The CEO and COO are known to be two of the most crucial senior executive positions of a business organization. Often referred to as the second in command of a company, the position of a chief operating officer (COO) comes just after that of a chief executive officer (CEO). It is important for any large scale business organization to appoint a COO in order to ensure the smooth operations of their enterprise. According to Larry Polhill, the COO of a firm is quite often tasked with diverse duties relating to the management and monitoring of the daily administrative and operational functions of a business organization. Larry himself has worked as a COO in diverse renowned organizations.  

Larry Polhill focuses on the important duties of a Chief Operating Officer

The Chief Operating Officer of an organization typically tends to be largely concerned with the achievement of its diverse long-term business goals. They would be required to ensure that the everyday operations of an organization go on in a smooth fashion so that the company can progress towards its key business goals. According to Larry Polhill, the COO of an enterprise is ideally responsible for formulating effective business strategies that align with the vision and mission of their organization. 

The responsibilities of a COO might be largely characterized by the company president, managing director or CEO under whom they work. This is one of the key elements that make the position of a COO distinguished from the job profiles of various other C-Suite professionals. The job profiles of almost all the other C-Suite professionals tend to be defined by their duties and not the person whom they report to. Larry Polhill essentially served in the position of both the Chief Executive Officer and the company President at American Pacific Financial Corp. His experience in this company provided him with valuable knowledge and insight about the duties and responsibilities of a COO.  Here are a few of the key responsibilities of a COO that he especially underlines: 

  • Working alongside the CEO of an organization for the purpose of optimally driving the vision and mission of the business
  • Formulating effective operational strategies for the organization, and subsequently implementing them
  • Making sure that the staffing requirements of the organizations are adequately met
  • Translating the diverse business plans and strategies into actionable goals
  • Taking proactive measures to ensure the good performance and consistency progress of the firm
  • Assisting in the implementation of the needed organization-wide goal setting
  • Overseeing the various functions of a company, and making sure that all the tasks related to it are conducted in the most efficient manner possible 
  • Slowly building a certain level of inclusive company culture among the company staff
  • Providing encouragement to the company employees and assisting them to maximize their productivity level
  • Making sure that the company strategies are implemented taking into consideration its relevant vision and mission 

Larry Polhill mentions that due to the plethora of crucial tasks undertaken by a COO, such professionals have essentially become an indispensable element of any large scale organization.

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