The COO Who Managed Pace
If the CEO represented ambition, the COO represented management.
That combination proved both powerful and instructive.
The COO was exceptionally intelligent. Capable. Curious.
And perhaps most importantly, humble enough to learn.
Over the years, he absorbed an extraordinary amount of knowledge.
Operations. Finance. Performance management. Governance. Strategy. Commercial thinking. Organisational design.
He learned continuously. Not because anybody forced him to. Because he wanted to understand.
As the organisation matured, he became increasingly capable of connecting the dots.
He understood why certain decisions mattered. He understood why assumptions mattered. He understood why expectations mattered.
He could see the chain.
Yet he responded differently from me.
That difference would teach me an important lesson.
When the organisation began asking larger questions, my instinct was to follow the logic and accelerate.
The answers were needed. The decisions mattered. The opportunity existed. Why wait?
The COO saw the same reality. Yet he reached a different conclusion.
The organisation could only move as fast as it could absorb change.
The business could only move as fast as its culture could absorb change.
His instinct was not to accelerate. His instinct was to regulate. To create time. To allow understanding to develop. To allow acceptance to develop.
To allow people to move together. He was not opposed to change. He was protecting its sustainability.
Organisations do not change when a conclusion is reached. They change when enough people are ready to accept it.
As discussions progressed, both the CEO and the COO chose a more measured pace.
Despite the slower pace, the organisation continued learning.
The culture continued evolving. The curiosity survived. The momentum remained.
Perhaps the pace was not a weakness. Perhaps it was a bridge.
Looking back, I have come to appreciate that a mandate is not implemented in a vacuum.
It must adapt to the reality of the organisation it serves.
Reflection
This article is about how patience taught me that sustainable change happens at a pace people can absorb.
This is the thirteenth of a series of articles – “What hospitality taught me about myself” – in which I share lessons learned throughout my professional and personal journey, and how those experiences have shaped my thinking and led me to develop my own principles.
Throughout my career, I have often been drawn toward the logic of an argument.
Follow the chain. Understand the consequences. Reach the conclusion. The logic remains important.
But organisations are not spreadsheets. People require time. Cultures require time. Trust requires time.
The more mature I become, the more I appreciate that sustainable change is rarely determined by the quality of the conclusion alone. It is also determined by the organisation’s ability to absorb it.
The COO taught me that progress is not measured solely by speed. Sometimes progress is measured by what survives the journey.
About the Author
Raoul Gransier is a Senior International Adviser and owner-focused hotelier with more than 25 years of operational and advisory experience in hospitality, tourism, governance, and performance improvement.
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