I was just hired as the Chief Operating Officer for a small company doing about 10M in revenue. For people who have stepped into the COO role, what is the first thing you did to prepare yourself for the job ahead?

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Something that I learned during my career climb was the higher up you are, the more humble you need to become. Step out of the spotlight and give recognition to your boots-on-the-ground team. Executive are there to guide and support. You don’t always need to be the one with the answers. You just need to know who to get them from. Oh…and BREATHE! Congratulations on your new role!!

First thing I did was learn/research - what are the company's strategic objectives? What are the current pain-points? Who are the key players/influencers? What is your board saying is working (or not). All of this will be valuable intel for you to develop your strategy and goals. You need to understand the current state first.

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