Operations help comes in three forms, and founders often buy the wrong one. An operations consultant studies a problem and recommends a fix. A facilitator, such as an EOS implementer or a business coach, runs planning sessions and teaches a system. A fractional COO runs the business between those sessions. Each has its place.
The operations consultant
A consultant takes a defined problem: inventory is too high, the delivery process loses money, a system selection needs a decision, a site is underperforming. They study it, measure it and deliver a recommendation, sometimes with an implementation plan. Fees are project-based, often $10,000 to $50,000 or more depending on scope, or hourly. When the recommendation is delivered, the consultant leaves, and the company is responsible for doing what the report says.
The facilitator or implementer
An EOS implementer, Scaling Up coach or similar facilitator teaches the leadership team an operating system and runs the quarterly and annual planning sessions. They are usually paid per full-day session. They do not run the business between sessions and are not accountable for the weekly numbers. Their job is to make the leadership team better at running itself.
The fractional COO
A fractional COO owns execution. They run the weekly leadership meeting, own the scorecard, hold department heads to their commitments and fix processes as problems appear. In EOS terms, the fractional COO is the integrator, the person who runs the business day to day while the founder focuses on vision, customers and growth. Retainers run $3,500 to $15,000 a month, and engagements often run 6 to 24 months.
Who signs off
A consultant recommends; the founder decides. A facilitator teaches; the leadership team decides together. A fractional COO decides within the authority the founder gives, which usually includes operational decisions, process changes, priorities for department heads and sometimes hiring and firing below the leadership team. Write that authority down. A fractional COO without clear decision rights turns into an expensive consultant.
When a consultant is enough
If there is one operational problem with a clear boundary and a manager who can implement the fix, hire a consultant. A warehouse layout, an ERP selection and a pricing review of a service line are good examples.
When a facilitator is enough
If the leadership team is strong, has the time to run the system itself and needs a method and an outside voice once a quarter, a facilitator is enough. Many companies self-implement EOS with a facilitator for years.
When you need a fractional COO
You need one when nobody on the team has the time or authority to run the system between sessions. The signs: quarterly priorities slip every quarter; the weekly meeting has stopped; the scorecard is out of date; and the founder is still the person every department head goes to. A facilitator cannot fix that, because the gap is an operator.
Using more than one
Plenty of companies use a facilitator for quarterly sessions and a fractional COO as integrator. That works well, provided the two agree on the system and the fractional owns the weeks in between. Check that the people you hire have worked together, or at least use the same method.