Prior to Cameyo, Shane led operations and helped grow Vasion (formerly PrinterLogic) from 13 to 300+ employees and over 35x revenue growth. Shane has an MBA from Duke University where he graduated at the top of his class.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

06:46 Introduction

27:05 Startups, goals, and roadmaps

28:07 No frills

28:49 Cameo's Exit Strategy and Company Culture

30:42 Exit strategies

32:18 The Value of Bootstrapping vs. Funding

33:54 Navigating Growth Paths and Strategic Decisions

35:26 The Role of Operations in Business Success

39:38 Preparing for Acquisition: Metrics and Data

42:58 Stages of Development and Strategic Objectives

47:40 Lessons Learned for Future Exits

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Generative AI & the Impact on the COO role. Our special guest is Aarti Samani, an experienced executive leader with a fascinating career in AI, spanning investment banking and high growth technology businesses. We discuss the following: 

• How does a smaller, tech-enabled company get started? 
• Who should own the quality of data ingested into a generative AI model? 
• Is it good enough to throw a bit of policy around the use of chatGPT and how SaaS tools with generative-based features should be used? 
• Is it realistic to think more broadly around orchestration of organisational data and insights for the business right now, given where these products are at? 
• Are we talking about a Snowflake - Looker type solution for generative AI? 
• What is a sensible, phased approach? 
• How should you think about internal communications and training
• What would you say to the COO that is heads down on the business and feels guilty about not spending enough time thinking about how to leverage AI? 
• 
  

References: 

• Coral, from cohere.com, a knowledge assistant to increase productivity of strategic teams: https://txt.cohere.com/introducing-coral/
• Aarti Samani LI.  Reach out for complementary discovery call to discuss how to accelerate your business growth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aartisamani/
• Fiverr AI Services for cost effective, on-demand experts to help you integrate Generative AI in your products or leverage Generative AI productivity services for business efficiency:  https://www.fiverr.com/cp/ai-services
• Nuclia to help you harness unstructured data from various sources, to create chatbots, knowledge hubs and more:  https://nuclia.com/what-you-can-build/
• Runway Finance to consolidate all inputs for more precise and easier financial modelling and forecasting : https://runway.com/
• 
  

Biography: Aarti is an experienced executive leader with a fascinating career in AI, spanning Investment Banking and High growth technology businesses. She has successfully scaled three venture backed organizations, two of which exited to Microsoft and Medtronic. The third is a global category leader in the biometrics and identity verification sector. 

Aarti’s innate ability to connect disparate macro and micro data points, has allowed her to align all business functions to accelerate growth.  Founder of Shreem Growth Partners, Aarti works with visionary founders bringing innovative AI based solutions to market.

Aarti’s acumen and industry success led Cranfield School of Management to name her a Woman to Watch for board positions. A meditator, traveler and cancer survivor, Aarti’s journey continues to inspire. 

In this episode we discuss: How do you build an organisation to compete with Google? We are joined by Omid Ashtari, ex-COO of Streebees and President of Citymapper.

We chat about the following with Omid: 

• How do you think about organisational structure? 
• How proactive should you be in anticipating organisational challenges? 
• What is the highest impact communication challenge you helped resolve? 
• How do you prevent drift from the customer as the company scales? 

References:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtari

http://www.startuppragmatism.com

Biography: 

I have two decades of experience in tech and worked in sales, business development and strategy roles for Google across the Dublin, London and San Francisco office during his 7 years there. As the first international employee, I set up Foursquare in Europe as Managing Director. I subsequently joined Citymapper for 6 years as President running the non-engineering side of the business. I then joined Streetbees as COO running operations, international expansion, finance and legal. Throughout my career I have raised north of 100 million dollars of funding for businesses I have worked for.

I am an angel investor in more than 45 businesses and advise many of them in all manner of things including strategy, operations, business development, fundraises etc. I am also part of the Mayor of London's Business Advisory Board, and a Mentor at Seedcamp and Entrepreneur First.

I am also an aspiring writer for my blogs startuppragmatism.blog and thefullspectrum.blog.

Summary:

• Personal growth and evolution over 13 years. 0:05
• Brandon reflects on his past solo travels and how they relate to his current life.
• Brandon M reflects on his past self-absorption and lack of empathy, now prioritizing supporting others' success and empathy in personal and professional life.
• Brandon M recounts a 2011 incident where he carried a biscuit tin full of Canadian coins and sat next to a homeless person, now recognizing the importance of empathy and caring for others.
• Organizational structure and skills for a business. 4:09
• Bethany: People often create an org structure that prioritizes making their existing team happy, rather than starting fresh and building a structure that works for the business.
• Brandon M: Bethany suggests starting with a blank slate and building an org structure that works for the business, rather than trying to fit existing team members into a pre-existing structure.
• Bethany and Brandon M discuss the importance of defining the skills needed for a business to succeed, rather than simply morphing structures around people.
• They agree that it's better to have a flexible approach to organizational structure, recognizing that roles may evolve as the business grows and changes.
• Organizational design and hiring for a scaling startup. 9:57
• Brandon M. faced pushback on hiring 2 product marketing managers, but believes it was necessary for success in both self-serve subscribers and enterprise sales.
• Brandon M. emphasizes the importance of clear go-to-market strategy and collaboration between product marketing manager and go-to-market manager.
• Bethany identifies...

In this episode we discuss: What leadership lessons we can learn from the military. We are joined by Ben Read, Founder & CEO of Redeployable, and Andy Wright, Consultant. 

We chat about the following with Ben Read and Andy Wright: 

• How can trust and delegation enhance command and control in leadership?
• What behaviours and actions are essential for building trust and psychological safety within a team?
• How do confidence, humility, and self-regulation impact leadership effectiveness in high-pressure environments?
• What role does continuous learning and development play in personal and professional growth for leaders?
• How can leaders use mistakes as opportunities for improvement while maintaining team trust and integrity?

References: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-read-7681b8161/

Biography: 

Ben is the founder and CEO of redeployable, and has spent over 10 years in the military as part of the Royal electrical and mechanical engineering unit. 

Andy Wright is the former regional VP for Salesforce, and also spent over 20 years in the military as a pilot.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

00:00 Introduction and Background

18:56 Command and Control in the Military

20:23 Translating Military Values to the Business World

22:26 Building Trust and Psychological Safety

24:24 Psychological Safety and Leadership

29:21 Leadership Under Duress

30:02 Self-Regulation and Understanding Your Role

34:03 Training, Education, and Development

37:32 The Importance of Humility in Leadership

In this episode we discuss: What does a good COO framework look like? We are joined by Simon Wakeman, former COO of TPXimpact and creator of the B3 Framework. 

We chat about the following: 

• Are investment bets the responsibility of the COO? 
• What is an operating model? 
• What is minimum viable governance? How much process is too much process? 
• How to best manage a risk register to make it useful
• What is in the “systems” box? 
• How do you structure data teams? 
• What are some practices around cadences? 

References:

• B3 Framework
• Simon Wakeman

Biography: 

I help founders in post-seed and series A technology businesses to scale their operations and create resilient organisations. 

I’ve created and used the B3 framework® to enable businesses with 25 to 250 people to successfully grow at pace. 

Before becoming an independent interim COO, consultant and advisor I held senior operational leadership roles in two scaling technology businesses. The first - a digital business - I led from 15 people / £1.6m revenue to 40 people / £3m revenue. The second - a technology and design business - grew from 361 people / £31.5m revenue to 700 people / £83m in around three years. 

My career experience includes co-founder, MD, COO and non-exec director roles in growth companies, including successful exits across listed and privately held businesses.

Summary:

• Creating high-performance companies with a CEO framework. 0:06
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their spouses' reactions to their podcast, with Bethany's husband being surprised by her comment that being married is not part of her identity.
• They welcome Simon Wakeman, former CEO of TI px impact, as their guest to discuss his B three framework for building highly performant organizations.
• Brandon M: Foundation layer of CEO framework includes why do we exist, what do we do, and how do we do it.
• Bethany: Operating model definition lacks clarity, with inconsistent examples across companies.
• Brandon M: Building the organisation layer, decision making is hard due to changing business structures and roles, but it's critical for scaling companies to codify decision-making processes and delegate responsibility.
• Bethany: Finance models are useful for making calculated risks and investment bets, but they need to be holistically thought through with the CEO and leadership team to ensure the right forecast model is created for cash burn and expectations management.
• Business framework for scaling startups. 7:16
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the importance of data ownership and security in business, with Bethany emphasizing the need for a "Source of Truth" and data security foundations to support data-driven decision-making.
• Bethany highlights the importance of data in decision-making, emphasizing that even small amounts of data can be valuable for directional insights.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the four layers of their framework, including cadence and communications, leadership, performance, processes, systems, and standards.
• Operating models and their importance in business. 11:32
• Simon...

We are the COO coaches to help you successfully scale in this new world where efficiency is as important as growth. Remember when valuations were 3-10x ARR and money wasn’t free? We do. Each week we share our experiences and bring in scale up experts and operational leaders to help you navigate both the burning operational issues and the larger existential challenges.

Beth Ayers is a seasoned Chief Operating Officer and has helped raise over $200m from top funds - Softbank, Bessemer, TCV, MCC, Notion and Oxx. She’s built the GTM engines at Peak AI, NewVoiceMedia and Codility.

Brandon Mensinga is a veteran Chief Operating Officer and has successfully ramped four VC-backed startups, two of which successfully exited; one to Nuance Communications and the other to Microsoft.

Between us, we have over 30 years of experience building SaaS businesses with extensive FP&A, HR and operating model experience.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/operations-room/

Podcast website: https://operationsroom.co/

Brandon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmensinga/

Bethany's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanyayers/

In this episode we discuss: Which HRIS do I need? We are joined by Matt Bradburn, Founder & CEO of the People Collective. 

We chat about the following: 

• What are our views on Rippling? Personio? Factorial? BambooHR? HiBob? 
• What is a good vendor choice for a scaling company of a few hundred people that wants something that is very customisable? 
• What is a good all-in-one vendor choice that is good at employee engagement and for UK companies supports international expansion into the US? 
• What are the “gotchas” when buying an HRIS?  
• What is the hidden, dark secret of all employee engagement tools? 
• What is a good vendor choice for a mid-market ATS? 
• What is a good vendor choice for compensation? 
• Which products are really exciting for 2024?

References:

HRIS vendor evaluation

• Rippling
• HiBob
• Factorial
• Personio
• BambooHR

Other HRIS vendors mentioned

• CharlieHR
• Humaans
• ATS vendors
• Ashby
• Pinpoint
• Workable
• Greenhouse
• SmartRecrruiters

Other products mentioned

• Sana Labs
• Pando
• HarrietHR

Biography: 

Matt is a globally recognised People and Talent leader. Through his work as the founder at People Collective, he's helped over 150 companies shape forward thinking people and talent strategies to scale sustainably.  

Passionate about how talent shapes business outcomes, he loves to discuss the best ways to help employees reach their full potential.

He previously led People Ops at Peakon prior to their exit to Workday. 

