I talk a lot about being a CEO. But lately the conversation all over social media has been shifting to the CEO’s C Suite. There has been a conversation floating around these social media streets about hiring CFOs, CMOs, COOs and the like. Some people sayif you’re a company of two, you’re ready to hire a COO. One person made a post saying that if you’re at $100K in revenue, you should be hiring a CFO and COO. My jaw hit the floor! If you don’t already know how I feel about that, you’re about to. I’m all about hiring the right people to manage the right processes, teams and departments. But who are these people giving this terrible advice?
Let’e start with some definitions of the three most popular roles that most small businesses have no business hiring until they’re operationally and financially ready.
CFO- Chief Financial Officer– a senior executive responsible for managing the financial actions of a company. They handle everything from cash flow to financial planning to taxation and compliance issues. They have significant input in the company’s investments, capital structure and how income and expenses are managed. They team with the CEO on forecasting, cost benefit analysis and obtaining funding. Not exactly the work you’d let your Bookkeeper or even Accountant do.
CMO- Chief Marketing Officer– a senior executive charged with leading all of the marketing activities including advertising, brand management, market research, product development & management, marketing communications, pricing and customer service. They are not only focused on social media strategy or Facebook Ads. There’s is a comprehensive responsibility to achieve the company’s objectives.
COO- Chief Operating Officer– this by far is my favorite misused title. It’s a senior executive charged with overseeing the day to day administrative and operational functions of the business. They are the second in command. They handle internal affairs while the CEO handles out public facing affairs. They implement the vision of the CEO. This is NOT a personal assistant, executive assistant or chief of staff. They basically can keep the company running smoothly each day even without the CEO.
Now that the politically correct definitions have been shared, let me tell you how I really feel.
There’s a movement across these internet/online business streets where glorified VAs and Admins are selling themselves as COOs, social media managers and marketers selling themselves as CMOs, bookkeepers and accountants selling themselves as CFOs, people familiar with the various online tools like Slack, Dubsado, Asana, (enter app/site here) or even web designers selling themselves as CTOs, etc. It has to stop. Social Media has allowed people to assume richer identities for branding reasons. But this fake it til you make to keep up with the Joneses posturing will have you broke, busted and disgusted.
A lot of these companies are getting it wrong. They’re either hiring these people before they are ready, or they’re faking the funk by hiring people that they shoehorn into those roles even when they have no business being in them. Both are equally detrimental.
Just because the internet relaxes some of the rules of engagement of business doesn’t mean it all applies to you. Instead of looking like you run a great business, I want to help you actually run one. So before you consider hiring any kind of C level person, make sure you’re familiar with what they are supposed to do in their role.
You shouldn’t hire someone who’s a Bookkeeper and give them the CFO title. And as a point of reference, when you hire a C Suite individual, consider them the upper echelon of your business, the ones directly below you, the CEO (hopefully). These are people who are sitting in on the big decision meetings for your company. They are responsible for the department for which they are hired to oversee and the people within those departments. And most likely has a fiduciary responsibility to the company (some of them).
With smaller companies, you have the benefit of collapsing titles and responsibility, but if you don’t know how or don’t have the right people, it can backfire on you. Nobody’s saying set yourself up like a Fortune 500 because obviously you’re not one. But take some of their framework. This is your business, your livelihood, your legacy, so set it up right.
Listen, you can hire whomever you want. But I know what it’s like to get traction, start making some money, then wanting to spread my wings and bring in people who can manage certain aspects of the company so I don’t have to. Only to hire the wrong people. Been there, done that a few times. Had clients who’ve been there done that. But let me share some tips with you to keep you from making the same mistakes.
1) Do a deep analysis of your company for the short term (6 months to a year), the mid term (2–5 years) and long term (10+ years). Be honest about where you see your company going. And be realistic about the things you’ll have to do to get there. Having this short and broad vision of the company will allow you to set achievable goals and make the plans and moves that will get you there.
2) Create a Staffing Plan. People will write a business plan, a marketing plan, a financial plan, etc. But they hardly ever (if ever) do a staffing plan. Knowing who and when to hire is very important. A lot of small businesses get in trouble by rushing to hire when they’re in a crunch. That leads to bad hiring decisions and bad hires. Also, that’s how people hire inappropriately in the C Suite. Having a roadmap will give you the foundation to making good hiring decisions at the right time. *Blatant Self-Promotion* You do know I can work with you on your Staffing Plan. And if a comprehensive plan is too much for you, there is a done for you option.
3) Get a firm understanding of what your C Suite should look like and who needs to be in it. Look up the definitions and examples of each position. Go to job sits and check out the different ads and descriptions. Once you understand their roles, take a pen and pad and start mapping out your dream team. As you do this, imagine the org chart and reporting structure. Identify areas where a C Suite talent would be needed. Once you start fleshing out your future team, it will all start making sense.
4) Mentally prepare yourself for C Suite hires. People at this level take on a considerable amount of responsibility. It can mean taking things off your plate that you might feel uncomfortable with. A lot of CEOs freak out at the thought of handing off certain duties. It makes them feel like they’re giving up control. But I challenge you to not think like that. Think instead about the freedom. Think about how having people to handle certain things not just frees you, but helps to advance the company. Your C Suite is your inner circle, so to speak. Trust in them to take on certain responsibilities so you don’t have to. Having them allows you to focus on greater things. I’m not saying they will take everything away from you. Just the opposite. You’ll still have overall control, it’s just that other people will be responsible for implementation and execution.
Hiring is stressful enough. I don’t want you to make wrong decisions based on what people on the social media streets are saying. I want you to become comfortable with designing your ideal company. When you do that, you’ll see who needs to be in that company and what their roles are. Remember, the wrong hires will cost you.
Adrienne Graham
CEO|Founder
Mogul Chix®
Connect with me here or over on Linked In.
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