Understanding The Role of a COO in an Organization

Last Updated on June 1, 2021 by Owen McGab Enaohwo

One of the most basic necessities of life is water. 

There are many places in the world where clean water is a rarity. Fortunately, there are agencies that have made providing clean water for people in such places their mission. Charity: water is one of such agencies.

On today’s episode of the Process Breakdown Podcast, Dr. Jeremy Weisz speaks with guest Lauren Letta, the former COO of charity: water.

They discuss the inner workings of charity: water during Lauren’s time there as COO, how she transformed the company’s SOPs, and her reason for moving on from the company.

Listen to the audio interview

Subscribe for more business success stories

Key Resource List:

* SweetProcess.com, 14-day free trial, no credit card required* charity: water

Show Notes:

0:06 – Intro

0:26 – Dr. Jeremy Weisz shares the best solution that makes documenting standard operating procedures drop-dead easy, highlighting a 14-day free trial. No credit card required.

1:48 – Dr. Weisz introduces this episode’s guest, Lauren Letta, COO at the innovative non-profit charity: water.

2:51 – Ms. Letta talks about the concept of the rise of the COO, explaining how many companies/start-ups these days are looking for a COO.

5:31 – Ms. Letta gives some examples of different types of COOs and different roles COOs can take on, depending on the company they’re integrated into.

7:41 – Ms. Letta talks about her transition and the things she did during her time at charity: water, and she expands more about the company’s vision.

11:56 – Ms. Letta explains the differences between chief of staff and COO, and the different roles.

14:06 – Ms. Letta explains how she handled the chief of staff and COO roles by taking on some of the founders’ roles to make things easier and understanding what is needed in the business ecosystem.

19:14 – Ms. Letta talks about some of the things she did to redesign charity: water and take it to the next level, and the pivot the business made from a one-time donation machine to a subscription-based donation model.

23:41 – Ms. Letta talks about the transparency of charity: water, and how charity: water builds public trust.

26:41 – Ms. Letta walks us through the steps she took when she was accessing problems in charity: water.

29:39 – Ms. Letta explains how she creates pathways to eliminate redundancies or inefficiencies.

33:07 – Ms. Letta talks about a trip she and a group took with Will and Jada Smith to Ethiopia.

34:48 – Ms. Letta talks about what’s next for her on h...