Summary:

• Healthy eating habits and vegetable subscriptions. 0:05
• Bethany is trying a new vegetable subscription service called Odd Box, which delivers a random mix of fruits and vegetables each week.
• Bethany is not excited about the included cauliflower and tuna, but is looking forward to trying new vegetables during the summer.
• HRIS options for a 100-person company. 3:02
• Bethany is frustrated with the lack of great options for HRIS systems, especially for smaller companies.
• Brandon has a utilitarian experience with Rippling, with a cluttered drop-down menu and limited performance review functionality...

In this episode we discuss: How to tackle mental health in an organization. We are joined by Chris Hatfield, Mindset & Well-being Coach.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Chris Hatfield: 

1. What if naming your anxiety was the first step to taking back control?
2. How can leaders foster vulnerability without losing authority?
3. Is your ‘stress container’ full, and how do you know when it’s overflowing?
4. Are we truly addressing the root of anxiety, or just applying quick fixes?
5. What if managing mental health was less about avoidance and more about sitting with discomfort?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishatfieldsalespsyche/
• www.salespsyche.co.uk

Biography 

A sales mindset and well-being Coach and Author of Sales Psyche. With over 15+ years of experience working with the likes of Meta, Google, Salesforce, Experian and O2. Focused on supporting salespeople and leaders in developing a healthy and high performing mind. Also founded a run community, Run Your Mind, that is focused on mental well-being. 

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

16:31 Understanding Anxiety

16:52 The Nature of Anxiety in Men

19:14 Coping Mechanisms for Anxiety

20:36 Proactive vs Reactive Approaches to Anxiety

22:46 Identifying When Anxiety Becomes a Problem

25:10 The Importance of Vulnerability in Leadership

29:01 Understanding the Stress Container Exercise

36:05 The Importance of Reflection and Action

37:59 Tools for Managers to Address Anxiety

34:14 Creating a Mental Health Culture in Organizations

39:18 Training Managers for Mental Health Awareness

42:49 Sales-Specific Strategies for Managing Stress

In this episode we discuss the topic of a growth mindset and how that informs the COO role. Our special guest is David Norris, a three time COO for venture-backed organisations. David talks about managing critical feedback, personal growth and the transition to Chief Growth Officer.

• How has studying theology informed the type of COO you are? 
• Is there a playbook for COO’s? 
• What does the transition from COO to Chief Growth Officer look like in an 800-person company? 
• What does the transition from a 16 person company to an 800 person company look like as COO? 
• What is the connection between personal growth and organisational growth? 
• How do you manage critical feedback? 
• 
  

Biography: David is a seasoned internet leader, having worked in online operational, product, marketing and strategy roles since the turn of the century, mainly in travel and hospitality, including 4 stints as Chief Operating Officer, 3 of which were scaling fast growth venture capital (VC) backed scaleups. He was later a venture capital investor at Forward Partners incubating idea stage startups and now focuses on strategy and marketing in his role as Chief Growth Officer at Holiday Extras. David is also Non-Executive Director at The Sports Trust and mentors startup founders. He is a fellow of the COO roundtable, a community for startup and scaleups to come together and learn. 

He has a degree in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Manchester and a Diploma in Company Direction from The Institute of Directors.   He lives with his family in Deal, Kent, UK.

Follow David at:

• Blog https://www.norrisnode.com 
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidnorris 
• Substack https://norrisnode.substack.com/p/the-size-of-your-team-determines
• 
  

In this episode we discuss: What are the priorities for COO’s in 2024? We are joined by Cameron Herold, he is the founder of the COO Alliance and author of the Second in Command. 

We chat about the following: 

• What are the priorities for COO’s in 2024? 
• How should we think about budgets this year? 
• How is the COO role changing?
• What are the commonalities across COO’s? 
• How do you work with a controlling CEO?
• How should a COO think about their relationship with the CEO?
• Do you have tips on how-to give good praise? 
• Is the CEO role the next step for a COO? 

References:

Cameron Herold

COO Alliance

YouTube Channel

Biography: 

Founder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Course

Author of Vivid Vision & The Second In Command

Meet Cameron Herold, the mastermind behind the exponential growth of hundreds of  companies. As the founder of the COO Alliance and the Invest In Your Leaders course,  Cameron is a dynamic consultant who has coached some of the biggest names in  business, including Sprint Telecom and a monarchy in the Middle East. Known as the  "CEO Whisperer", Cameron has a reputation for guiding his clients to double their  profits and revenue in just three years or less.

Cameron's entrepreneurial journey began at a young age, and by 35, he had helped  build his first two $100 million dollar companies. But his greatest achievement came as  the COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, where he engineered the company's spectacular growth  from $2 million to $106 million in revenue and from 14 to 3,100 employees - all in just  six years.

Cameron is not just a successful business leader, but also a captivating speaker. The  current publisher of Forbes magazine, Rich Karlgaard, stated "Cameron Herold is the  best speaker I've ever heard...he hits grand slams”. 

When he's not on stage, Cameron  continues to teach through his Second In Command podcast and his bestselling books,  including Vivid Vision, Meetings Suck, Free PR, Double Double, and The Miracle Morning  for Entrepreneurs.

Cameron is a top-rated international speaker and has been paid to speak in 26 countries  and on all 7 continents, including Antarctica in early 2022. He is also the top-rated  lecturer at EO/MIT's Entrepreneurial Masters Program and a powerful and effective speaker at CEO and COO leadership events worldwide.

Summary:

• Budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning for businesses. 0:05
• Bethany Ayers is considering running for MP to advocate for cannabis legalization.
• Cameron Herold, CEO of several companies, joins the podcast to discuss priorities for a CEO in 2024.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the importance of linking budget, revenue, and GTM assumptions in a financial model to make informed investment decisions and communicate effectively with leadership.
• Bethany agrees that this model is essential for aligning leadership with the company's situation and setting budgets based on financial forecasts.
• Bethany emphasizes the importance of a scorecard in tracking key elements of low cash flow and ensuring data integrity.
• Brandon discusses his experiment with a client, using a financial p&l tool for scenario planning and live data flow, and evaluating its effectiveness in serving three...

In this episode we discuss: The State of the European Venture Market. We are joined by Simon Menashy, Partner at MMC Ventures.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Simon Menashy: 

• The European VC market’s significant changes in the last few years.
• Sustainable growth prioritised over growth at all costs.
• What are the main challenges the software market is facing?
• What are realistic exit expectations? 
• What are the crucial components for a successful exit?

References 

• www.linkedin.com/in/simonmenashy

Biography 

Simon Menashy is a Partner at MMC. He specialises in AI-related investments, and has led deals such as Ably, Senseye and Signal AI.

Simon joined MMC in 2011. He is a member of the Investment Committee and co-leads the investment team. As one of the most active AI investors in the European early-stage venture market, Simon has led, sponsored or worked on close to 150 deals with more than 60 companies over the past decade.

Simon believes AI innovation will happen at multiple layers of the tech stack, and is focused on investments from the application layer down to the data pipelines that feed the models. 

Simon’s background is in tech and media strategy consulting at Deloitte. He holds a degree in Physics and Space Research and previously started an IT consulting business.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

16:49 The Evolution of the European VC Market

18:39 Navigating the New Normal in Funding

22:02 The Software Market's Challenges and Opportunities

26:13 Where should COOs be looking and how should they be pitching themselves?

27:21 Identifying Hot Areas for Investment

27:45 The Role of COOs in Today's Market

28:29 The State of Exits in the VC Landscape

30:39 Resetting Expectations for Exits

36:54 The Future of the VC Ecosystem

In this episode we discuss: Unlocking AI for Non-Technical Leaders. We are joined by Charlie Cowan, Founder of Kowalah and author of "How To Sell Tech" and “The Revenue Operations Playbook”.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Charlie Cowan: 

• Is AI more accessible than we think?
• What’s the difference between AI agents and workflows—and why does it matter for businesses looking to scale?
• How can organizations build their own AI-powered tools instead of relying solely on SaaS solutions?
• What role does leadership play in AI adoption, and why is AI literacy now a must-have skill for future executives?
• Can a simple “power hour” or habit shift really transform your productivity—and what does AI have to do with it?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliecowan/
• www.charliecowan.ai
• www.kowalah.com

Biography 

Charlie works with CEOs and senior leaders looking to embed AI behaviours across their organisation.

With a 25 year career in SaaS, consulting and enterprise sales, Charlie bridges the gap between AI technology and practical applied use cases that help teams work smarter and faster.

Charlie is the author of two books - How To Sell Tech and The Revenue Operations Playbook.

Charlie is the founder of Kowalah, an AI-powered platform that helps buying teams to run a great buying processes, pick the right vendors and reduce the fear of messing up.

Charlie built Kowalah as a solo-founder using AI development tools.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

26:36 Introduction to AI Adoption for Non-Technical Executives

027:16 Understanding AI Optimism vs. Pessimism

28:08 Defining AI Policies for Effective Implementation

29:52 The Concept of Agentic AI

31:23 Distinguishing Between Agents and Workflows

33:01 Building Effective AI Agents

37:49 Evaluating Future Tech Stacks for AI Integration

43:05 Empowering Leadership in the Age of AI

46:06 Navigating AI Tools for Policy Management

46:23 Crafting Effective Prompts for AI Tools

49:54 Building a Data Repository for Enhanced Insights

51:44 The Power Hour: Maximizing Productivity

In this episode we tackle the question of: What is a COO? Our special guest is Divinia Knowles, Founder of the London COO Roundtable.  

In this episode we get her words of wisdom on the following questions:

• What is a COO? What does a COO do? 
• 
  
• What are the differences between: COO, Chief of Staff and Operations Lead?
• 
  
• Which COO is more successful, those that are promoted internally or those people who have joined externally? 
• 
  
• How do you measure the success of a COO?
• 
  
• What is your advice for COO’s struggling with their CEO?
• 
  
• 
  

Speaker notes and references:

HBR article - https://hbr.org/2006/05/second-in-command-the-misunderstood-role-of-the-chief-operating-officer

Allison Pickens article - https://allisonpickens.substack.com/p/the-rise-of-the-coo-role

Generalists vs Specialists - Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World https://amzn.eu/d/5Sxi43L

Divinia Knowles article https://www.publicover.co/articles/the-coo-problem-misconceptions-and-mistakes

Divinia was COO, CFO & a director at both Mind Candy and Pact Coffee, where she also served as interim CEO.  She has held or still holds chair and board seats at too many companies to list and is occasionally an angel investor. 

Divinia re-trained as a coach in 2017 and combined it with her previous experience to become the COO Coach, working with start up/scale up COOs/CEOs to help guide them through successfully starting up, scaling up and exiting.

And in addition to all that, she is also the Founder of the London COO Roundtable, a community that brings operations professionals together to define what it means to be a highly effective startup and scale up Chief Operating Officer.

Divinia Knowles references

COO Roundtable - https://www.cooroundtable.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/diviniaknowles/

Email - divinia@diviniaknowles.com

In this episode we discuss: fractional COO, is it worth it? We are joined by Karina Mikhli, Founder, Fractionals United.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Karina Mikhli: 

• What is the role of a fractional COO?
• How difficult is it to find a role as a fractional COO? 
• What is crucial for winning fractional COO roles?
• What are the channels of entry for fractional work? 
• What should pricing and structuring fractional work be based on? 

