What do you think?
Rate this book
The Second in Command: Unleash the Power of Your COO
As founder and CEO, you know you need to hire a COO. You need a COO who can help you build the company you don’t know how to build on your own.
The Second in Command is your go-to guidebook when you’re ready to scale up. Cameron Herold details every aspect of the process, from knowing when you need to hire a COO, through identifying and hiring the right COO candidate, to successfully onboarding and working with your COO, VP Operations or Director Operations. The Second in Command reveals the benefits a skilled COO brings to companies and explores the many ways a COO mastermind or COO forum can help grow your COO grow their skills, confidence and network. You’ll learn about the different types of COO that exists and understand the role each COO type plays. Discover how to bring a COO into your company with the least disruption and avoid common problems before they arise. There is no need to go it alone.
The Second in Command is your go-to guidebook when you’re ready to scale up. Cameron Herold details every aspect of the process, from knowing when you need to hire a COO, through identifying and hiring the right COO candidate, to successfully onboarding and working with your COO, VP Operations or Director Operations. The Second in Command reveals the benefits a skilled COO brings to companies and explores the many ways a COO mastermind or COO forum can help grow your COO grow their skills, confidence and network. You’ll learn about the different types of COO that exists and understand the role each COO type plays. Discover how to bring a COO into your company with the least disruption and avoid common problems before they arise. There is no need to go it alone.
213 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 24, 2023
104 people are currently reading
298 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 20, 2024
Key takeaways:
I'm struggling. I think there was a lot of good content in this book, but it was hard to see through all the self promotion.
- The COO is not responsible for doing things, rather ensuring things get done.
- Sometimes you need a COO to obey and execute, sometimes you need a COO to challenge you.
- You don't need to be an expert, you just need to hire experts, then get the best out of them. Use the Socratic method.
- Don't make decisions by yourself. Help your experts make the decisions. Empower, don't rescue.
- Momentum creates momentum. Get things done, don't worry about making them perfect. The momentum will carry the projects towards perfection.
- People don't fail, systems fail.
- Aim for systems that can be written on a post-it note that someone with an MBA and someone who has never run a lemonade stand can both execute.
- If the rate of change outside your business is faster than inside, you're out of business.
- Cameron talks about creating an operating manual for yourself that others you work with can read. What frustrates you? What are your principles? What do you expect from others? What excites you? etc. Give people a quick overview of who you are, what to expect from you, and what you will expect from them.
- Break down your plans: annual targets, quarterly plans, monthly touchpoints, weekly activities, daily actions.
- We need to give more thought to interviewing process and annual performance reviews. 3:12:32 in the audiobook.
- The COO and CEO should be friends. Spend time together away from the office once a week or so. Build trust and friendship. Read the same books and talk about them.
- Developing people is more important than getting stuff done.
- Delegating is asking "Who else could do what I'm doing now?"
- Don't speak first and squash the discourse. Encourage everyone to contribute.
I'm struggling. I think there was a lot of good content in this book, but it was hard to see through all the self promotion.
- The COO is not responsible for doing things, rather ensuring things get done.
- Sometimes you need a COO to obey and execute, sometimes you need a COO to challenge you.
- You don't need to be an expert, you just need to hire experts, then get the best out of them. Use the Socratic method.
- Don't make decisions by yourself. Help your experts make the decisions. Empower, don't rescue.
- Momentum creates momentum. Get things done, don't worry about making them perfect. The momentum will carry the projects towards perfection.
- People don't fail, systems fail.
- Aim for systems that can be written on a post-it note that someone with an MBA and someone who has never run a lemonade stand can both execute.
- If the rate of change outside your business is faster than inside, you're out of business.
- Cameron talks about creating an operating manual for yourself that others you work with can read. What frustrates you? What are your principles? What do you expect from others? What excites you? etc. Give people a quick overview of who you are, what to expect from you, and what you will expect from them.
- Break down your plans: annual targets, quarterly plans, monthly touchpoints, weekly activities, daily actions.
- We need to give more thought to interviewing process and annual performance reviews. 3:12:32 in the audiobook.
- The COO and CEO should be friends. Spend time together away from the office once a week or so. Build trust and friendship. Read the same books and talk about them.
- Developing people is more important than getting stuff done.
- Delegating is asking "Who else could do what I'm doing now?"
- Don't speak first and squash the discourse. Encourage everyone to contribute.
June 7, 2025
Easy to read but full of self-promotion.
January 26, 2023
All CEOs and COOs must read this!
Behind every great company lies a man or woman who sits in the COO position.
The Chief Operating Officer might not be in the news getting all of the fame that the CEO gets but a COO is an extremely integral part of any successful business.
They keep the wheels on the bus running.
Cameron Herold is the right person to learn from when it comes to structuring your business for growth and running daily operations as a COO.
He served as the COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK for 6 years and took the business from $2 million to $106 million.
Absolutely changing the business for good!
Cameron release his newest book today: The Second in Command and it serves as the go-to guidebook when you are ready to scale up.
He outlines the details of a COO, Hiring a COO, Working with a COO, and much more!
I have already implemented what I have learned from the book in my own business and see the changes happening!
Allow it to do the same for you!
Behind every great company lies a man or woman who sits in the COO position.
The Chief Operating Officer might not be in the news getting all of the fame that the CEO gets but a COO is an extremely integral part of any successful business.
They keep the wheels on the bus running.
Cameron Herold is the right person to learn from when it comes to structuring your business for growth and running daily operations as a COO.
He served as the COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK for 6 years and took the business from $2 million to $106 million.
Absolutely changing the business for good!
Cameron release his newest book today: The Second in Command and it serves as the go-to guidebook when you are ready to scale up.
He outlines the details of a COO, Hiring a COO, Working with a COO, and much more!
