Origins
A genuine catalyst for value creation, the operating partner profession, which originated in the United States in 2008 during the subprime crisis, has been developing in Europe over the last few years to become a real “growth insurance” for companies and holdings.
An Operating Partner is a professional with the experience of having been an experienced entrepreneur or top-level executive in operational management, who, after training in the profession, puts all his or her experience at the side of a manager to help the company turn a strategic corner. A true man of the shadows or sparring partner, after a thorough understanding of the company, he will propose the levers best suited to the objective, with a commitment to quantifiable results from the recommended actions implemented.
The Operating Partner is there to co-conduct change and maximize value creation for companies..
Context
More than ever in today’s world, the responsibility of the company director is considerable, and the challenges are multiplying.
Geopolitical instability for companies operating in international markets, a sluggish economy in France, rises or even shortages in raw materials, transformations in usage with the advent of new technologies such as AI, regulatory and cultural obligations in CSR commitments, staff shortages, or falling valuations of companies on sale/transfer – there’s no shortage of challenges.
Above all, the Operating Partner intrinsically understands these challenges, having experienced them himself and taken on challenges and responsibilities in the past.
After gaining a thorough understanding of the company, the CEO’s objectives and the market environment, the Operating Partner will draw up a precise, time-bound, budgeted growth and transformation plan, adapted to the CEO’s objectives, and, after mutual agreement with the CEO, will implement it alongside him or her, committing to the results to be achieved.
Key qualities of an Operating Partner
As with many professions involving a commitment to results, a number of qualities are essential.
In addition to the prerequisites of having been an experienced entrepreneur or top-level executive to qualify as an Operating Partner, humility is the prime quality of an Operating Partner, for two reasons:
- it’s not because you’ve been a good entrepreneur or executive that you’ll be excellent at transmitting, executing and analyzing for others. As David Douillet often says, with each new experience, you use your experience, but you become a white belt again.
- More, we must never forget that the Operating Partner takes on the role of orchestra conductor, without ever forgetting that it is not he who created and decided on the score.
Commitment and action are the second essential qualities.
The stakes are often very high behind the actions of an Operating Partner: safeguarding jobs, part of the assets of the manager and his family, etc… the posture and personal investment in the action and the results to be achieved are fundamental.
If we had to name a third, it would be listening and the desire to pass on.
A flaw that can be found in many entrepreneurs or top-level executives is the flip side of their strength, which is “experience”.
Indeed, when you have experience, you think you know a lot.
But in the Operating Partner profession, it’s essential to know how to listen, because every story and every company is different, and to be willing to pass on what you’ve learned, while at the same time questioning yourself as the world around you evolves.
Executive support environment
The support environment may seem complex, but as with the entourage of a top-level athlete, everyone has their place and a precise mission.
The consultant’s role is to assist decision-making in a very vertical way, on functional subjects linked to business lines such as marketing, engineering or human resources.
They analyze and provide recommendations.
As with an athlete, the CEO relies on a mentor or coach to help with personal development, such as speaking, management, attitude and posture.
The mentor provides a helping hand on an ad hoc basis, during informal meetings.
The interim manager works with company managers on operational and functional assignments. He or she carries out a specific, one-off operation to reinforce the company’s activity, during a replacement, for a given need, in the manner of a temp.
The Operating Partner is a man/woman behind the scenes, who works exclusively with the Managing Director and not his teams. He measures the financial and emotional commitment, and understands the level of involvement. He brings legitimacy. The Operating Partner will never be the Caliph in the Caliph’s stead, and will only intervene at a precise moment in the life of the company, to help it turn a strategic corner, with a very precise objective to be achieved within a given timeframe.