References: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/karinamikhli/
• https://www.karinamikhli.com/

Biography: 

Karina Mikhli is a Community, Professional Services/Development, and SaaS Fractional COO; Workflow Consultant; and Founder of Fractionals United. She has almost a decade of experience building, optimizing, and scaling small to mid size businesses and although she can (and has) managed and optimized most functions, she provides the most value by leading and focusing teams and streamlining and optimizing systems. Karina works best with founders looking for a right-hand partner who will manage and run the business while they focus on their areas of strength and interest.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

00:00 Introduction and Background

20:40 The Popularity of Fractional COO Work

26:09 The Challenges of Finding Fractional Work

28:20 Managing Multiple Fractional COO Roles

29:09 Defining Fractional COO Roles

32:49 The Importance of Business Development and Networking

34:39 Pricing and Structuring Fractional Work

36:38 Navigating Health Insurance as a Fractional Executive

37:57 Transitioning from Full-Time to Fractional Work

In this episode we tackle the question of: How do you scale from 50 to 500 employees? 

Our special guest is Kristen Shannon, founder and CEO of Highliner a consultancy that helps high-growth businesses scale across people, systems and processes. 

In this episode we get her experiences on the following questions: 

• What was the lesson in hiring 800 people in one year? 
• How do you get out of your own way when it comes to structure and process?
• What are the scaling inflection points? 
• How do you fight against the silos that develop in organisations? 
• What are those hires that you're just like, oh my god, how did we survive without it?
• How do you minimise the mini-celebrity status you have as COO in an organisation, where employees massively read things into what you say and do? 
• How much of your time is spent on rolling out processes versus helping people become better leaders and managing change? 
• How do you make an organisation more accountable? How do you hold a team to account in an OKR check-in? 
• 
  

Speaker notes and references:

Rocket Fuel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocket-Fuel-Essential-Combination-Business/dp/1941631150

Blitzscaling - https://amzn.eu/d/5J6EyBP

Kristen is a results-driven executive with over 10 years of experience in strategy development, operational execution, and organisational scaling. Her career focus has been working in high-pressure companies going through periods of significant and fast-paced growth.

She has worked for ambitious organisations that have doubled in size year on year, leading both recruitment of over 800 FTE a year as well as leading and scaling teams in multiple functional areas. 

Kristen is the founder and CEO of Highliner. At Highliner, we are passionate about helping companies design and implement practical, scalable solutions that are the highest leverage to the organisations. We work with companies both on codifying their organisational culture and strategy to support growth as well as auditing and designing the operational systems, processes and tools needed to accomplish their key business objectives at scale. Some of our clients have included iProov (raised £70m growth round), Oxford Ionics (raise £30m Series A), Cisco Meraki (post acquisition) and Sonantic (acquired by Spotify).

https://www.linkedin.com/company/highliner-technology/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-shannon/

https://highlinertechnology.com/

In this episode we discuss: "Surfacing the COO's Crucial Role in Revenue Generation". Our special guest is Pete Crosby a coach, lecturer & advisor, focussing on the successful design & execution of SaaS revenue & growth strategies. He is a 4x successful scale up revenue leader, most recently as CRO at Ometria.

We discuss the following with Pete: 

• What kind of focus helps enable revenue generation? 
• How should the COO’s “system thinking” be leveraged? 
• Where should revenue operations live? 
• What are the types of revenue ops leaders? How does that define their relationship with operations? 
• How important is it for the COO to have a good understanding of revenue ops? 
• What responsibility does a COO have in financial forecasting? 
• How do organisations get more commercially efficient? 
• 
  

References: 

• revenue.ghost.io (Pete’s weekly newsletter & deep dives on revenue topics each Sunday) 
• 
  

Biography: 

Pete is a coach, lecturer & advisor, focussing on the successful design & execution of SaaS revenue & growth strategies. 

He conceived, wrote & teaches The Definitive Guide to Revenue Leadership syllabus at Sales Impact Academy with Mandy Cole of Stage 2 Capital. Guest lecturers on his course include Mark Roberge, Zoom’s Greg Holmes, and Tableau’s Elissa Fink. 

He is a 4x successful scale up revenue leader, most recently as CRO at Ometria, who Deloitte placed in the Top 10 growth businesses in the UK with revenue acceleration above 3000%.  He took Ometria to its $21m Series B in just 18 months.

Prior to Ometria, Pete ran revenues at Viadeo from Series A to IPO, and took Triptease from $2m to $10m ARR and a successful Series B, also in just 18 months.

Now the Founder of Pete Crosby Revenue, he has managed revenue teams in Beijing, Singapore, Moscow, Mexico City, Dakar, Casablanca, San Francisco, Boston, New York & in most major cities across Europe.

Currently he is a board advisor to 5 of Europe’s most exciting B2B SaaS scale-ups. He also coaches revenue leaders at a further 50+ start-ups & scale-ups.

In this episode we discuss: The Future COO in Tech Companies. We are joined by Tony Olvet and Andrea Siviero from IDC.

We chat about the following:

• How do COOs navigate the evolving landscape of digital transformation while ensuring organisational stability?
• What are the key priorities for COOs in 2024, and how do they drive strategic thinking beyond technology?
• What role do COOs play as the connective tissue of organisations, orchestrating digital initiatives and driving innovation?
• How can COOs transition from being protectors of the organisation to digital disruptors, driving new revenue models and ESG initiatives?
• What skills are essential for CEOs and COOs to thrive in today's digital age, and how do they communicate the future state of the organisation effectively?

References: 

• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/tonyolvet
• https://it.linkedin.com/in/sivieroand

Biography: 

Tony Olvet, Group Vice President at IDC, leads global research on the intersection of business transformation and digital investments. With extensive experience advising organizations worldwide, Tony provides fact-based insights to inform technology strategy and digital business decisions. A sought-after speaker, he delivers keynote presentations at conferences and virtual events. Based in Toronto, Canada, Tony holds degrees from the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto.

Andrea Siviero leads IDC's European Digital Business and Future of Work Research group, providing insights to drive purposeful technology adoption. He also co-leads IDC's Worldwide MacroTech Research program, analyzing the impact of key macroeconomic factors on the digital landscape. With extensive experience in strategy and go-to-market projects, Andrea advises IT players on building forward-looking digital strategies. He holds a joint PhD in mathematics and is fluent in English, French, and Italian.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

• Cricket and personal life, including death and ex-fiance. 0:00
• Bethany shares her struggles with grief after an unexpected death of a teenager, while Brandon listens and offers support.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss their past relationship and reasons for reconnecting.
• Career changes, life lessons, and tech CEO priorities. 3:08
• Bethany and Brandon M discuss their experiences working with Tony Elvet at IDC.
• Brandon M reflects on his decision to leave London and return to Toronto, and how it impacted his career.
• Brandon M shared his experiences as a tech CEO with a research report, discussing new priorities and future orientation.
• Bethany asked Brandon about his insights on CEO priorities, which were included in the report, with little fundamental change observed.
• CEO role, digital transformation, and AI adoption in businesses. 7:13
• Brandon M: CEO role in 2024: partnering with finance leaders, making investment bets.
• Bethany: High performance culture: how to make it happen, translate into business.
• Brandon M: Digital transformation is not always transformative, but AI is a real transformation for all companies.
• Bethany: AI is the top priority...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Cracking the Code: Exploring Emotional Literacy and Embodiment” This is Part 2 in our emotional literacy and embodiment series. Our special guests are returning alumni with Divinia Knowles, Founder of the COO Roundtable and Maddie Fox, a leadership development coach across venture-backed organisations. We are also joined by Pippa Richardson, Somatic Therapist, Educator, Speaker and Clinician. 

We discuss the following with Pippa, Maddie and Divinia: 

• Our personal journey’s into embodiment
• What do we disconnect from our body? 
• What is dysregulation? 
• How do you manage through a day of back-to-back meetings? 
• How do you bring embodiment into the day-to-day? 

Biography: 

Pippa is a highly regarded Somatic Therapist, Educator, Speaker and Clinician. She has lived experience and clinical expertise in the areas of trauma, eating disorders, addiction, recovery and healing. With over 10 years experience of working and studying in the field of embodiment, body-centred therapies and psychosomatics, both in clinical and non-clinical settings. Her work lies at the intersection of psyche (mind) and soma (body) and she is passionate about supporting her clients to live an embodied, meaningful life. 

Alongside her clinical work, Pippa leads talks, retreats and workshops both in the UK and abroad. She has a broad range of experience working with individuals, groups and organisations including the US Military, Save The Children, Bamford, Manolo Blahnik - as well as with leadership executives and professional athletes. Her work aims to provide thought provoking environments to explore the human experience with curiosity, kindness and compassion.

Divinia was COO, CFO & a director at both Mind Candy and Pact Coffee, where she also served as interim CEO.  She has held or still holds chair and board seats at too many companies to list and is occasionally an angel investor. Divinia re-trained as a coach in 2017 and combined it with her previous experience to become the COO Coach, working with start up/scale up COOs/CEOs to help guide them through successfully starting up, scaling up and exiting. And in addition to all that, she is also the Founder of the London COO Roundtable, a community that brings operations professionals together to define what it means to be a highly effective startup and scale up Chief Operating Officer.

Divinia Knowles references

COO Roundtable - https://www.cooroundtable.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/diviniaknowles/

Divinia’s email - divinia@diviniaknowles.com

Maddie has over 20 years experience in HR and Learning & Development working with various organizations from corporate to fast growing tech, in Europe, the US and Australia. She is an ICF accredited executive coach, leadership and HR consultant with a wide range of experience, however specialising in developing leaders from emerging leaders to seasoned CEO’s, building high-performing sustainable teams and helping clients successfully navigate change. Her style is eclectic, using research, theory and direct experiences to ensure individuals find ways to effectively embed new behaviours, build resilience and deliver results. More recently she has been working in VC backed start-ups, series A-B, working for mostly founder led businesses as a Chief People Officer, Leadership Coach and Advisor. Clients include Blippar, Lantum, Trint, Mixcloud, amongst others. 

Summary:

• Diversity and inclusivity in tech industry.

In this unique episode, Bethany Ayers and Brandon Mensinga share their personal stories. This episode is simply titled: Life Lessons. Bethany and Brandon are experienced scale-up COO’s and the co-hosts of the Operations Room. 

