Fractional COOs to the Rescue

You already know who the wrong person is.

You've known for months. You just haven't said it out loud.

In this episode, Jen Hamilton sits down with Hans Kirkegaard, a Fractional COO and business advisor who spent fifteen years building and selling his own multi-business rollup, then stepped into the number two seat at a SaaS startup, then worked alongside Jen at the same Fractional COO firm. Today he runs a vacation rental company in Sarasota, Florida, built on EOS and a ten year goal he shares.

Hans has fired people he liked. He has kept people he didn't. He has a way of telling the difference, and a way of ending the conversation once he's made the call.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanskirkegaard

Email: [email protected]

If you've been carrying someone on your team who you already know isn't working, this is the episode that gives you permission and the language to finally deal with it.

You're not the problem. The system is.

That's the line running underneath this conversation with Gina Fedeli, President and Founder of P3 Transformation, a full-service operations agency that lives by a simple equation: people plus process equals profit.

Gina has spent her career in the second seat, stepping in as a Fractional COO for professional services firms, technology and managed service providers, and manufacturers. 

Before P3, she was COO of a managed service provider she helped grow from $2 million to $25 million through acquisition. She knows what it looks like when people, not just process, are the thing actually holding a business back.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginafedeli/

Email: [email protected] 

Website: p3transformation.com, where Gina offers a complimentary business assessment and a follow-up call.

If you've ever caught yourself thinking "why can't they just do this," this episode will change how you see that thought completely.

Every leader says they want a healthy culture. Fewer are willing to look at the silos quietly costing them one.

In this episode, Jen Hamilton sits down with Camille Soleil, Fractional COO and founder of Soleil Solutions.  She is a longtime nonprofit and behavioral health leader.  Jen and Camille talk about what silos actually cost a business, and what it takes to break them down before they take your best people with them.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-soleil/

Email: [email protected]

If your team feels more like separate camps than one crew, this conversation gives you the first move to make.

Your team is already experimenting with AI. The question is whether anyone in your company actually knows it.

In this episode, Jen sits down with Brian Munroe, Managing Director of MTI Global Group and a Fractional COO who specializes in rescuing troubled projects and healthcare operations. Brian coined a term for what he sees happening inside growing businesses right now: AI sprawl.

Brian and Jen dig into what happens when every department quietly adopts its own AI tools with nobody talking to each other about it. Why that drives up cost, breaks compliance, and erodes the consistency a business depends on. And the practices that bring it back under control before it becomes an expensive mess. 

You will hear why "let's get the latest tool" is rarely the fix it feels like, why a simple AI intake process changes everything, and why the goal is not to remove humans from the work, it is to put them back in the parts that matter most.

If your team has been quietly testing AI tools on their own, this conversation will show you what to do about it before it costs you.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iambrianmunroe/ | mtiglobalgroup.com

A new idea isn't always progress. Sometimes it's the most expensive distraction in the building.

In this episode, Jen sits down with Fractional COO Daniel Matthews, founder of Matthews Ops and a Lean Six Sigma practitioner who came up through structural engineering and construction before spending nearly a decade improving how businesses actually run.

Dan and Jen dig into what happens when an owner drops a shiny new idea into work that's already in motion. Why it derails the team. How to honor the idea without abandoning the plan. And the leadership move that turns "do it because I said so" into real buy-in.

You'll hear why you can't actually multitask, why "that's how we've always done it" is a hidden tax on your business, and why a COO's most underrated skill is emotional intelligence.

If new ideas keep pulling your team off course, this one will help you protect your focus without killing innovation.

LinkedIn | matthewsops.com

Most small businesses have a growth goal. Very few have a growth plan.

Even fewer have actually operationalized one. 

In this episode, Jen sits down with Fractional COO, Jodi Graham, founder of Strategic Growth Advisors, who has spent her career driving growth, leading teams, and navigating nine mergers and acquisitions for the companies she served.

Jodi breaks down what it really means to operationalize growth, and why so many businesses skip this critical step in the rush to hit revenue targets. 

She shares the tell-tale symptoms that signal your growth plan isn't working, why misalignment between sales and operations is silently killing your culture, and how the right strategy can turn a company in crisis into one that doubles in four years.

You'll also hear the story behind the bell.  One of the most simple, powerful team engagement moves we've featured on this show.

If your business is growing but still feels chaotic, this episode is exactly what you need to hear.

In this episode:

Connect with Jodi Graham:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodigraham1/
Email: [email protected] 

What does flying a Navy aircraft have to do with running your small business? More than you think.

In this episode, Jen Hamilton sits down with Ron Higgs, Naval Flight Officer, aerospace engineer, turned executive coach and Fractional COO.  

Ron unpacks the leadership lessons he carried from the cockpit straight into the boardroom. Ron works with technical professionals and business owners who have never been trained to lead (engineers, accountants, lawyers).  He helps them become the executives their businesses desperately need.

Together, Jen and Ron dive into:

If you've ever felt like your business is flying blind, this episode will give you a flight plan.

Connect with Ron on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-higgs/

Learn more about Ron's work: https://wolfmanagementsolutions.com/ 

Most small business owners think they have a strategy. Mark Ross says they're probably wrong — and it's costing them more than they realize.

In this episode, Fractional COO Mark Ross joins Jen Hamilton to talk about one of the most overlooked drivers of small business success: being intentional and strategic about who you serve and what you offer. 

From the dangers of trying to be everything to everyone, to the power of challenging your own assumptions before the market does it for you, this conversation is packed with practical insight for any owner who's ready to stop guessing and start executing with clarity.

Mark and Jen also dig into why strategic planning fails without the right metrics, how to test ideas small before going all in, and what happens when you finally get the right people working cross-functionally toward a shared goal.

If your business feels like chaos with a calendar, this episode is your reset button.

In this episode:

Connect with Mark Ross:

LinkedIn: Mark Ross

Websites:

RossCG.org

Schedule a complimentary consultation with Mark Ross 

What's really behind the dropped balls, the tension, and the team that just won't run without you?

In this episode, Jen Hamilton sits down with Diane Mentzer, COO coach and creator of the Alignment Accelerator, to talk about role clarity: what it is, why most leadership teams don't have it, and what it's quietly costing you.

Diane shares a real client story, practical steps you can take today, and why co-creating roles with your team changes everything for your culture, your productivity, and your bottom line.

If you're tired of being in every conversation and every decision, this episode is your starting point.

Connect with Diane:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diane-integrates/ 

Diane's Website: https://www.dianeintegrates.com/

Most small businesses have a mission statement gathering dust on their website. But what if your mission could actually drive decisions, rally your team, and create real impact?

In this episode, Renee Brauns—Fractional COO for mission-minded businesses—shares how to turn vision into action. 

She reveals the "villains" that keep businesses stuck: the Tangle Weavers (endless meetings with no outcomes) and Vision Distractors (shiny object syndrome that kills focus).

Renee breaks down why strategic planning fails for most businesses and how to make it actionable instead of aspirational. You'll discover the difference between teams that memorize a mission versus teams that internalize it—and why that distinction changes everything.

If you lead a purpose-driven business and feel stuck between big vision and messy execution, this conversation will give you clarity on where to start.

Key Takeaways:

Renee's approach is perfect for professional services, associations, and nonprofit leaders ready to move from chaos to clarity.

Connect with Renee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneebrauns/

Visit Renee's website: https://www.reneebrauns.com/