Book: Riding Shotgun

This briefing document summarizes the main themes and important ideas presented in the provided excerpts from "Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO." The book, by Nathan Bennett and Stephen A. Miles, explores the multifaceted role of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) through analysis and interviews with CEOs and former COOs across various industries.

Main Themes

Several key themes emerge from the excerpts:

• The Varied and Situational Nature of the COO Role: The book emphasizes that there is no single definition of a COO. The responsibilities and required competencies of a COO are highly dependent on the specific company, its context, and the needs and style of the CEO. As Bob Herbold, former COO of Microsoft, states, "I don’t think there is a single thing called 'chief operating officer.' I think there are a number of ways to assemble responsibilities in a way that creates a job that can easily carry that title." Mike Lawrie, former CEO of CSC Solutions, reinforces this by saying, "Finally, the key competencies required in what we label here as the situational COO are precisely that—situational."
• The Crucial Partnership Between the CEO and COO: A strong and trusting relationship between the CEO and COO is highlighted as essential for the success of the COO and the company. This partnership requires clear definition of roles and responsibilities, mutual respect, and a lack of ego from the COO. Del Yocam, former COO at Apple Computer, stressed the importance of clear boundaries: "Once I was offered the job of COO, it became necessary for me to make sure that we understood the lines of demarcation—in other words, as COO, what became my responsibilities versus John’s as CEO." Similarly, Bill Swanson, former CEO of Raytheon, advised, "Anyone evaluating such a position first needs to make sure the roles and responsibilities are defined... The second key is to make sure everyone else understands how the COO and CEO are splitting work."
• Key Competencies and Characteristics of Successful COOs: While the specific skills vary, several recurring competencies and characteristics are identified for effective COOs. These include strong operational experience, execution skills, strategic thinking, interpersonal skills, low ego needs, and the ability to support the CEO's vision without seeking excessive personal credit. Mike Lawrie emphasized the need to "check your ego at the front desk," and Mort Topfer, former executive at Dell, echoed this: "If a guy had an ego, he couldn’t do what I did coming in with Orin and Howard. He couldn’t do, like you said, two in a box. People with egos, the other CEOs that have these egos, won’t allow themselves to operate in this manner."
• Motivations for Creating a COO Role: The excerpts reveal various reasons why companies establish a COO position. These include the need for operational expertise to support rapid growth, to free up the CEO to focus on strategy and external relations, to manage complexity in global operations, to drive efficiency and execution, and as part of succession planning to groom potential future CEOs. Mort Topfer noted that Michael Dell "really had no interest in running the company on a day-to-day basis and getting very much involved in the operations and things like that," leading to the creation of the COO role.
• The COO as "Mr. Inside" Complementing the "Mr. Outside" CEO: This distinction frequently appears, suggesting that the COO often focuses on internal operations, efficiency, and execution, while the CEO concentrates on external relationships, strategy, and vision. Bill Nuti, chairman and CEO of NCR Corporation (formerly of Symbol Technologies), stated, "What worked extremely well at Symbol was I was Mr. Inside and he was Mr. Outside." Del Yocam described his role at Apple similarly: "In many ways I was Mr. Inside and John was Mr. Outside."
• The COO's Role in Strategic Implementation and Change: While often focused on operations, the COO also plays a critical role in translating the CEO's vision and strategic plans into actionable steps and ensuring their effective implementation across the organization. Randy Pond, former EVP of Operations, Processes, and Systems at Cisco Systems, highlighted the need to "build the right team that is empowered for success, and do it while the bus is still on the freeway?"
• The COO's Potential Path to CEO: The COO role is often seen as a stepping stone to the CEO position, providing valuable experience and a broad understanding of the company's operations. However, the excerpts also highlight that not all COOs aspire to be CEO, and some are content and highly effective in the number two role. John Thompson, former CEO of Symantec, observed, "Potentially. There are some people that I think are natural second bananas, to use a slang term, and they don’t have any real interest in being number one." Steven Reinemund, former CEO of PepsiCo, noted that his COO role was part of a "succession plan in place—no guarantee on it, but that was part of it too."