We chat about the following lessons: 

1. Know where you want to go
2. Lean into the fear
3. Don’t try to be somebody else
4. Focus on the job that is in front of you
5. Know your superpower
6. Accept critical feedback for what it is 
7. Leadership is about serving others
8. Find people who stretch you
9. Take opportunities when they present themselves
10. Don’t be a victim, take responsibility for your life
11. Do uncomfortable things
12. Cultivate your network
13. Be kind. Be respectful. 
14. Accept the fact that people won’t like you

Summary:

• Career goals and adaptability. 0:05
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their sleeping difficulties, with Bethany experiencing a bird phobia-related insomnia and Brandon going to a quiz night with his wife.
• Bethany struggles to fall asleep due to her bird phobia, while Brandon enjoys a UK-centric quiz night with his wife.
• Bethany Ayers shares her lesson learned from her career journey: know where you want to go, but be open to opportunities.
• Brandon Mensa adds to the discussion, emphasizing the importance of being clear on one's goals while remaining flexible and open to new experiences.
• Overcoming fear and ambition in business. 4:31
• Brandon shares his experience of struggling to land a job during an internship programme, despite applying for 10 marketing roles and interviewing 10 times without success.
• Brandon overcame his anxiety related to telephone interviews by taking small steps, such as practicing with friends and using positive self-talk, to build his confidence and land a job as a marketing specialist.
• Brandon leaned into his fear and ambition to secure a job, despite a long commute and initial discomfort.
• Leveraging his motivation and ambition, he drove himself to fulfill the potential of the company, learning to manage his fear along the way.
• Personal growth and career development. 9:37
• Bethany emphasizes the importance of embracing discomfort and being the best version of oneself, rather than trying to be someone else.
• She encourages individuals to focus on their unique strengths and skills, rather than comparing themselves to others.
• Brandon recognizes the value of his own strengths and weaknesses, and stops comparing himself to extroverts.
• Brandon takes inspiration from others' ways of working and incorporates them into his own toolkit, rather than mimicking them exactly.
• Bethany prioritizes becoming a domain expert and a practitioner in her field, focusing on the job she has and building her skills to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
• Brandon emphasizes the importance of focusing on the job and becoming a craftsperson, with opportunities for advancement and job security following suit.
• Embracing unique strengths and work ethic for career success. 17:09
• Bethany struggles with imposter syndrome and feeling unimportant in a leadership role due to her lack of a specific functional expertise.
• Bethany...

In this episode, we discuss: The life-ruining power of routines. We are joined by Markham Heid, he is a Journalist with TIME and New York Times. 

We chat about the following: 

• How do we optimise our lives without falling into the trap of routine?
• Do we need routine and structure to be productive? 
• Are you busy because it’s necessary? 
• What’s the right balance between routine and creative space? 
• How can companies get involved in breaking routine and encouraging creativity?

References: 

LinkedIn

Article - The life-ruining power of routines

Website

Biography: 

Markham has worked as a staff writer at both a major metropolitan newspaper and a national magazine, but for the past 12 years he’s worked as an independent (freelance) journalist.

Markham has written about England's Jurassic Coast for Travel & Leisure, covered workplace culture for an HR quarterly mag, and explored Germany's transition away from nuclear energy for Vox. But most of his writing has been in the health and science space. 

Between 2014 and 2018, he wrote a weekly health column for TIME.com, which was called You Asked. Since 2018, Markham has done something similar for Medium, where he’s followed by ~350k subscribers. He’s still a frequent contributor at TIME, and he also writes regularly for the New York Times. His work has received awards from both the Society of Professional Journalists and the Maryland, Delaware, and D.C. Press Association. 

He’s originally from Detroit, but right now he lives in southeast Germany with his wife and two kids.  

Summary:

• The negative impact of routines and habits on personal optimization. 0:05
• Bethany aims to increase income by securing one more board seat.
• Markham Hyde argues in Financial Times article that routines lead to suffering, not personal optimization.
• Routines, productivity, and spontaneity in adulthood. 3:15
• Brandon: Routine-oriented, wants to package boring tasks for productivity.
• Bethany: Automate, eliminate tasks to free mental load, not create routine.
• Bethany and Brandon have different approaches to exercise and structure in their lives.
• Brandon has lived in different countries and jobs, categorizing his life by chunks of time, while now as an adult with a family, he questions whether that's possible anymore.
• Routine, spontaneity, and finding balance in life and work. 8:21
• Bethany suggests finding balance between structure and unstructured time to pursue interests and passions.
• Moderation is key to happiness, rather than being too rigid or spontaneous.
• Bethany suggests creating a routine to overcome fear and find inspiration (0:11:02)
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the balance between routine and spontaneity in business contexts (0:12:41)
• Innovation weeks in companies, with a focus on structure and culture. 14:04
• Innovation week at a...

In this episode we discuss: How do you actually create a high performance culture? We are joined by Andrew Richardson, Managing Partner at Foundation Partners

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Andrew Richardson: 

1. What does high performance truly mean in the context of your organisation, and how can it be clearly defined to align with its goals?
2. How can a culture of ownership, where employees feel empowered yet aligned with organisational objectives, be fostered to enhance motivation and success?
3. In what ways can feedback and challenges be incorporated into daily management practices to ensure they are continuous, constructive, and impactful?
4. How can leaders balance the focus on results and behaviours to create an environment of abundance, reducing competition and fostering collaboration among team members?
5. What role should managers play in transforming performance management from a task-oriented system to a behaviour-changing practice that supports team development and success?

References 

• linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-34404b33
• www.foundationpartners.co.uk

Biography 

Andrew is the Co-founder & Managing Partner of Foundation Partners, an EU-focused People, Talent & HR Consultancy. The group has worked with over 200 high-growth technology companies and venture funds over the last 7 years. 

Early in his career, he scaled award-winning technology consulting company La Fosse from 10-250 people. He went on to be Co-founder of Eka Ventures a $100m Consumer technology venture fund. Most recently he was Director of People & Ops for Napo, a growth stage technology company. 

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

6:32 Introduction to Performance Management

22:50 What are the three things a company can do to encourage high performance? 

23:52 Defining High Performance Culture

24:54 Ownership

26:21 Facilitating Results in Organizations

27:15 Creating an Abundant Work Environment

28:35 Focus

29:26 Creating a Culture of Abundance

32:20 Rethinking Performance Management

34:20 The Importance of Continuous Feedback

35:36 Ownership

41:40 Documentation in Performance Management

43:30 High performance vs values

45:56 Key takeaways

In this episode we discuss: What is a COO's strengths and gaps? We are joined by Divinia Knowles, The COO Coach. 

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following: 

• How do COOs turn their knowledge gaps into strengths through experience?
• What can personality tests like the Enneagram teach us about effective COOs?
• How do COOs balance servant leadership with the challenges it brings?
• What’s the secret to building a powerhouse CEO-COO relationship?
• How can COOs use self-awareness to grow as leaders and advisors?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/diviniaknowles
• www.daijo.io
• www.cooroundtable.com

Biography 

Divinia Knowles is an accomplished operator and coach with extensive experience supporting startup and scale-up COOs, CEOs, and leadership teams through growth, exit, and beyond. With a career spanning roles as COO, CFO, CEO, and Board Advisor, Divinia has worked with companies like Pact Coffee and Mind Candy, helping scale global brands and drive success.

As the founder of the London COO Roundtable, Divinia has built a thriving network for operational leaders. Since 2017, she’s coached over 150 executives, combining advanced coaching accreditation with expertise in organizational psychology, resilience, and team dynamics.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

16:42 Exploring COO Strengths and Weaknesses

26:36 Personality Types and Archetypes in Leadership

28:09 The Shadow Side of COOs

29:06 Servant Leadership

30:21 The Relationship Between COOs and CEOs

35:24 Ruminating vs. Acting: Different Leadership Styles

37:24 Embracing Public Speaking and Thinking on Your Feet

39:28 The Ruminator: Processing Information Over Time

41:04 The Caregiver Archetype in Leadership

45:39 Balancing Empathy and Performance Management

47:54 The Nature of Relationships in Leadership

48:44 Directness and Good Intent in Communication

49:33 Embracing Self-Awareness and Personal Growth

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In this episode we unpack the topic of: What is it like being COO of a private equity backed business? We are joined by Pete Harris, COO of Pipedrive. 

Bethany and I discuss:

• When are we at our best? Our worst? 
• What are we passionate about in a business context?
• What is our why? 

We then discuss the following with Pete: 

• Why the title COO versus CRO or CCO? 
• How are you being evaluated by your PE investors? 
• How do you motivate employees given you are not founder led? 
• What does a board meeting look like in PE backed companies?
• What is the approach to compensation in a PE backed company? 
• What is your why? 

References

• Pipedrive 
• Simon Sinek - TED Talk on ’Start with Why’ 

Biography: 

As Chief Operating Officer for Pipedrive I am responsible for a broad range of value creation activities, including business strategy, execution, and Pipedrive’s approach to global markets - determining which markets we are in, why and associated investments. I work closely with our Board from Vista Equity Partners and Bessemer Partners. 

Previously I led Global Business Development and Global Partnership team at Intuit - supporting our customers across the US, UK, Australia, France, Brazil, Mexico and our expansion markets. I also spent 12 years at Deloitte with roles including risk consulting in Financial Services, UK Innovation Lead and UK Ventures Lead. The latter involved managing a £25m fund to invest in external start-ups but also internally in those ideas that might change Deloitte from within.

Summary: 

• Lung health and private equity CEO experience. 0:06
• Bethany Ayers discusses her experience with chest X rays and doctors' appointments after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
• Brandon Mensa shares a story from his time at SwiftKey about ignoring chest discomfort and eventually getting an X ray after realizing it wasn't going away.
• Brandon M experienced a spontaneous pneumothorax, where one of his lungs collapsed into his chest cavity, and was pumped back up with a tube inserted through his clavicle.
• The medical team used a rudimentary method to insert the tube into Brandon's lung, and he was able to recover quickly.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the concept of "Y" or starting with why, as discussed by Simon Sinek, and how it relates to their discussion on the purpose of the company and its impact on the organization.
• Leadership, passions, and personal growth. 5:53
• Bethany: feeling inauthentic or unwilling to express views can be at worst, hating having to do that.
• Brandon M: tiredness can make him less present and less effective in leadership roles.
• Bethany passionately advocates for gender equality and personal growth, reflecting on death and regret.
• Unlocking potential and creating a fulfilling life. 10:27
• Brandon M recognizes immense potential in individuals, both personally and professionally, and finds it exciting to work with companies to unlock this potential.
• He believes that exercising these muscles through activities like acting helps him understand the human...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: The COO Role: Why Would You Ever Want the Job? with Chuck Orzechowski, CEO of the COO Forum. 

Bethany and I discuss the following: 

• How do you avoid being the dumping ground for things that others don’t want to do?  
• Why would you want the COO job? 

We then discuss the following with Chuck: 

• What are the most common issues you see across your COO membership? 
• What is the best approach to clarifying decision-making authority with the CEO? 
• Why is “pace of change” a common frustration for COO’s? 
• What do you do when the CEO relationship is not working for you? 
• What is the key criteria for determining a good COO-CEO match? 
• What are the rewarding elements of being a COO? 

References

• The COO Forum® has been delivering on the mission of helping Operations Executives achieve more since 2004. Our members tackle the most pressing challenges facing their businesses and those that shape their careers. Join the best Operations Executives in the world as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Don't go it alone in 2024.
• Launching this February, Find Your COO™ will provide CEOs/Recruiters a one-stop source for finding talented COOs. The platform is built on top of the CEO-COO Alignment Index™ scoring system. It uses 25 key questions to create profiles for both the hiring CEO and COO candidates. These questions cover areas such as preferred communication frequency, speed of change, role relationship, delegation, trust development and more. Then, both parties can see each other's scoring reports to better assess potential fit or mis-alignment. This sets the stage for improved recruitment, interviewing and alignment post hire, which leads to better performance and COO job satisfaction. 

Biography: Chuck Orzechowski serves as CEO of the Chief Operating Officer Business Forum® (COO Forum®.) Since 2004, the COO Forum’s mission has been to support operations executives in achieving more in their business and professional lives. As a peer-based professional development organization, the COO Forum has helped 1000’s of executives navigate the challenges of their roles and improve business outcomes. 

