“Should I hire an operations manager?”
Maybe not.
The inbox is overflowing, deadlines are constant, and you’re still the one catching the details. The instinct is to think, “If I just find the right person, they’ll clean this up.”
I used to believe an operations manager would save me. Until the third one quit.
Here’s what I’ve seen inside my own company, Gorilla Stationers, and in many others: operations and building are two separate things. Most operations professionals are great at optimizing, but not at building systems from scratch.
If intake happens five different ways, case handoff depends on memory, and no one’s really sure who owns what, most operations managers will struggle. They first need to understand what’s going on, then build a system, and only then can they run it. When they realize it’s not about running but about building, they often leave.
So before hiring someone to run the ship, ask yourself: is the ship built?
And by built, I mean:
• Standardized onboarding
• Clear case handoff
• A follow-up system that doesn’t rely on you at 10 p.m.
These are the things we as founders have to create first. In my experience, maybe one in a hundred operations managers is both good at building and happy to do it.
They’re two different jobs.
Don’t hire an ops lead to figure it out. Build the system first, then hand over the keys.
Because even the best captain can’t steer a ship that’s still under construction.
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Why Every Founder Needs an Organizational Chart
Most founders I know don’t actually have one job, they have three. Or five. Or ten. I’ve been there myself: one hat for sales, one for operations, one for HR, and another for customer service (all before lunch)
What does that mean for hiring? Too often, when we try to hire in the middle of that chaos, we end up writing job descriptions based on our overwhelm, not on a clear map of the company. That’s why coaching systems like EOS, Bloom Growth, and Scaling Up all push leaders to build an organizational (or accountability) chart.
I used to think: how boring. Until I realized it’s not just a chart, it’s a mirror.
When I first drew mine, I suddenly saw:
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I was holding three roles.
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Some teammates were holding half a role.
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And some roles didn’t even exist.
Once that truth was on paper, I was finally able to play the jigsaw puzzle, moving responsibilities left, right, up, and down until every role made sense (and I had less on my plate).
Only then can you:
✔️ Write job descriptions that actually stick
✔️ Carve out tasks without leaving holes
✔️ Stop hiring “a warm body to do stuff”Most small companies never do this exercise. But the ones who do unlock a level of clarity that makes scaling possible.
Have you ever done the organigram exercise? What surprised you most when you saw your company on paper?
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Episode 2 – CA State certifications for SB
The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question.
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Gallery Example
The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question.
