Build the Management System Your Growth Now Requires
Get an experienced scaling operator inside your business to diagnose the real constraints, install the management cadence and dashboards, and develop managers into executives – without the delay or cost of a full-time COO.
Schedule a 30-Minute Fractional COO Fit Call
For growth-oriented companies from $1M to $15M+ in annual revenue. Calls are conducted by Zoom with Bob Norton.
Does Growth Still Depend on You Pushing Everything Forward?
The company has outgrown informal management, but it is not yet ready – or willing – to carry the cost and risk of a permanent COO.
Meetings do not create execution
Priorities move, deadlines slip and the CEO must repeatedly follow up to get commitments completed.
Managers report activity, not results
There is no reliable company scorecard, clear ownership or early-warning system for performance problems.
Growth is exposing talent gaps
Capable managers need the operating discipline, judgment and confidence required to become true executives.
The founder remains the hub
Too many decisions, approvals and escalations still flow through one person, limiting growth and enterprise value.
Accountability feels personal
Without objective goals and metrics, performance discussions become political, inconsistent or delayed.
Hiring a COO feels premature
A full-time executive adds salary, benefits, equity, recruiting risk and a long learning curve before value appears.
A Four-Month Operating Transformation
This is not a month-long discovery exercise. Bob generally diagnoses the major constraints and prescribes priorities in one to two working days during the first one to two weeks. Implementation begins immediately.
Diagnose & Prioritize
Assess the leadership team, operating cadence, goals, metrics and bottlenecks. Establish the highest-value priorities and objective success measures.
Install the Cadence
Create the goal-setting, meeting, communication, follow-up and escalation rhythms needed for consistent execution.
Run by the Numbers
Design company and department dashboards with clear owners, thresholds and early-warning indicators.
Build Internal Capability
Coach managers, transfer the playbook, tune the systems and establish the next 90-day improvement roadmap.
The objective: create a leadership team that executes with greater visibility, accountability and speed – while freeing the CEO to focus on strategy, capital, customers and growth.
The Operating Core Installed First
The initial engagement focuses on the two systems that create management discipline, transparency and continuous improvement fastest.
Management Best Practices & Cadence
Install a practical Performance, Accountability and Management System tailored to your company.
- SMART, MBO or OKR goal-setting
- Five styles of management used in the right situations
- Weekly, monthly and quarterly operating rhythms
- Clear commitments, ownership and follow-through
- Merit-based performance and career development
Dashboards, Metrics & Early Warnings
Enable managers to run the business by the numbers and identify problems before they become expensive.
- Corporate and department scorecards
- Leading and lagging indicators
- Named data owners and reporting standards
- Objective accountability and decision support
- Kaizen and continuous-improvement cycles
Develop Managers Into Executives
Better systems should not threaten good managers. They should give them the training, visibility and authority to grow.
Fractional COO Engagement Bands
Revenue is a useful starting point, but headcount, number of departments, process complexity and the strength of the existing management team determine the final scope.
$1M-$3M Revenue
- Approximately one day per week
- Four-month initial system installation
- CEO adviser access
- Up to five managers in the development program
- Best for a focused leadership team and limited departmental complexity
$3M-$10M Revenue
- One to two days per week
- Broader leadership-team participation
- Multiple department dashboards
- More implementation and coaching time
- Scope finalized after rapid diagnosis
$10M-$15M+ Revenue
- Minimum two days per week
- More employees, processes and managers to align
- Company plus department-level systems
- Custom timeline and implementation team
- Additional AirTight systems available as priorities require
Draft pricing for qualification and planning. Final fees, time commitment, milestones and any performance-based terms are defined in the engagement agreement.
Get a Proven Scaling Operator – Not Just More Advice
Bob works directly with your CEO and management team. The engagement combines fractional COO oversight, CEO advisory, systems design, training, coaching and implementation project management.
Medical Scanning Clinic: Rebuilding the Team and Systems for Scale
In this confidential 2012-2013 medical-clinic engagement, Bob combined CEO advisory, management development and fractional COO oversight to build the leadership team and install goals, dashboards, operating cadence, policies and strategic priorities.
Documented results after three years: revenue grew from $20 million to $40 million; profitability increased from under 10% to over 25%; growth accelerated from 12-15% to 40-50%+; the founder had a full management team; and the company received a $60 million private-equity offer.
Who This Is – and Is Not – For
Strong fit
- $1M-$15M+ in annual revenue with real growth potential
- At least three managers or department leaders
- A CEO who wants less operational dependency
- Managers willing to learn, use dashboards and honor commitments
- Leadership prepared to provide data and complete agreed work
Not a fit
- A lifestyle business with no desire to build management capability
- A CEO seeking advice but unwilling to change operating habits
- Managers who will not participate or accept objective accountability
- A company unable to provide timely data and decision access
- A business seeking guaranteed sales without executing the agreed plan
Before You Schedule a Call
What happens during the first two weeks?
Bob reviews the business, leadership team, existing meetings, goals, dashboards and major operational constraints. The diagnosis generally requires one to two focused working days spread across the first one to two weeks. He then prescribes the highest-value priorities and begins implementation.
Is this coaching, consulting or a fractional COO?
It is primarily a fractional COO engagement. It also includes the consulting, manager coaching, training and implementation support needed to make the operating changes work and stick.
How are results guarantees and equity options handled?
Eligible engagements may include performance-based equity options that vest only when specific, objective milestones are achieved. Milestones, measurement methods, client responsibilities, participation requirements and timing are defined in the contract. A client cannot withhold required work, data or decisions and then treat the resulting delay as nonperformance by AirTight.
How is this different from EOS?
AirTight combines hands-on fractional operating leadership with custom dashboards, management development and a broader six-system architecture for scaling. Companies actively comparing systems can review the detailed EOS vs. AirTight Management comparison.
What happens after the first four months?
The client can continue fractional COO support, maintain the installed systems internally, or move into additional AirTight systems such as strategic planning, budgeting, process optimization, innovation or human capital development.
Find Out What Your Company Needs Next
On a 30-minute Zoom call, Bob will assess the leadership and operating gaps holding back execution, determine the appropriate fractional COO band and explain whether a four-month AirTight installation is a practical fit.
Schedule Your Fractional COO Fit Call
Or call (619) SCALE06, Monday-Friday, 9 AM-6 PM CT.