Over the past 28 years, Chuck has spent most of his career leading operations in a wide variety of industries and company sizes, ranging from start-up through Fortune 500s. Chuck has a passion for improving operations, scaling businesses, and the professional development of others. 

It’s what gets him out of bed each morning...that and coffee!

Summary:

• Whiskey, rock concerts, and personal values. 0:05
• Brandon and Bethany discuss Bethany's husband's illness and their celebration with whiskey advent calendars.
• Brandon attends a Danko Jones concert at the Garage in North Islington, describing the band as a fusion of rock, punk, and jazz.
• Brandon mentions a mosh pit at a concert where he was the "enforcer" to push back, but he was not tempted to join due to his age and past experiences.
• Bethany has been reflecting on her values and purpose in life, realizing that having fun is her guiding principle, and she's looking for innovative and energizing experiences that bring her joy.
• Bethany was approached to become a CEO but lacked passion and interest in the domain, leading to her rejection in the final interview.
• Despite feeling relieved to not have to present, Bethany's lack of enthusiasm was picked up on by the only woman on the board, who ultimately

In this episode we discuss: How to prepare for an IPO. We are joined by Trecilla Lobo, Chief People Officer, board member, advisor, and mentor to other people leaders. 

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Trecilla Lobo: 

• How can your organisation prepare early for the IPO journey, ensuring alignment across teams and addressing unique challenges in advance?
• What steps can you take to foster collaboration and effective communication among all stakeholders during the IPO process?
• How to address the cultural shifts and employee retention challenges?
• What strategies should be implemented to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and adapt share schemes effectively for the post-IPO landscape?
• What does a clear and actionable post-IPO strategy look like for your organisation, and how will it guide long-term success?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/trecillalobo
• https://resources.ledgy.com/ipo-readiness-playbook

Biography 

People Leader with 20+ years of experience building, scaling, and transforming  VC/PE backed companies (fintech, biotech, B2B, and B2C) through their people.  With a strong track record of exits including IPO.  I grew my career in the people function with listed companies and transitioned those skills to building companies with a strong scaling and transforming smaller high-growth tech companies across multiple locations from 100+ to 2,500+. 

Experience of Fintech, Biotech and deep tech.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

20:18 What is unique about the IPO journey

21:04 What happens to the people after an IPO?

22:16 Key Work Streams in IPO Preparation

25:50 Post-IPO Challenges and Cultural Shifts

28:49 Preparing for Exit Events: IPO vs. Acquisition

31:00 Best Practices for Early IPO Preparation

39:33 Share options

40:40The Role of External Expertise in IPOs

In this episode we discuss: what should the marketing tech stack look like in 2024. We are joined by Mark Farnell, Head of Marketing Operations at DeepL.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Mark Farnell: 

• How is AI impacting marketing operations? 
• Where to start with building a marketing tech stack.
• Why it's important to consider the complexity and scalability of current platforms.
• Regularly reviewing and optimising the marketing tech stack is crucial for success. Use the first year or two to understand if a tool is a long-term solution before committing to a multi-year contract.
• What value does Intent data platforms provide? 
• Why sales enablement is crucial for getting the most value out of marketing automation tools.
• The build vs. buy decision based on your current situation and long-term plans.

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/markfarnell/

Biography 

A senior marketing operations leader with more than 12 years experience in marketing technology and process. I build and scale the platform and insight needed to understand and grow predictable pipeline.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

6:42 Introduction and Background

17:36 The Impact of AI on Marketing Operations

18:01 Challenges of AI in Marketing Content

19:02 The Value of AI in Marketing

20:26 Building a Comprehensive Marketing Tech Stack

23:26 Vendor Management and Tech Stack Optimisation

24:29 Introduction and the Importance of Long-Term Tool Evaluation

25:44 Essential Tools for a Startup's Series A Toolkit

34:39 Challenges and Value of Intent Data Platforms

35:08 The Build vs. Buy Decision

37:14 Importance of Clean Data and Data Research Approaches

39:14 Key Takeaway: The Importance of Data

In this episode we unpack the topic of: How do you tame a visionary CEO? with Rob Liddiard, B2B SaaS Founder (acquired 2022); Reformed Lawyer.

Bethany and I discuss the following: 

• Forecasting in 2024
• Simplifying performance management
• Surfacing issues in leadership
• Documenting the processes of the company

We then discuss the following with Rob: 

• Is the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) just another OKR styled book? 
• How do you tame a visionary founder? 
• What are the components of EOS? 
• What are the two principal roles in EOS? 
• What can experienced operators learn from EOS? 
• How do you achieve an L10 meeting? 

References

https://www.eosworldwide.com/rob-liddiard

Biography: 

I previously founded a software company called Yapster. Although we had 100,000 licensed users, amazing customers like Next plc, Brewdog, Krispy Kreme and Caffe Nero and the business looked healthy to outsiders, we secretly struggled internally to execute plans and hit our financial goals. I worked and stressed 24/7. I was a qualified Corporate Lawyer and experienced Businessperson, but I didn’t feel a success. All I could feel was the underlying tension in my leadership team and investor base.

Then I read Gino Wickman’s Traction and it was like someone turned a light on. I realised that I hadn’t been leading my organisation to its potential. By adopting EOS’s simple habits and frameworks we quickly achieved Traction. Suddenly I was more successful at work and more relaxed at home.

In late 2022 I sold Yapster to a company backed by Google. I’ve since qualified as a Professional EOS Implementer® and now my personal Mission is to help other UK business owners achieve their goals more quickly, with less frustration.

Summary: 

• Golf inclusivity and personal experiences with the sport. 0:06
• Bethany Ayers and Brandon Mensa discuss golf and inclusion with guest Rob, with Ayers sharing her experience at a virtual driving range and appreciating Rob's proactive approach to inclusivity.
• Bethany Ayers shares personal experiences with golf and her grandfather's intense passion for the sport, despite exclusion of women in the family.
• Entrepreneurial operating system and vision alignment. 4:18
• Brandon: Book provides a prescriptive set of steps for non-experienced companies to run their businesses efficiently.
• Bethany: Book offers a structure for strategy days, with exercises and time allocations for each area, saving time and effort.
• Bethany Ayers discusses the importance of aligning to a vision and creating a three-year plan, with regular revisions to ensure accountability and profitability.
• Ayers highlights the challenges of budgeting in a changing world where cash is no longer free, and the need to focus on cache management across multiple years.
• Simplifying performance management systems. 10:21
• Brandon and Bethany agree that the "right people in the right seats" framework is simple and effective in evaluating employee performance (10 words)
• Traction recommends using a scorecard and weekly pulse to track leading indicators of KPIs (20 words)
• Bethany Ayers emphasizes the importance of tracking key metrics, such as ticket clearance...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Transitioning Roles: From COO to Venture Capitalist". This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Our special guest is Cleo Sham, Venture Partner at StrideVC. We discuss the following: 

• Why did you decide to move from operator to investor? 
• How did being an operator inform your role as a VC? 
• Where did you find joy in the COO role? As a VC?
• Which role is more stressful: COO or VC? 
• When you received critical feedback as a leader, how did you deal with it? 
• How do you carve out quality thinking time with so many diverse opportunities? 
• How would a COO make the move to VC? 

Biography: 

Before joining Stride as an investor, I had built and led teams as a scale-up operator across China and EMEA. 

I joined Uber as one of the first GMs on the ground in China in 2014, building the Guangzhou business into Uber's largest city by volume globally and led China National Operations up until Uber China's $35B merger with Didi Chuxing in 2016. I subsequently moved to Amsterdam as EMEA Director of Operations to lead the platformization of Uber's ridesharing business across 45 countries.

Relocating to London in 2019, I took on the COO role at Spotahome after their $40M Series B, led by Bond Capital. Spotahome is a b2b2c mid-term rentals marketplace, and there I transformed and led a ±200 person team across sales, marketing, operations, strategy, and customer support.

I love building and working with startups, having been a 3x founder earlier in my career and an active angel investor along the way. Originally from Hong Kong, I began my career at McKinsey in Asia and started investing as a proprietary trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Summary:

• Zoe diet results and food obsession. 0:05
• Bethany discovered she's highly reactive to sugar through a Zoe diet test, meaning she must avoid it for the rest of her life.
• Bethany can process fats easily but struggles with sugars, including fruits like raspberries and lemons.
• Bethany struggles with an abnormal obsession with food, which has led to medical anxiety and a fear of fatty liver disease.
• She has realized that her anxiety is not related to diet but rather a combination of her upbringing, personal experiences, and a lack of understanding about preventative medicine in the UK.
• Career transitions and personal growth after recognizing mortality. 5:44
• Bethany reflects on her father's death and its impact on her perspective on life and work.
• Bethany wants to use her inherited money to pursue her passions and explore new experiences without worrying about financial constraints.
• She is considering how to use her next decade to make the most of her life and career, with a focus on fun and exploration.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their goals and motivations, including starting a community for ambitious people and advocating for cannabis legalization in the UK.
• Bethany is taking a writing course and a pottery course to improve her skills and push herself outside of her comfort zone.
• Vulnerability, self-expression, and career growth in one's 40s. 11:57
• Bethany shares her insights on the importance of vulnerability and self-expression, citing Brene Brown's work on shame and the need to share feelings with safe people to build support.
• Clea Sham joins the conversation and adds...

In this episode, we discuss: Is it possible to pivot to profitability? We are joined by Libby Penn, she is the COO of Improbable.

We chat about the following: 

• What's the COO's role in the pivot to profitability
• What are the right bets to make in a business?
• How should we balance profitability and growth?
• What is the importance of well-documented data?
• What is realistic in terms of profitability?
• Who is responsible for capturing data?

References:

LinkedIn

Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke 

Biography: 

Libby Penn has experience in various business development and operations roles across a number of high-growth technology businesses on SaaS and enterprise models, B2B and B2C, in both the UK and the US. This has given her an in-depth insight into the complexities that come with the role as COO.

Summary:

• Gender roles and microaggressions in the workplace. 0:05
• Bethany Ayres discusses the challenges of being a woman in leadership positions, including societal expectations and performative ally ship.
• Bethany launches a series of free webinars to support first-time female executives and aspiring executives, focusing on topics such as taking a seat at the table and choosing the right life partner.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the challenges of navigating gender roles and microaggressions in their personal and professional lives.
• Bethany shares an example of a leadership team meeting where a male colleague's swearing and apologies towards her created an uncomfortable work environment.
• Pivoting to profitability for a B2B SaaS company. 4:55
• Bethany: Analyzes company's strategy, identifies unprofitable areas for cuts.
• Bethany: Looks at lease and office expirations, considers cost-cutting measures.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss strategies for improving profitability, including renegotiating cloud contracts, focusing on profitable channels, and optimizing GTM motions.
• They also discuss the importance of tracking data properly to make informed decisions about spend and identify areas for improvement.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss partner strategy, testing, and doubling down on successful partnerships.
• They emphasize the importance of hiring quality people who are well-respected within the partner company.
• Pivoting to profitability, focusing on market strategy, operations efficiency, and automation. 12:42
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the importance of qualitative analysis to validate data-driven insights for profitability.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the importance of operational efficiency and automation in a company's shift to profitability.
• Balancing growth and profitability for startups. 15:55
• Libby highlights the importance of balancing risk and innovation in investments.
• Libby emphasizes product development as key to profitability, while Bethany focuses on balancing growth and profitability.
• Data analysis, product development, and customer focus in tech companies.