I have already implemented what I have learned from the book in my own business and see the changes happening!
Allow it to do the same for you!
December 12, 2023
I got this book on sale and didn't expect too much of it as it did go for a dollar. But the book actually turned out to be pretty decent, even if its main thing was establishing a more realistic way of looking at what a COO should do and how to go about selecting one. It may seem a little reductive to view COOs primarily through the less of how they support the CEO...but that's just the reality of things.
Like many other business books, a lot of this title is dedicated to selling the COO organization the author runs, which is understandable. I would have given the book a higher score had it not been so heavy-handed in its approach, but it is what it is.
I did expect more since the author had ties to 1-800-JUNK, a company that got good mentions in other books like Scaling Up. You don't get a lot of the story of that company within this title and you just have to work with what they offer.
Like many other business books, a lot of this title is dedicated to selling the COO organization the author runs, which is understandable. I would have given the book a higher score had it not been so heavy-handed in its approach, but it is what it is.
I did expect more since the author had ties to 1-800-JUNK, a company that got good mentions in other books like Scaling Up. You don't get a lot of the story of that company within this title and you just have to work with what they offer.
January 29, 2023
Must read for all CEOs
Any CEO who knows about this book by Cameron Herold, and even has it on their Kindle or bedside table, but isn’t reading it, deserves the fate of making the wrong COO hire. I wish Cameron had written this book before my last hire, and maybe I could have saved the relationship before it even started (and ended) by truly understanding my role in the process of hiring and then partnering with my COO for the best possible chance of success. With what I’ve learned here, I’ll do far better next time. Thank you, Cameron, for all the work you put into this book. It’s a gift to all entrepreneurial CEOs who need your direct knowledge and guidance to get the support we need.
Any CEO who knows about this book by Cameron Herold, and even has it on their Kindle or bedside table, but isn’t reading it, deserves the fate of making the wrong COO hire. I wish Cameron had written this book before my last hire, and maybe I could have saved the relationship before it even started (and ended) by truly understanding my role in the process of hiring and then partnering with my COO for the best possible chance of success. With what I’ve learned here, I’ll do far better next time. Thank you, Cameron, for all the work you put into this book. It’s a gift to all entrepreneurial CEOs who need your direct knowledge and guidance to get the support we need.
February 1, 2023
I read this book really quickly.
It was very interesting learning about the different relationship dynamics between CEOs and COOs.
I never realized there was so much to consider when contemplating hiring a COO.
The book is very helpful and guides you through the processes needed when you decide to take on a COO and when not too.
I highly recommend it, especially for any CEO and COO!
It was very interesting learning about the different relationship dynamics between CEOs and COOs.
I never realized there was so much to consider when contemplating hiring a COO.
The book is very helpful and guides you through the processes needed when you decide to take on a COO and when not too.
I highly recommend it, especially for any CEO and COO!
August 24, 2023
It is a somehow interesting book. The beginning is pretty good, but the quality highly decreases over time.
What I did not like about this book
- Not enough structure/framework; instead, lot of anecdotical analysis
- The last 1/3 of the book is pretty much a disguised advertisement for the services sold by the author
What I did not like about this book
- Not enough structure/framework; instead, lot of anecdotical analysis
- The last 1/3 of the book is pretty much a disguised advertisement for the services sold by the author
March 12, 2023
Reading this book was a real aha moment.
I now realise I've always overlooked the real power of the COO, the second in command and having been without a #2 for a few years I've realised what was really missing and why !
I now realise I've always overlooked the real power of the COO, the second in command and having been without a #2 for a few years I've realised what was really missing and why !
Read
May 8, 2023Quick read with some very insightful thoughts about what the COO role is and most importantly, what it is not. There is no cookie cutter job d for a CEO and it behooves all CEO's to approach the role with that mindset.
October 30, 2023
A Fantastic Book for COOs and the CEOs That Hire Them
As a COO, I found this book to be incredibly insightful and valuable. My only wish is that I would’ve had it years ago to help better explain the role and the mutual commitments required to make it a success.
As a COO, I found this book to be incredibly insightful and valuable. My only wish is that I would’ve had it years ago to help better explain the role and the mutual commitments required to make it a success.
June 20, 2024
There is some really good stuff in the book, but I feel like it could be half as long if it weren’t for the shameless self-promotion of the author’s COO alliance. Any time a new leader is introduced, they effort to announce they are part of their mastermind and COO Alliance.
January 13, 2025
Despite the author coming across as a bit cocky, the book contains some really great perspective on the COO role and it’s relationship to the CEO. As someone who leads operations for a company, it’s difficult to find guidance, and this book provides it.
February 12, 2023
Great perspective about COO leadership
April 22, 2023
Changed my business, hung on every word!
June 4, 2023
Useful book.
Cameron Herold is a bit too in love with himself, which can get annoying at some point.
Cameron Herold is a bit too in love with himself, which can get annoying at some point.
February 5, 2025
Content somewhat helpful. But one of the worst audiobook recordings I’ve ever listened to. Dozens of blatantly obvious voice-over corrections seemingly every few minutes.
March 6, 2023
Great!
This was an incredibly useful guide on scaling our business and utilizing the correct individuals to maximize our potential. Highly recommend this to anyone that runs a company or is looking to further develop their business knowledge.
This was an incredibly useful guide on scaling our business and utilizing the correct individuals to maximize our potential. Highly recommend this to anyone that runs a company or is looking to further develop their business knowledge.
June 21, 2024
As a new COO, the information in this book is invaluable. Specifically, defining the COO role as well as the relationship of COO to CEO. I have used tons of what I have read and applied it to my role. 4 vs. 5 as many of the chapters are how to find a COO. I think that could have been a separate book and focus more on the role.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews