“Have you ever heard the saying ‘There are no stupid questions?’ That was a stupid question.”
Well, that was embarrassing. You are in the weekly staff meeting and you decide to do it – speak up and ask a question about the COO’s report on Bookings and you are on blast for not knowing what that means and why there is a report each week on this line item. This is why you don’t typically ask questions, which is why you don’t typically understand what your coworkers do and why.
A solid way to learn about the cross-functional nature of a business is going back to school and getting that MBA you’ve considered. The one you considered mostly because you feel as though you are stuck in second gear and wondered if this is the missing piece. But, the timing isn’t right and, wow, the money isn’t right. So what else can you do? There are many options for supplemental and adaptive learning that allow you to DIY an MBA style education. But, for now, let’s use some tech-speak and look at a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of what you need to know to save you from the stupid question syndrome. Although, please, continue to ask questions – some may be stupid, but that’s not the point. The point is learning – endlessly, relentlessly.
A ‘traditional’ MBA curriculum from Wharton includes:
- Accounting
- Ethics
- Finance
- Macroeconomics
- Marketing
- Management
- Microeconomics
- Operations
- Statistics
Keep those in mind and, again, supplement. For quick and dirty purposes, though (the MVP), we’ll break it down into the three most important concepts to understand in a generic business environment in each the following functions: Operations; Finance & Accounting, Sales & Marketing.
Today’s installment is…
Operations
‘Rivers are easiest to cross at their source.’ Publius Syrus
The operations function of a company is concerned with the delivery of goods or services to the customer. This could entail disciplines such as project management, in the case of services, or order fulfillment when selling products. It includes human capital (the HR or People Op functions), Information Technology (the IT function), Customer Service/Customer Success, Technical Service, and, even Legal and Compliance in some firms. It’s a large umbrella really, and can look very different from company to company.
Ultimately, to create a sustainable company, you need to create a product people want, take care of your customers, and manage your cash. Repeat that again and again. Make sure stakeholders are included in the caring part – employees, investors, suppliers – and you’ve got an organization that can thrive, not just sustain.
MVP in Business Operations Concepts
Business Model. A business model is a representation of a company’s business logic, how a company competes, comprised of the following elements:
- Value Proposition – the value the company provides to customers, the pain point or problem to be solved, the products offered.
- Customer Relationships, Segments, and Channels – how the company reaches the customers and relates to them.
- Key Activities, Resources, and Partners – critical tasks and function the company needs to do to deliver on the value proposition along with resources required (technology, financial, people).
- Revenue and Cost Structure – what customers are willing to pay and the key costs required to deliver.
Operational Excellence. Operational excellence is the execution of the business strategy more effectively and efficiently than the competition. It occurs under the following conditions:
- When everyone in an organization has the mindset (they want to), and behaviors, to perform. And management models that mindset – they also hold themselves accountable to the wants to piece.
- All employees have the tools, information, and resources (they are able to) to be effective and efficient.
- The value chain is known and anything that does not serve the customer (internal or external) is removed.
Better, Faster, Cheaper. Always.
- Better – focus on the quality of products, service, processes, internal and external customer experience, and value
- Faster – Service, response, delivery, processing times
- Cheaper – cost effective operations, processing and purchasing
Get Inside an Ops Leader’s Head
Ultimately, the leaders within operations functions are thinking about the right people doing the right things right. It’s a massive hiring (mindset and behaviors), alignment (strategy, priorities, policies), and allocation (tools and resources) exercise. They are looking to ask the right questions and aligning the organization design, purpose, goals and behaviors to provide value. Taking the big picture and mapping out the step by step approach to execution.
What You Can do to Advance
- Show that you understand the company business model, you get the basic components of operational excellence, and you are thinking value delivery in all areas you touch.
- Demonstrate you are willing to carry the load when it comes to the execution piece and you see where the company is trying to go. There may to complexities and responsibilities that fall well beyond your function, particularly in large organizations, but show you are managing yourself around your key responsibilities in service of the greater vision. This starts with your direct supervisor and then can appear in other cross-functional communications – meetings, emails, slack discussions, or even informal networking.
- Check whether the organization is open to lite cross-training, or pseudo job shadowing, with operations team members that are downstream from your function. For example, if you are in Customer Success, and your role in the value chain is order entry for fulfillment, ask the team what a complete order looks like; get feedback on some of the errors they may see in your work; talk to them about what you can do, from your seat, to make their jobs easier.
Next Up – MVP Finance & Accounting…