Most Important Ideas and Facts

• Globalization and Operational Agility: Companies are increasingly focusing on global operations and the need for agility in responding to diverse markets. Adidas's decision to bring manufacturing onshore in the US is cited as an example of this shift towards a more customer-focused and agile operation.
• Examples of Successful COO Configurations: The excerpts provide several examples of successful CEO-COO partnerships, including Bill Gates and Jill Shirley at Microsoft, Scott McNealy and Ed Zander at Sun Microsystems, and Michael Dell and Mort Topfer at Dell. These examples illustrate different ways the COO role can be structured and the value it can bring.
• The Importance of Trust and Open Communication: The interviews consistently emphasize the necessity of trust and open communication between the CEO and COO. Ed Zander, former CEO of Motorola, praised Scott McNealy for never undermining him: "One thing that Scott did very well was to never undermine me—he never undermined me in a meeting, and he always backed all my decisions." Steven Reinemund echoed this sentiment regarding his relationship with Roger Enrico at PepsiCo: "I can tell you from the time Roger [Enrico] asked me to do the job to now, we never, ever had a rough spot."
• The COO's Role in Crisis Management: Gordon Sharer, former COO at Amgen, recounted how his CEO allowed him to handle significant crises early in his tenure, demonstrating trust and providing valuable experience. "In both cases, Gordon let me handle them. He communicated to me enormous trust in that act and I really, really appreciated it. That stuff really, really stands out."
• The Dynamics of Internal vs. External Hires for COO: The book touches upon the advantages and disadvantages of hiring an internal versus an external candidate for the COO role. Internal candidates have existing relationships and company knowledge, while external candidates may bring fresh perspectives but need to build trust and credibility quickly.
• The "Two-in-a-Box" Model: This model, where the CEO and COO share leadership responsibilities, is discussed with examples like Howard Schultz and Jim Donald at Starbucks. Jim Donald emphasized the need for compatibility and his own responsibility to make the partnership work: "I think you have to be compatible first of all. But second of all, I think that it is incumbent upon me to make it work, not Howard."
• Contemporary Shifts in the COO Role: The book acknowledges the evolving nature of the COO role in response to technological advancements, globalization, and economic shifts. Randy Pond from Cisco highlighted the significant changes brought by technology and economic recessions, forcing companies to develop new capabilities. Rudy Lobo from Regus discussed how their operational model allows them to navigate economic downturns.

Quotes Highlighting Key Ideas

• On the variety of the COO role: "If you look across industries, you see a whole lot of different uses of that title. So it is important to note at the outset that we are not talking about some rigid, specific definition of a job." - Bob Herbold, former COO, Microsoft
• On the importance of clear roles: "I would tell any deputy or CEO, if you go into a job and you don’t know your four corners, don’t take it." - Bill Swanson, former CEO, Raytheon
• On the necessity of a low ego: "You have to be able to check your ego at the front desk. You have to get real comfortable with someone else getting a lot of the limelight as a result of work that you have done." - Mike Lawrie, former CEO, CSC Solutions
• On the CEO's focus: "Of the three things that I practice here at Motorola—vision, focus, and execution—the CEO largely is chartered with the vision of where the company is going, establishing the goals and objectives, and implementing the architecture of the company." - Unidentified CEO (Zander)
• On the COO's internal focus: "When you think about being recruited as the number two, you either have one of two goals: one, you want to be a CEO and hence this is a great step forward for you; or two, you really enjoy running the company on a day-to-day basis and getting very much involved in the operations and things like that." - Bill Nuti, chairman and CEO, NCR Corporation
• On the value of experience: "There is nothing that can replace experience. When you have that kind of track record, you have an advantage over anyone brought in from the outside, because nothing can replace those years of experience within the company." - Craig Weatherup, former Chairman and CEO, Pepsi-Cola
• On building trust as an external hire: "Coming from the outside, without the benefit of positive history with the company, you have to build credibility and trust quickly." - Authors' observation after interviewing Jim Donald, former CEO, Starbucks

This briefing provides a foundational understanding of the key themes and insights presented in the excerpts from "Riding Shotgun," highlighting the complexity, importance, and diverse nature of the Chief Operating Officer role.

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