In this episode we unpack the topic of: "Transitioning Roles: From COO to CEO". This is Part 2 in our transitioning roles series. Our special guest is John Saroff, CEO of Chartbeat. 

Bethany and I discuss what a CEO does, and how a COO can build competence in these areas: 

• Vision
• Fundraising
• Board relationships
• Setting the tone for the culture

We then discuss the following with John: 

• What is the role of a CEO and how does it differ to the COO role?
• Do you have a COO now? Why not? 
• How does the stress of the CEO role differ to the COO? 
• As someone who has suffered from depression, how has that influenced your time as CEO? 
• What do you wish you would have known when you transitioned from COO to CEO? 
• When you transitioned into the CEO role, did you struggle with role definition? 
• When is a COO ready to take the CEO role? 
• How do you become emotionally available to employees? 

References

• Chartbeat

Biography: 

John Saroff is Chief Executive Officer of Chartbeat, Inc., an ecosystem of enterprise solutions that enables media companies to grow reach and revenue. Chartbeat serves more that 1,000 brands globally, including The New York Times, BBC, ESPN, BuzzFeed, Paramount, Warner Bros., Hearst, and McClatchy. The company brings together Chartbeat, the industry-leading content analytics software for digital publishers; Tubular Labs, a comprehensive analytics solution that delivers a unified view of social video audiences; and Lineup Systems, a bespoke tool for providing media companies with revenue management software. John has worked on the cutting-edge of media and technology for 24 years, at companies ranging from Google to NBC. He holds a joint degree in law and business from Columbia University and is a graduate of Haverford College.

Summary:

• Career development and CEO transitions. 0:06
• Bethany shares how she spent her 20s experimenting with different identities and careers, feeling less ashamed about her lack of progress.
• Brandon: Inspired by Pierre Trudeau's career path, he pursued various manual labor jobs in his 20s without a clear career goal, focusing on enjoying life and graduating from university.
• John Saref: As CEO of Chartbeat, he transitioned from Google and NBC Universal, discussing how a CEO can build competence by galvanizing the organization and stakeholders around the company's vision, mission, and purpose.
• Leadership, vision, and communication skills for CEOs. 3:32
• Bethany emphasizes the importance of having a clear and compelling vision as a leader, which she believes is essential for inspiring others to work towards a common goal.
• Brandon agrees that vision is crucial, but also acknowledges that it can be challenging for ordinary people to articulate a powerful storyline in a way that is both competent and charismatic.
• Brandon: Product background helps with vision and storytelling (black slide technique)
• Bethany: Keep presentations simple and focused on the future (no bullet points, no visuals)
• CEO responsibilities and skills. 7:40
• Bethany and Brandon both played key roles in fundraising rounds, learning investor thinking and complementing the CEO's strengths with their own...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Do product leaders make good COO's? with Martyn Fagg, COO of Tillo and Matt Jones COO at ex-COO at ParentPay. 

Bethany and I discuss the following: 

• What does a good product leader look like? 
• What does a good product manager look like? 

We then discuss the following with Martyn and Matt: 

• How did the transition to COO happen?
• Was picking up the people function challenging? 
• How do you get the people function to be more data-driven? 
• How do you get product development and commercial to learn from each other? 
• What product development KPI should be included in the company dashboard?

References

• The Speed of Trust: The One Thing that Changes Everything 
• The Four Foundations of SaaS 

Biography: 

Martyn Fagg is a seasoned CTO with 20 years experience in software engineering and fintech leadership - passionate about fostering innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. Currently COO at Tillo, a B2B embedded rewards & incentives platform working with some of the world’s top brands to deliver real-time digital gift & prepaid cards.

Matt Jones recently served as the Group Chief Operating Officer at ParentPay, a leading provider of payments and MIS solutions for schools in the UK and Europe. He joined the company in 2017 and initially held responsibility for Product Management, Software Engineering, IT, Service Operations, Customer Implementation, and Customer Support across several early Group businesses (ParentPay, Schoolcomms, Cypad, WIS, and nimbl). Additionally, Matt oversaw the group Security function, ensuring the protection of the company's and customers' data assets.

Prior to his tenure at ParentPay, Matt briefly served as COO at IRIS Software. He also spent six years as Senior Vice President of DevOps at NewVoiceMedia (acquired by Vonage) and held previous roles at Mimecast and MessageLabs (acquired by Symantec).

Summary: 

• Product development in CEO role with Twilio and Parent Pay leaders. 0:06
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their cultural heritage for a school event, with Brandon dressing as a tech bro from Silicon Valley and Bethany dressing as a Canadian with a hockey jersey and maple syrup.
• The hosts joke about stereotypes and cultural representations, with Brandon accidentally saying "boot" instead of "boot" and Bethany pointing it out.
• Brandon M. questions the importance of good product leadership, emphasizing the need for a clear product vision and strategy, as well as effective team building.
• Martin Fag, Matt Jones, and Brandon M. discuss the role of product development in the CEO role, with a focus on product leadership, strategy, and team building.
• Product leadership and CEO roles in tech companies. 4:50
• The CEO and product leader roles require different skills and perspectives, with the CEO focusing on the overall vision and strategy, and the product leader translating that vision into a tangible product.
• The product leader must be empowered to take ownership of the vision and make it a reality, while the CEO can evolve their role to focus on other aspects of the business.
• CEO and product leader have different visions for product strategy, leading to potential conflicts.
• Product...

In this episode we discuss: "The COO's Endless Battle: Navigating Legal and Enterprise Contracts". Our special guest is Ahmed Badr, COO of GoCardless. Ahmed also worked for Microsoft, where he supported multi-billion pound licensing deals. 

Bethany and I discuss the following:

• The importance of a generic contract template
• Empowering sales to get contracts done
• Default and deal-breaker positions on indemnity and limitation of liability
• 
  

We discuss the following with Ahmed: 

• What did Microsoft do well and what could be reused at GoCardless? 
• What did the empowerment playbook look like with contracts? 
• What is a deal desk and how was it used? 
• What is the COO role at GoCardless? 
• When should organisations transition from outside to inhouse legal counsel?
• Why is taking a reasonable, mid-point position on default terms so important? 
• What is a sensible approach to indemnity and limitation of liability?
• What is the best way to roll out “contract empowerment” programs to sales? 
• 
  

References: 

• This guide from Deloitte
• 
  
• An article from Juro (a SaaS provider)
• 
  
• This Docusign case study on GoCardless
• 
  
• This book by Alex Hamilton (who runs Radiant Law - a legal outsourcing and automation provider)
• 
  
• 
  

Biography: 

Ahmed is Chief Operating Officer GoCardless, where he is responsible for all core operational teams, as well as being functionally responsible for legal, risk and compliance. GoCardless believes that bank payments are the best way to pay and get paid, and helps businesses collect both recurring and one-off payments, without chasing, stress or expensive fees. Before joining GoCardless, Ahmed worked for Microsoft, where he supported the multi-billion pound UK licensing and developer support organisations. Before this, he was a project finance lawyer at Allen & Overy. In 2015, he became GoCardless’ first lawyer and has since supported the business in its rapid expansion across legal, compliance, risk and operations. Ahmed also sponsors the company’s BEAM (Black, Ethnic and Asian Minority) group, and likes to use his experience to support young fast growth companies, help shape regulation, and open up access to legal careers to a wide range of individuals.

In this episode we discuss: the challenges of asynchronous communication in a remote-first organisation. We are joined by Jeremy Slater, COO at Bob W.

We chat about the following with Jeremy Slater: 

• How to do asynchronous communication well
• Managing information overload
• Why you need to invest in robust knowledge management -- hint: impacts customer service, operations, and scalability

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-jack-slater/ 
• www.bobw.co 
• https://bit.ly/jeremyslater 

Biography 

After an extremely brief foray into finance in the US and the UK and a short stop in India to work for a solar energy social enterprise, Jereny spent the majority of his career in the heavily operational world of property management and hospitality. He’s helping Bob W become the most loved hospitality brand in Europe.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

The conversation delves into the challenges and strategies of knowledge management, asynchronous communication, and the use of specific tools within a company. It highlights the importance of knowledge management and the impact it has on various aspects of the business, including customer service, internal operations, and scalability.

Chapters:

Chapter 1: Knowledge management systems (0:00-10:27)

Chapter 2: Using tools like Notion and Slack (10:27-16:19)  

Chapter 3: Information overload on Slack (16:19-21:12)

Chapter 4: Tips for using Slack productively (21:12-25:10) 

Chapter 5: Organising Slack channels (25:10-28:41)

Chapter 6: Challenges with instant messaging (28:41-32:56)

Chapter 7: Setting up asynchronous work (32:56-35:34)

Chapter 8: Implementing knowledge management (35:34-43:34)

Love The Operations Room? Please like and review it here - RateThisPodcast.com/operationsroom

In this episode, we discuss performance management and getting the most from your teams. We are joined by Jessica Zwaan, Author of the best-selling book, Built for People, and COO of Talentful.

We chat about: 

• Can traditional performance reviews truly capture an employee's value?
• Are OKRs just a trendy buzzword or a real strategy for driving company success?
• How can organizational network analysis uncover the real influencers in your team?
• What does it take to measure true employee performance in today's remote work era?

References:

Jessica’s LinkedIn

Website

Biography: 

Your company is building three products: A financial instrument, a customer product, and an employee experience. I advocate treating employees as customers purchasing an experience of work, and I encourage us to work like Product Managers in order to iterate and improve on that product. This paradigm shift positions work itself as the focal point of our strive for success, not just optimising the individuals as "human capital". Like the idea? I wrote a book all about it, called "Built for People" which you can buy basically anywhere books are sold.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary:

• Choosing a life partner and nannies as a "wife hire." 0:05
• Bethany discussed tips for choosing a partner for career success, including finding someone whose mother worked outside the home.
• Bethany values hiring a nanny for the mental load relief and organization.
• Performance management effectiveness and its various components. 4:40
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the ineffectiveness of performance management, with 64% of workers viewing it as a waste of time and 47% considering it a failure in their company.
• Jessica Swann distinguishes between performance assessment and management, highlighting the importance of individualized growth and development in the latter.
• Bethany expresses concerns about goal-measuring and its practicality in the workplace.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the importance of organizational network analysis and its impact on problem-solving.
• Performance management and leadership development. 10:06
• Bethany suggests rolling out OKRs gently, learning along the way, and avoiding command and control.
• Brandon agrees, emphasizing the importance of measuring marketing and sales performance collectively and connecting it to business outcomes.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the importance of effective performance management and leadership skills for line managers.
• Bethany questions the feasibility of performance management, citing potential biases and limitations in the process.
• Performance management and assessment in organizations. 15:27
• Jessica emphasizes the importance of understanding employee performance, citing it as the most critical question in HR.
• Bethany agrees, highlighting the need for effective performance management...

