When it comes to operational management, there have always been two schools of thought: centralization vs. decentralization of responsibilities. As #industry40 trends such as #remoteservices transform the way companies do business and the #newnormal of #wfh because of the #covid pandemic takes hold, management must recognize that agility and collaboration are the paradigm of the 21st century. This demands managers who are ready to implement disruptive changes, but who also have the experience and sensitivity to identify and manage operational dependencies and conflict potential among individuals and groups.

Changes – especially downsizing and outsourcing – are not always appreciated. As a result, with a view to protecting their #CHRO or #COO, companies often engage interim managers. However, driven by the influence of Industry 4.0, the need for disruptive #changemanagement will grow exponentially. In view of this, it is time to engage interim COOs. Such iCOOs are continuously engaged in daily operations and know that as their assignment reaches its goals, they will have to hand over responsibility to the next disruptive #iCOO, whenever a transition requires a new area of expertise.