Fractional Operations Strategist vs. Fractional Integrator

Key role differences + determining which role you should hire

If you are the owner of a growing business, and you identify as the Visionary, there is a role that exists that is quite literally the Yin to your Yang. That role is called the Integrator.

Introducing: The Integrator

If you are familiar with EOS, then you are likely familiar with the role of the Integrator.

If you are not familiar with EOS, the Integrator is essentially the glue that holds your business together, ensuring the entire team is staying on track to accomplish the company’s pre-defined goals. Their roles and responsibilities consist of things like:

1. Ensuring all core business functions are aligned and working towards the company’s defined goals

2. Holding department heads accountable for their targets

3. Translating the founder / CEO's vision into actionable steps that the team can execute on with clarity

4. Managing the day to day challenges, working with key team members to resolve obstacles before they compound into larger problems

5. Bridging communication gaps across departments, making sure information flows effectively up, down, and across the organization, often acting as a sounding board for issues or concerns from various teams

6. Ensuring that systems are followed, efficiency is maintained, and processes are streamlined. They bring structure, consistency, and stability to the company

Don’t hire an Integrator until you have these items in place

The Integrator is a beautifully orchestrated role that so perfectly compliments the visionary business owner, but in order for the Integrator to be able to come into your business environment and thrive, you need to already have clarity on certain items. Those items are as follows:

• You have defined business goals

• You have key team members who are in charge of / accountable for your business’s core functions (Operations, Marketing / Sales, Finance)

• You have clarity on what you sell, and who you sell it to

• You have a defined Marketing strategy

The Integrator’s role is not to help you create or define these items. Their role is to steer the ship that’s already headed in a very intentional direction, and make sure everyone on your team can successfully execute on the objectives that have already been defined, and agreed upon.

So what do you do if you’re a visionary business owner who wants to hire an Integrator, but some of the items listed above aren’t yet well defined within your business?

Introducing: The Operations Strategist

The Operations Strategist is someone who you will work closely with, that will step in as the leadership team you do not yet have, and help you prepare for the Integrator role.

Their roles and responsibilities can include things like:

1. Helping you define your business goals

2. Helping you determine which team members need to be accountable for the business’s core functions / creating defined roles & responsibilities

3. Helping you define what you sell, and who you sell it to

4. Helping you define your core Marketing strategy, or making recommendations on who you need to hire to create your core Marketing strategy if you don’t have one

5. Helping you gain clarity on which projects your business needs to focus on executing each quarter

Key differences between the Integrator and the Operations Strategist

1. Defined Business Goals: The Integrator executes on the pre-defined business goals. The Ops Strategist helps you define your business goals.

2. Leadership Team: The Integrator leads, manages, and supports your key team members who are accountable for each core function within the business. The Ops Strategist helps you define which team members should be in charge of each core function, and what their roles & responsibilities should be.

3. Core Focus: The Integrator keeps your team aligned and in agreement on what the business sells, and who they sell it to. The Ops Strategist helps you gain clarity on what you sell, and who you sell it to.

4. Marketing Strategy: The Integrator keeps your team aligned and supports your team as they execute on the pre-defined Marketing strategy. The Ops Strategist helps you gain clarity on what the Marketing strategy is.

5. Projects: The Integrator leads, manages, and supports your team as they execute on the pre-defined quarterly projects. The Ops Strategist helps you gain clarity on what projects your business should be working on, that compliments the defined goals.

Determining which role you should hire

So now the question is….does your business need to hire an Operations Strategist or an Integrator? Ask yourself the questions below, and you’ll be able to determine what the answer is.

Operations Strategist

1. Do you currently have a leadership team in place who can help you make key business decisions, and conduct brainstorm sessions with you to gain clarity on key business items? If the answer is no, hire an Ops Strategist.

2. Do you currently have key team members in place who are responsible for the core functions that exist within your business, and have clarity on what everyone’s roles and responsibilities are? If the answer is no, hire an Ops Strategist.

Integrator

1. Do you currently have well defined business goals, a clear Marketing strategy, and a defined focus? If the answer is yes, hire an Integrator.

2. Do you currently have clarity on the core functions that exist within your business, and a team member who is in charge of / accountable for each function? If the answer is yes, hire an Integrator.

What it looks like to hire these roles fractionally

Lastly, if you are a small business owner, you likely do not need to hire someone full time for either of these roles in order to accomplish the defined objectives. You can instead hire these roles fractionally. All this means is that instead of you paying them a 6 figure salary to work 40 hours a week for your business, you can hire them for a fraction of the price, to work a fraction of the hours, while accomplishing the defined goals.

There are a variety of factors, but here are some base expectations:

• Expect to pay these roles $3000-$5000 a month

• Expect them to work with you up to 10 hours a week, but not exceeding 10 hours

• Expect to work with the fractional Operations Strategist for a defined period of time. This could be 3, 6, or 12 months. But the timeframe should not exceed 12 months, as the goal of this role is to prepare you to hire a fractional Integrator.

• Expect to work with a fractional Integrator on an ongoing basis. On an org chart, this role will live right below the Visionary, and above Operations, Marketing / Sales, Finance, etc. This role is intended to be a key role within your business

Interested in hiring one of these roles?

As a small business Operations expert, I specialize in helping small businesses identify the Operational challenges that are bottlenecking their business, and connect them to the right solutions.

Depending on what your most pressing Ops challenges are, I will either recommend you work with me, or I will refer you to one of my strategic partners.

Right now I am offering to work with small business owners for free for 1 week. During that week together, I will gather your key business information, identify your Operational gaps, and at the end of the week, I will deliver an action plan with my recommendations on who I believe you should work with, and why.

If you’d like to take me up on my “1 week free” offer, reply to this email.