Do you have what it takes to be in Business Operations?

There is no industry known career ladder for Business Operations and that’s the beauty of Business Operations. It’s a sexy job because you get to do a lot and work with every people across the whole organization; left to right and top to bottom.

You don’t have to start your career in business operations. You can grow into business operations from:

• Consulting
• Investment Banking
• Venture Capital
• Program Management
• Functional Operations: Business Operations, Sales Operations, Product Operations, Engineering Operations, etc.
• Other Roles: Finance, HR, Customer Service, etc.

Business operations gives you a lot of exposure to all aspects of the company, and specially to find synergies between functions, so business operations people can grow into high-profile executive roles:

• General Manger
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Executive Officer

This article, “How to Become a Business Operations Manager” by Alison Green provides good insight into what it takes, education, job outlook, etc.:

Collaborating with senior executives to develop and implement operational strategies

Conducting training programs to educate employees on the organization’s mission, vision and policies

Participating in the recruitment process to interview and hire departmental employees at the department level, such as accountants, market researchers and customer service clerks

Developing a communication framework to streamline communications with customers and business partners

Negotiating contracts with service providers and suppliers

Managing a wide variety of business projects, including product marketing and brand building.

Every business operations professional has a unique story. This article shares “How 5 Operations Manager Got Their Start”.

My favorite resource for figuring out if business operations is the right career for you is “11 Questions to Ask When Considering a Career in Business Operations” by Mary Ann Anderson, MSE, Edward J. Anderson, Geoffrey Parker:

1. Am I good at getting along with people, particularly people from different functional areas or from different levels of the organization?

2. Do I have enough technical background?

3. Do I like my work to be predictable or constantly changing?

4. Am I comfortable explaining difficult concepts to people?

5. Do I mind getting my hands dirty?

6. Do I understand the details of what I’m trying to manage?

7. Should I check up on people after they’ve promised something?

8. Do I believe that people are self-motivated?

9. Do I value simplicity?

10. Am I open to change?

11. Am I always looking for ways to improve things?