As the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), I handle the day to day operations at MCCI. My role essentially is to ensure that everything runs efficiently. This means that I take daily pulse checks with members of the MCCI team to make sure they’re on the right track and that every client is satisfied with our efforts.
In short, it’s my responsibility to make decisions that benefit the company. How do I manage to balance this seemingly endless list of “to-dos?” A simple, old school, handwritten list. I begin by evaluating all of things pushed to the bottom of yesterday’s list. Then, all time sensitive tasks are moved to the top, and I go from there.
And just like that, the rest of my day is planned out. Throughout the day, as things come up, I have to prioritize accordingly. Flexibility is key, as the day is always changing, and I’m not always able to really focus on one task at a time (multitasking is an art).
In between drinking copious amounts of coffee, I do things like…
- Touch base with the video team. I assist in overseeing the production calendar and the coordination where our video team is booked. Although it’s not the traditional COO task, it’s one of my roles and helps me stay integrated with our team.
- Write and review new business proposals. I’m actively involved in writing/editing/overseeing the development of proposals, RFIs and RFPs. MCCI’s Business Manager Rachel Bair handles daily accounting functions (payroll, invoicing and payments, etc.) and I oversee the analysis of the resulting data.
- Manage HR. Yes, one of my other (many) hats is HR. I play a big role in onboarding new staff, including benefits and all the paperwork involved. I also weigh-in on all employee reviews.
- Oversee IT functions. I’m in charge of coordinating with our tech provider to make sure that our server is up and running and that our team has the tools needed to do their jobs.
The key to my job is balancing constant proactivity with the reactivity of needs that occur throughout the day. How is it that I keep my sanity? It’s simple, I find peace in each accomplishment. I see every accomplishment as a small victory - I take a moment to celebrate and then move forward, never lingering.
