The Six Types of  Chief Operating Officers (COO)

According to the established business model, the COO mainly focuses on executing the company’s business plan. At the same time, the CEO is more concerned with long-term goals and the broader company outlook. In other words, the CEO devises plans while the COO implements them.

For instance, when a company experiences a drop in market share, the CEO might call for increased quality control to fortify its reputation among customers. In this case, the COO might carry out the CEO’s mandate by instructing the human resources department to hire more quality control personnel. The COO may also initiate the rollout of new product lines and be responsible for sales, production, research and development, and marketing.

In many cases, a COO is specifically chosen to complement the skill sets of the sitting CEO. For example, in an entrepreneurial situation, the COO often has more practical experience than the founding CEO, who may have come up with an excellent concept. Still, it needs the start-up know-how to launch a company and manage its early stages of development.

There are generally SIX types of COOs:

• The EXECUTOR oversees the implementation of company strategies created by senior management and is responsible for “delivering results on a day-to-day, quarter-to-quarter basis.”
• The CHANGE AGENT, who spearheads new initiatives (This COO is brought on to “lead a specific strategic imperative, such as a turnaround, a major organizational change, or a planned rapid expansion.”)
• The MENTOR is hired to counsel younger or newer company team members, mainly young CEOs
• An “MVP” COO who is promoted internally to ensure that they don’t defect to a rival company.
• The COMPLIMENTARY COO is brought in to complement the CEO (This person has the opposite characteristics and abilities as the CEO.)
• The PARTNER COO, who is brought in as another version of the CEOThe