What a fractional COO does
A plain definition of the role, the areas it covers and how it differs from a consultant. Read what a fractional COO does first if the title is new to you.
Insights and guides
Fractional COO guides for founder-led companies
These fractional COO guides answer the questions founders ask before they hire one: cost, scope, timing and the full-time alternative. Four more guides cover operating systems, AI governance, AI readiness and ERP projects.
What these fractional COO guides cover
This hub collects eight practical guides for founders of founder-led companies. Four cover the fractional COO decision itself. The other four cover operating systems, AI and technology projects.
Each guide gives the direct answer first, then the reasoning. The decision guides say so where a fractional COO is the wrong answer. My engagement prices and two cited salary sources supply the cost figures.
Fractional COO decisions
Start here if you are weighing a fractional COO against a full-time hire, a consultant or waiting.
When to hire one
Signs that a company needs senior operational leadership, plus the cases where hiring one is the wrong move. See when to hire a fractional COO before you decide.
Fractional versus full-time
A side-by-side comparison of the two models, including the situations where a full-time COO is the better answer. Weigh them in the fractional versus full-time COO comparison.
What it costs
How fractional pricing works, what drives it and how it differs from published COO salaries. Go to what a fractional COO costs for the detail.
Operating systems and AI
These four guides cover business operating systems, AI governance, AI readiness and ERP projects.
What a business operating system is
A definition of a business operating system and its parts. It covers how a company builds one so the founder is not in every decision. Read about a business operating system.
AI governance for growing companies
What AI governance means for a smaller company. It shows how to start with a light version covering tools, data, checks and accountability. See AI governance for growing companies.
AI readiness assessment
How to run a first-pass readiness check yourself and choose sensible first pilots. Start with an AI readiness assessment.
ERP implementation, process first
Technology does not fix a broken operating model, so the operating model is redesigned first. Use the process-first ERP guide before you choose software.
How to use these guides
A founder new to the role can read the decision guides in order. Start with what it does, then when it fits, how it compares with a full-time hire, and what it costs.
The operating system and AI guides work on their own. Read them when a specific problem is already clear, such as decisions stalling or tools multiplying with no owner.
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Talk through your own situation
If one of these guides describes your company, send a note about where you are and what feels stuck.
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