In this episode we unpack the topic of: What are the five traits of successful COO’s? Our special guest is Charlene Chen, a key figure in the startup operations community and former COO of Lantum and AZA Finance. We discuss the following: 

• How do different personalities and styles of Ops leaders contribute to the overall success of a company?
• In what ways do Ops leaders act as the connective tissue of a company? 
• How can communication breakdown be addressed as a company scales and teams become siloed?
• What are the key responsibilities of Ops leaders in terms of internal communications?
• How does the performance of teams who don't directly report to a COO reflect on their success and failure?
• Why is it challenging for COOs to measure their value and articulate their impact in an OKR format?
• How do consultants-turned-Ops leaders approach problem-solving differently from those without a consulting background?
• Why is self-awareness important for COOs and operations leaders in identifying their strengths and weaknesses?
• How does resourcefulness play a significant role in the success of COOs, especially in times of crisis or limited resources?
• 
  

References: 

Ops Fest 2023 brings together operations communities from all corners of the globe. 

https://operationsnation.com/events/international-ops-fest/communities

Key traits of a COO

• Generalist - Jacks and Jills of all trades covering multiple functions
• Hourglass-Shaped - Ability to zoom out to do strategy but zoom in to design minute processes
• Gluey - The connective tissue of a company, filling the gaps in and between cross-functional teams
• Resourceful - Making do with little human or financial capital 
• Humble - Work hard behind the scenes with little credit given (not as glorified as engineers and salespeople)
• 
  

Biography: Charlene Chen has over 15 years of operational leadership experience working with a variety of organisations ranging from tech startups to international non-profits to Fortune 500 companies. She began her career as an IT consultant at Deloitte Consulting, but spent 8 years focused on operational leadership of socially impactful venture-capital backed businesses in the fintech and healthtech industries. Charlene was co-founder and COO of AZA Finance (formerly BitPesa), former COO of Lantum, and is Co-Founder of Operations Nation, a community-led digital hub for Ops-specific content, resources, and training.

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Nurturing High-Performance Leadership Teams. Our special guest is Becca Sweetman, a leadership team coach who has worked across leading VC backed organisations like Kano, MOO and Babylon Health. We discuss the following: 

• What is a high performing team? How do you achieve it? 
• What is the PERILL framework and why is that a good one to use? 
• How do you do an audit of leadership team performance? 
• How do you work through areas of tension between two leadership team members? 
• How can psychometric or behavioral analysis tools help in understanding team members' preferences and work styles?
• With limited time for leadership to “gel” in a scale-up, how do you accelerate that process?
• What is your view on the PERILL and Lencioni approaches to team performance? Which approach do you think would be more effective in a startup environment? 
• Can you share any strategies or techniques that can foster a safe and productive environment for team discussions?
• 
  

References: 

Website - https://www.beccasweetman.com/teamcoaching

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beccasweetman/

Biography: 

Becca works with Founders and Exec teams to support the successful transition from Series A to Series B. Combining her experience in executive coaching, strategy at McKinsey and operational leadership in startups (Kano, MOO, Babylon Health) she is uniquely positioned to provide both high level support and get into the practical details of what it takes to succeed. Becca works mostly with impact driven companies as an Executive & Team Coach, Advisor or NED.

In this episode we discuss the topic of: Why licensing 170 SaaS tools is a great idea! Our special guest is Joe Aurilia, Jr., Senior VP Operations at Cyware. As a former CIO, Joe comes at the COO role from a really interesting angle. We discuss the following:

• Why 170 SaaS applications in an organisation with 270 employees?
• What does best practice look like in the procurement process? What should it look like in a smaller organisation?
• How do you ensure ownership ensuring the organisation is receiving the expected value from a given tool?
• How do you ensure you don't miss a critical feature or integration requirement?
• What are your pet peeves when it comes to vendor support?
• How has your previous role as CIO informed your thinking as COO?
• How do you not slow down by putting so much process in place?
• Do suppliers need to have both SOC 2 and ISO certification?
• What tools do you like in the cross-functional space?
• When would you recommend getting an organisation wide orchestration tool?
• How are you handling renewals and the increase in costs? 
• If you had to cut your SaaS spending by 20% tomorrow, what would you do? 
• What do you think about sales tools where there is often a lot of overlap in functionality but they also tend to do one thing quite well? 
• How do you ensure data integrity from a COO lens, if you don’t have direct ownership of the rev ops data stack? 
• What are your favorite SaaS apps that you can’t live without? 
• 
  

References: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephauriliajr/

Biography: Joe is a seasoned operations executive with over 20 years dedicated to technical and operational leadership.  He has served in a wide variety of roles in both corporate and startups all focusing on core technology and operational excellence.  Throughout his career Joe has executed operational and technical strategies key to business expansion, successful funding rounds, and extensive company growth.

While a technologist at heart, Joe’s most recent ventures have placed him in core roles responsible for enabling operational scalability.  A focus on successful team alignment has resulted in explosive people growth and international expansion.

Joe has led a variety of Operations teams including Technology Operations, Contract Operations, Revenue Operations, People Operations, Security Operations, PMO, and Talent Acquisition. Key to success of each has been the empowering of teams to reach beyond expected boundaries and achieve higher limits.

When not working you will find Joe enjoying the exploration of new places, hiking local trails, and chasing his little one around. He is also a firm believer there is no such thing as rewatching Marvel movies too many times.

48. How to present and not suck

In this episode we discuss presentation skills and storytelling. We are joined by Jonathan Zatland, Operating Partner at Forme Partners. 

We chat about the following with Jonathan Zatland: 

• Secrets to crafting narratives that captivate.
• How authenticity can transform your leadership narratives
• Why your presentations are falling flat

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-zatland-992a1b12/

Biography 

A creative and commercial leader with an extensive career in high growth technology companies, e-commerce and marketplaces across UK and Europe. I started out my career as a screenwriter, living and working in Los Angeles. This was the foundation of my learning to connect stories with an audience. After a decade, I took that experience and returned to the UK to start a retail brand, Mungo & Maud. The first of its kind high end dog and cat accessory store with a physical shop in London and other major outlets around the world. Opened the online store in 2006 in the very early days of e-commerce. Following my exit, I continued my narrative thread into my role as International Multichannel Director at Etsy, helping to build and scale all International markets outside of North America. Following the IPO, I went back into startup as Chief Commercial Officer  for eve Sleep, a disruptor in the sleep wellness space which I helped build and scale through to IPO. I now work as an Operating Partner for Forme Partners working with founders and CEO's across the European tech landscape, aiding them with their commercial hires at all stages of growth.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

• Career goals, creativity, and personal growth. 0:05
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their career goals and personal growth.
• Bethany realizes she needs to take advantage of not working and prioritize personal development.
• Bethany expresses frustration with lack of passion and purpose in her life, feeling unfulfilled despite various projects and hobbies.
• She longs for a major project that consumes her and stirs her imagination, but nothing has yet emerged.
• Effective storytelling and pacing in business presentations. 6:09
• Brandon and Bethany discuss narrative structure in business context, focusing on conflict and pacing.
• They emphasize the importance of actively listening to the audience and adjusting the narrative in real-time based on their reactions.
• Bethany scripts an opening for high-stakes meetings to set the tone and manage nerves.
• She tailors her approach based on the meeting's purpose and audience energy levels.
• Public speaking, authenticity, and vulnerability. 11:21
• Bethany uses narrative techniques to engage and motivate her team, including owning her energy and projecting enthusiasm.
• She also practices or rehearses her delivery beforehand to ensure authenticity and effectiveness.
• Bethany shares her approach to authenticity, vulnerability, and relatability in presentations, emphasizing the importance of self-discovery and confidence-building through therapy.
• Brandon...

In this episode we discuss: Patents and IP strategy for Scaleups. We are joined by Jon Calvert, IP strategy expert.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Jon Calvert: 

1. How can startups effectively protect their innovations through intellectual property (IP)?
2. What are the key differences between patents, copyrights, and trade secrets, and when should each be used?
3. How can a well-crafted IP strategy enhance a startup's valuation during funding rounds or mergers and acquisitions?
4. What steps should startups take to meet the criteria for patentability, such as novelty and inventiveness?
5. How can education and awareness about IP help startups maximize its value and explore alternative financing options like IP asset-based lending?

References 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncalvert/
• www.clearviewip.com
• https://www.deloitte.com/au/en/services/financial-advisory/perspectives/deloitte-ip-360-survey.html

Reading list:

Protecting Intellectual Property: What Startups Need To Know

What is Intellectual Property? 

IP Competitive Benchmarking — ClearViewIP

IP Due Diligence — ClearViewIP

IP Sales, Licensing & Tech Transfers — ClearViewIP

IP Valuations — ClearViewIP

Valuing Intellectual Property Assets

Biography 

A globally recognised IP Strategist, Jon helps clients drive business value and competitive advantage through effective management of their intangible assets. Jon has advised investors, Boards and C-suite executives on hundreds of transactions and built winning Value Creation and Risk Management strategies for some of the World’s most innovative and successful organisations.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

03:07 Introduction to Intellectual Property and Its Importance

14:22 Understanding Patent Types and Their Roles

16:33 When Should Startups Consider Patents?

19:35 What is Patentable? Exploring Novelty and Inventiveness

23:15 User Interface Design and Intellectual Property

25:25 Building an IP Strategy for Startups

27:52 The Role of IP in Funding Rounds

35:37 IP Asset-Based Lending: A Financial Strategy

38:39 Valuing Intellectual Property for Buyers

43:56 Final Thoughts on IP Education and Strategy

Additional Resources

Short essential e-learning:

In this episode we unpack the topic of: Navigating Leadership Team Success and Transitions. Our special guest is Maddies Fox, a guru in leadership development across venture-backed organisations including  Blippar, Lantum and Mixcloud. We discuss the following: 

• How do you set-up a COO for success when they join the organisation? 
• Do job titles matter and how important is transparency around levels in early stage companies?
• What does good look like in exiting a leadership team member? How should you approach the conversations? What are the potential snags? 
• How should you communicate a leadership exit to the organisation? 
• How can an organization balance its obligation to support employee growth with the individual's responsibility to be proactive in their own development?
• How can organizations ensure that their values and actions align when hiring a new leadership team member? 
• Why is self-awareness a critical determinant of leadership success?
• 
  

References: 

For leaders who are interested in doing the work, this book is something I would definitely recommend - 

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442174/the-man-who-mistook-his-job-for-his-life-by-shragai-naomi/9780753558331 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/maddie-fox/

Biography: 

Maddie has over 20 years experience in HR and Learning & Development working with various organizations from corporate to fast growing tech, in Europe, the US and Australia. She is an ICF accredited executive coach, leadership and HR consultant with a wide range of experience, however specialising in developing leaders from emerging leaders to seasoned CEO’s, building high-performing sustainable teams and helping clients successfully navigate change. Her style is eclectic, using research, theory and direct experiences to ensure individuals find ways to effectively embed new behaviours, build resilience and deliver results. More recently she has been working in VC backed start-ups, series A-B, working for mostly founder led businesses as a Chief People Officer, Leadership Coach and Advisor. Clients include Blippar, Lantum, Trint, Mixcloud, amongst others. 

In this episode we address the elephant in the room: Do OKRs work? Our special guest is Jenny Herald, Vice President of Product Evangelism at Quantive which delivers better business outcomes for companies providing a strategy execution platform based on the OKR methodology.

