The ONE Person You Need to Scale a Million Dollar Business
Summary
- I believe the key hire to scale a business successfully is an effective operator.
- Operators should act as filters, not bottlenecks, to streamline communication and feedback within the company.
- A strong operator keeps you informed with high-priority issues and necessary data for strategic decisions.
- A crucial trait to look for in an operator is loyalty—they tend to stay with the visionaries they believe in for the long haul.
- Operators need to be more than just process-oriented; they must be influential leaders driving the entire company toward your vision.
- It's important for an operator to be coachable because they need to adapt differently at each growth stage of the business.
- An operator is needed when someone is vision-oriented and quick to start projects but may struggle to scale the business effectively due to a lack of managerial soft skills or empathy.
- The right operator believes in the visionary's mission, complements them by being empathetic, and can scale the business from one to ten.
- Rather than hiring multiple people, finding the one right operator can be more effective as they can build and manage the team under your vision.
Video
How To Take Action
I would suggest finding an operator quickly if you're great at starting projects but not so skilled at managing people. Look for someone loyal, influential, and adaptable. They must believe in your vision and have the soft skills you might not have. Here's how to make it happen:
- Identify if you need an operator. If you start things fast but need help to grow without scaring people away, it’s time.
- Search for loyalty in a candidate. You need someone who will stick with you through thick and thin, for many years.
- Make sure they're not just about processes; they should inspire the team and push them toward your shared vision.
- Pick someone coachable. Your operator must adjust to different growth stages and challenges, changing their approach as needed.
Once you have your operator, trust them to build and manage the team. They will filter important information to you and take care of day-to-day issues, freeing you to focus on strategy and vision. Don't hire lots of people when one right operator can do more effectively. And remember, they have to be a filter, not a bottleneck, communicating well up and down the company ladder.
With the right operator, you'll find scaling your business from one to ten a smoother journey. They'll handle the daily grind while you dream big and chart the course. It’s a valuable partnership that can make all the difference.
Quotes by Leila Hormozi
"Good operators are filters not bottlenecks"
– Leila Hormozi
"The three things that I would look for if you're trying to find that operator is first off loyalty"
– Leila Hormozi
"You need someone who's not just good at processes but is influential"
– Leila Hormozi
"You need someone who is coachable"
– Leila Hormozi
"They understand that they have to be a complete doer at one stage, then they have to be a complete delegator at another"
– Leila Hormozi
Full Transcript
i want to talk about the most crucial hire to help you get to eight to nine to even seven figures and that is basically an operator it's often the higher that's overlooked or the wrong person's in the role so i want to talk about how to find that person what they look like what their character traits are and how to know you've got a good one because i think that what i often see is that we've got people have such great ideas they're so good at paying the big picture and paying the vision for their company but they've got a weak number two next to them and so i want to make sure that that's not you how do i know that i have a good operator how do i know when i find a good operator well the best way that can put it to you is that good operators are filters not bottlenecks so a filter is something where they will filter feedback to the team to you and they will filter you and your message back to the team whereas a bottleneck will stop you from receiving information about the business and stop the team from communicating with you and so i've had both on my team and i can give you examples which is a bad operator will often keep you in the dark they won't tell you about the problems they won't tell you about what's going wrong with the team i've had people who basically haven't given me anything including data or numbers on the other side you have a good operator who's a filter they'll bring you only the highest priority the decisions that they can't make without you the things that they think are important for you to know and all of the data criteria so that you can make strategic decisions about the business so the three things that i would look for if you're trying to find that operator is first off loyalty here's the thing that if you're gonna handle the keys to the castle you need to know that they're a loyal person i know the most loyal operators they will stay with a visionary for five seven ten years and the best ones usually do they will stay with that person until that vision has been sought out that's the first thing you want to look for the second thing you want to look for is you want to look for someone who's not just good at processes someone's good at processes and is influential people often think oh i'm going to operate i need someone who's really good at process but what then they miss is that they need a leader because that's actually what people need because you can pay a project manager you can pay an admin you can pay a lot of people to put processes in place but to get someone who is a leader and can lead the entire company towards the vision is an absolute different level and that's typically what's needed and the third thing that you need is you need someone who is coachable what's gonna get you from zero to one million from one to three million from three to ten million and from 10 to 15 million it's all gonna be different stuff and that person is going to have to mold themselves and have different behaviors different habits and different actions at every step of the way and so you need someone who's almost like a chameleon they understand that they have to be a complete doer at one stage then they have to be a complete delegator at one stage and they have to be an influential leader at another and they have to be okay going through all the stages and even like it how do i know that i need an operator typically when i see somebody who needs an operator who it would be preferential for you to reach your business goals to have one are people who are vision oriented fast moving typically a little rough around the edges probably a little abrasive but they have a really big compelling vision and they can get things from zero to one like that and what i see is that typically what's missing is the person who utterly believes in that person's vision and just wants to make it come to life and that's what that person will usually do for you is the person that is in this seat that needs an operator they're usually struggling because they're trying to scale their business and what they don't see is that people are scared of them they're intimidated the best talent won't work for them because sometimes they're too abrasive and they're hard to work for they don't manage well and even though they're very smart and very compelling have a huge vision it's just that talent eventually is like i want somebody who considers my own goals you know is considered of me has empathy et cetera and that person usually does things they're hard driving they're going towards their goal and they don't care who's going to get in the way they're going to move them to the side and so what you want is you want someone who complements that they're more empathetic they can integrate they can follow through they can take your zero to one and they can go one to ten so you could call this a first follower you could call an operator i think that it needs to be a combination of two it needs to be somebody who utterly believes in you and they're loyal to you into your mission and oftentimes people don't take the time to hire that person instead they go about hiring all the other people who could actually report to that person but if you just take the time to find that one person they will find everybody else from the team and they will build the company on your behalf under your vision