I remember sitting in my home office a few years back, staring at a spreadsheet that looked more like a bowl of alphabet soup than a business plan. My eyes were burning, the coffee was cold (and had that weird film on top... you know the one), and I was trying to figure out why a simple project had turned into a three-month odyssey of "who was supposed to do what?"

I felt like I was drowning in the how while trying to navigate the where next.

In that moment, if someone had walked in and said, "Hey Brett, you need a Chief Operating Officer," I probably would have hugged them. Then I would have looked at my bank account and cried. Because, let’s be honest, the idea of a full-time COO sounds amazing: until you see the price tag.

If you’ve been feeling that same weight: that "I can't keep all these plates spinning" feeling: you’ve probably wondered if it’s time to bring in a heavy hitter. But do you really need a full-time executive, or is there a better way to get your life back?

The $481,000 Question

Let’s talk numbers for a second, even if they make us a little twitchy. If you go out today to hire a seasoned, full-time COO, you aren't just looking at a salary. You’re looking at the whole package: base pay (usually $180k–$250k), benefits, payroll taxes, bonuses, and maybe some equity.

According to some recent industry data, the average total compensation for a full-time COO is pushing $481,000 annually.

Yikes.

Even for a healthy mid-sized business, that’s a massive pill to swallow. And it’s not just the money. It’s the "onboarding" period. It usually takes three to six months for a high-level executive to actually figure out where the bathroom is and why the marketing team doesn't talk to the sales team.

If I’m being honest, most of the businesses I work with at Solved. Operations & Management Solutions don’t actually need a $400k-a-year executive sitting in a corner office forty hours a week. What they need is the brain of a COO, the systems of a COO, and the partnership of someone who has been in the trenches: without the overhead that keeps the owner up at night.

The "Hands-On" Truth About Fractional Consulting

This is where "Fractional Operations Consulting" comes in. It sounds fancy, but it’s actually pretty simple: you’re getting executive-level leadership on a part-time, focused basis.

But here’s the trap... and I’ve seen people fall into it a hundred times.

A lot of consultants will come in, drop a 50-page "strategy deck" on your desk, wish you luck, and send a fat invoice. That’s not what we do. To me, a fractional COO isn’t just a "consultant" who points at problems; they’re a partner who helps you pick up the shovel.

At Solved, we look at it as a hands-on partnership. It’s about being in the room (or the Zoom) when the hard decisions are made. It’s about helping you implement the stuff that actually moves the needle, rather than just talking about it.

My Triage Framework: Reduce, Route, Resolve

When I step into a business that’s feeling chaotic, I usually find an owner who is trying to do everything. They are the bottleneck. (Don't worry, I've been the bottleneck too... it’s a crowded club).

To fix this, I use a simple triage framework that I’ve lived by for years. It’s how we decide what actually needs your attention and what is just "noise."

1. Reduce: This is the "stop doing stupid stuff" phase. We look at every task and ask, "Does this actually move the business forward?" If not, we kill it. We remove the clutter so we can see the floor again.
2. Route: If the task is important, does it belong to you? Probably not. We route it to the natural owner with the context they need to succeed. This isn't just "dumping" work; it's delegating with purpose.
3. Resolve: This is the tiny sliver of work that remains. These are the things that require your specific judgment, your unique vision, or your signature.

If you can get your day down to mostly "Resolve" tasks, your stress levels will drop faster than my interest in a kale smoothie.

The Litmus Test: Are You Independent?

One of the biggest markers of whether you need operational help is how "independent" your organization is from you. I often evaluate Executive Directors or Owners on a simple scale: if you went to a beach in Mexico for two weeks and turned off your phone, would the building still be standing when you got back?

If the answer is "everything would catch fire," then we have some work to do.

Here are the signs of a healthy, independent operation:

• Decisions at the right levels: Your team doesn't ask you for permission to buy a stapler or handle a customer complaint.
• Distributed relationships: The key clients and vendors know your team, not just your personal cell phone number.
• Documented priorities: Everyone knows what the "Main Thing" is this week without you having to announce it at a morning huddle.
• The Absence Test: Work continues smoothly when you’re gone.
• Succession Planning: There’s a clear path for who steps up next.

When Should You Go Full-Time?

Look, I’m not saying full-time COOs are a bad idea. They aren't! There is absolutely a point where your business grows so large: maybe you’re hitting $20M+ in revenue, or you’re managing hundreds of employees across multiple time zones: where you need that dedicated, 40-hour-a-week presence.

If you’re managing multi-geography operations or going through a massive merger, that full-time oversight is worth its weight in gold.

But if you’re a growing business in that $1M to $10M range? You’re likely in the "Sweet Spot" for fractional help. You get the expertise, you get the systems, and you get the accountability, but you keep the flexibility.

Why DiSC Matters in the Operations Game

I can’t talk about operations without mentioning how people actually work together. You can have the best SOPs in the world, but if your team communication is a wreck, those manuals will just collect dust.

That’s why I’m such a big believer in using tools like DiSC assessments. Understanding whether your team members are naturally "Drivers" or "Stabilizers" changes how you delegate. It’s the "secret sauce" that makes the operations consulting actually stick.

(I’m a "D" myself, in case you couldn't tell by my love for punchy sentences... though I’ve had to learn to dial back the intensity over the years!)

Moving Toward a "Solved" Business

At the end of the day, leadership is a journey, not a destination. I’m still learning every day how to be a better delegator and a better partner to the businesses I work with.

If you’re feeling like you’re at a crossroads: wondering if you can afford to hire help or if you can afford not to: I’d love to chat. It doesn't have to be a big, formal pitch. Just a conversation about where the "wet cement" is in your business and how we can start smoothing it out.

You don't necessarily need a $400,000 executive. You just need a system that works, a team that’s engaged, and a little bit of your own sanity back.

Have you ever felt like you were the "bottleneck" in your own success? I’d love to hear how you handled it: or if you’re still right in the middle of it. Drop me a line on our contact page, and let’s figure it out together.

After all, most problems are just solutions waiting to be solved.

Want to dive deeper into making your team more efficient? Check out my recent post on improving project management and follow-through or learn how to integrate skills-based planning into your HR strategy.