In this episode we get her experiences on the following questions: 

• What are we doing wrong and how can we do it better? (we sneakily asked this twice!) 
• If you have a good strategy, a series of solid plans and well understood KPI’s, what is the incremental value of OKRs? 
• How do you avoid the conflation of business as usual KPI’s and change with OKRs when a lot of organisations simply transpose their ARR target as the topline OKR.  
• If OKRs are simply a framework to help you do the right stuff, why not use any number of other goal frameworks? 
• Should OKRs involve all functions in the organisation? Should OKRs be cascaded down to every level?  
• We’ve all read Measure What Matters and Radical Focus and are still rolling it out wrong. If you want to make it work in practice, where do you start? 
• 
  

Speaker notes and references:

• OKR Program Failure Prevention Guide
• 
  
• IBM’s CEO expects A.I. to be so good at back office work that he plans to pause hiring humans for those jobs
• 
  
• What is the Modern Operating Model?
• 
  
• The Global State of OKRs Trends Report 2023
• 
  
• OKR vs KPIs, What is the Difference?
• 
  
• AMA with Christina Wodtke: Encouraging Autonomy and Writing Awesome OKRs
• 
  
• Felipe Castro: The Intersection of OKRs and Agile
• 
  
• Use OKRs to Set Goals for Teams, Not Individuals
• 
  
• The difficulties of cascading OKRs
• 
  
• OKRs Field Book Preview: 10 Universal Parameters
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

As Vice President of product evangelism, Jenny Herald champions Quantive's vision and shares how customers achieve better business outcomes with the world's most powerful Strategy Execution Platform based on the OKR methodology. Jenny also hosts the Dreams with Deadlines podcast where she interviews business leaders on aligning teams and organisations around a common purpose, the ups-and-downs of goal management, strategy execution, and everything in between.

In this episode we ask the unpack the question of: Do COO's have a two year shelf life? We discussed this topic with Casey Woo, CEO @Operators Guild. 

We discuss the following with Casey: 

• What is the role of the COO? 
• Why does the COO have a two year shelf life? 
• If that is the reality, how should one think about their career? 
• What does this mean for 4 year option grants? 
• What are the key terms every COO should negotiate? 

References

• www.operators-guild.com
• https://summit.operators-guild.com/2024

Biography: 

Casey Woo is a seasoned multi-stage operator and 7x CFO with over two decades of experience in business operations and finance from investment banking on Wall Street to Silicon Valley tech start-ups. 

Casey now leads 800+ CFOs, COOs, and Biz Ops company builders as the co-founder of Operators Guild, a community for professionals in strategic finance and operations roles. He believes strongly that community is what makes the difference for start-ups and professionals. 

When he’s not working, Casey is spending time in California’s Bay Area with his wife and three children. 

Summary:

• CEO shelf life and software frustrations. 0:06
• Brandon and Bethany discuss their least favorite piece of software, with Brandon naming Microsoft Teams as his least favorite and Bethany agreeing due to its poor performance on Macs.
• Both agree that the entire Microsoft suite, including Word, has always been problematic and frustrating to use.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the pros and cons of Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for collaboration, with Bethany preferring Google Docs for its ease of use and collaboration features.
• Brandon shares his experience of transitioning from Microsoft to Google Docs, finding it difficult to adjust to the new platform but ultimately appreciating its collaboration capabilities.
• Bethany: Transition from growth to optimization occurs around 50 million in revenue and 250 employees.
• Brandon: First two phases of growth and commercialization are enjoyable, but third phase of optimization is less enjoyable and happens around 50 million in revenue and 250 employees.
• Communicating option value to employees and talent acquisition teams. 7:57
• Bethany suggests using a product like Lecce to help employees understand the value of their options and how they vest over time.
• Brandon agrees that communicating the value of options as part of compensation is important, and notes that their company could have done a better job of this in the past.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the importance of educating employees on option grants and their value, including providing a clear framework for career progression and regular updates on the terms and benefits of option grants.
• Casey Woo, founder of the Operator's Guild, shares his experience of implementing option grants for employees, including tying them to job role and seniority, and providing awards for top performers to increase their options.
• CEO role and responsibilities. 12:50
• Casey Woo shares insights from 35,000 hours of listening and talking to CEOs, highlighting the diverse reasons why people want to be CEOs, including wide impact and not being a CFO or...

In this episode, we discuss: Why does community matter for organisations? We are joined by Jaclyn Pascocello, she is the founder of Fabrik.  

We chat about the following: 

• What are the trends in people and the connections they are building and want to build?
• Where should the L&D budget be spent?
• Is it part of the company's responsibility to help foster connections that are not within the company?
• Are we at the top of a community-building hype cycle? 
• What are the optimal conditions for the hybrid worker?

References:

Jaclyn LinkedIn 

Fabrik

Biography: 

Mom + Founder of Fabrik. A driven leader with a passion for hospitality and customer experience and a proven track record of building and scaling startups. Building an IRL solution to uplift our communities and create more serendipity. Expert in creating unique and memorable consumer experiences in DTC, brick-and-mortar, hospitality, and F&B.

Summary:

• Homophobia and the story of a forgotten fashion photographer. 0:06
• Brandon and Bethany discuss life stages, London, and the BFI's LGBTQ+ film festival.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the documentary "Stonewall" and the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in the past.
• Loneliness in remote work and its impact on employees' well-being. 3:40
• Brandon: Loneliness crisis affects individuals, organizations, and communities.
• Bethany: Hybrid work is here to stay, but it may lead to more loneliness.
• Brandon and Bethany discuss the impact of remote work on employee loneliness and the responsibility of organizations to address it.
• Software developer quit previous job due to lack of pre-existing relationships, highlighting the importance of social connections in the workplace.
• Combating loneliness in the workplace through professional connections. 9:20
• Bethany shares her personal experience of feeling unseen and lonely in her marriage, despite being physically present with her husband.
• Bethany finds it freeing to make deeper connections outside of work due to reduced risk and potential for misinterpretation.
• Brandon suggests providing financial support for individuals to join professional organizations, such as the CEO roundtable, to combat loneliness and provide emotional support.
• Building communities for professionals, both internally and externally. 13:25
• Bethany and others discuss the importance of community and connection in the workplace.
• Speaker 3: Internal community building should be supported by L&D budget, but external communities can also be fostered.
• Bethany: External communities can be monetized to help employees feel less lonely, but internal connection is also important.
• Workplace community building, employee resource groups, and customer advocacy communities. 17:40
• Organizations should focus on supporting community within the employee base...

In this episode we discuss: What you need to know about ESOPs. We are joined by John Fraser, Financial Director for PEAK.

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We chat about the following with John Fraser: 

1. How can companies effectively educate employees to ensure the success of their ESOPs?
2. What steps should organizations take to navigate the complexities of share options and stakeholder involvement?
3. How can companies balance basic implementation steps with long-term implications when designing share schemes?
4. At what point should companies transition from spreadsheets to dedicated tools for managing share data?
5. What are the best practices for communicating compensation strategies and leveraging resources like the Index Ventures report?

References

• https://linkedin.com/in/john-fraser-a1bb8876

Biography 

John Fraser brings a wealth of experience with over 20 years in finance and accounting. He spent 4 years specializing in VAT with HMRC and 10 years in the oil and gas industry, working with a NYSE-listed company in diverse roles spanning statutory reporting, management accounting, FP&A, internal audit, and controllership. For the past 6 years, he has been a key contributor at Peak, leveraging his expertise to drive financial excellence.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

19:52 Introduction to ESOP and Its Evolution

21:17 Navigating the Initial Steps of ESOP Implementation

24:05 The Importance of Employee Education and Communication

26:07 Challenges in Seeking External Support for ESOP

26:58 Strategic Considerations for Future-Proofing ESOPs

29:00 International Considerations and Cross-Border Challenges

32:21 Choosing the Right Share Management Tools

40:12 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

In this episode we discuss: Executive compensation and option grants. We are joined by Daniel Harris, Exec Compensation Partner.

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We chat about the following with Daniel Harris: 

• What to consider when negotiating equity packages.
• What are the different equity schemes, such as sweet equity, and their implications?
• When to be aware of with tax implications and when to seek expert advice.
• Paying attention to strike prices and their impact on the value of equity.
• How to align incentives and interests between founders, management teams, and employees.
• Is it possible to ensure alignment between company strategy and compensation structure?

References 

• www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-harris-a7333511
• www.pwc.com

Biography 

I lead the Reward team in the Regions and have over 20 years’ experience of advising companies (both public and private/ private equity backed) and their remuneration committees on all aspects of executive compensation, including the design and implementation of tax efficient and commercially effective pay structures and management incentive plans in the UK and overseas.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here. 

Summary

13:56 Introduction and Relevance of the Topic

02:43 Exploring Different Equity Schemes

24:33 Equity Structures in Different Stages of a Company's Lifecycle

26:47 Considerations for US Taxpayers in Negotiating Equity Packages

30:56 Key Elements of a Good Equity Package

34:13 Changes in Strike Prices and EMI Scheme in the UK

36:16 Balancing Performance-Based Vesting

39:45 The Benefits of Accelerated Vesting

41:00 Understanding the Differences in Equity Compensation Systems

41:57 Main Takeaways

In this episode we discuss: What can VC and PE backed operators learn from each other? We are joined by Sam Smith, the founder & MD of PepTalks, a training provider for private equity backed CEOs and their management teams.

We chat about the following with Sam: 

• What are the types of PE companies? 
• How are company valuations determined? 
• How does the commercial model work between PE companies and LP’s? 
• Can you shift track and move from VC-backed to PE-backed? 
• How does a PE firm structure funds when they invest in an organisation?
• How does that structure impact the ability for the management team to make money?  
• How do share options work in VC-backed companies? 
• What happens to the management team's equity when a second PE company buys the company? 
• What does a successful COO look like in PE-backed companies? How does that contrast versus VC-backed? 
•  How do VC-backed companies successfully ramp up headcount so quickly? 
• How do you engage and motivate employees in PE-backed companies versus VC-backed? 

References

• Sam Smith
• PepTalks

Biography: 

Sam Smith is the founder of PepTalks, a peer to peer training provider for private equity backed CEOs and Management teams. Founder of Marble Hill Partners an exec search and interim management consultancy which was sold to Henley Insights Group in September 2021.

Summary: 

• Career relevance and identity after unexpected death. 0:05
• Bethany struggles with processing unexpected death of a friend, leading to a difficult weekend.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss feeling less relevant in their careers as they age, with millennials taking over management positions.
• Identity, ambition, and financial freedom. 3:35
• Bethany: Realized identity wasn't tied to work after leaving peak role, causing discomfort & self-reflection.
• Brandon: Ambiguity of mattering in work life vs. personal identity, with age & finite time, leads to essential questions.
• Bethany and Brandon discuss the importance of financial freedom and its impact on their lives, including the ability to think long-term and prioritize personal growth.
• Brandon highlights the importance of allocating time for networking and learning, even when not directly relevant to work, to maintain personal direction and growth.
• Entrepreneurship, private equity, and networking. 9:02
• Bethany and Brandon discuss networking and success in business with Sam Smith of pep talks.
• Private equity fundraising and investment strategies. 11:07
• Sam Smith explains the commercial models of private equity, including the need for return on investment and the importance of valuation based on EBITDA multiples.
• Bethany asks about the recurring revenue of a 20-500 million enterprise value business, and Sam provides examples of private equity funds for different transaction sizes.
• Sam Smith outlines a plan to raise £500 million for a private equity fund,...