ABOUT HEROIC PUBLIC SPEAKING

What We Believe

We believe that a speech has the power to change the world and the people in it—including the speaker.

What We Do

Heroic Public Speaking helps speakers with transformational ideas leverage the power of performance to move audiences (and themselves) to think, feel, and act differently. Simply put, we help speakers deliver best in class performances so their ideas take hold and spread.

Who We Do It For

Professional speakers and soon-to-be professional speakers.
Entrepreneurs who use speaking to build their brands and book more business.
Mission-driven people who want to advance a cause or lead a movement.
Executives who need to move people towards a big vision.

What We’ve Built

Heroic Public Speaking is considered by most to be the preeminent keynote speaker training company. Founded by Michael and Amy Port, a husband and wife team, we are headquartered in Lambertville, NJ, but our students visit us from all over the world. Michael is NYT, WSJ, and USA Today bestselling author
of 9 books.

Our team is small but highly effective. Their commitment to our clients is unwavering and their focus on excellence is intrinsically motivated. We are profitable, have an impeccable reputation in our industry (Net Promoter Scores range from 98-100), our clients are industry thought leaders, and we are positioned for significant growth. We’ve had multiple unsolicited acquisition offers this year but want to capitalize on our growth opportunities before accepting any such offers.

What we don’t have is you. And we need you to achieve our goals. We believe that we can do more together than we can alone.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Job Title: Chief Operating Officer
Company: Heroic Public Speaking
Location: Headquartered in Lambertville, NJ

Heroic Public Speaking needs an inspired Chief Operating Officer who is an integrator, executer and change agent with a proven track record of success for the following key objectives:

Scale the company by developing and implementing operating systems that will enable it to perform at 3 times its current capacity.
Execute a succession plan to eliminate the need for the founders to work in the business on a daily basis.
Prepare the business for a future sale, seeking the maximum value and the right buyer who will uphold our mission and prioritize the well-being of our staff and community.

Key Competencies

Lifelong learner and effective teacher, with a dedication to continuous learning and an ability to impart knowledge with grace and care.
Proactive and forward-thinking, regularly bringing new ideas to the table.
Persuasive and able to effectively convey ideas and persuade others to take action, while also remaining open to alternative viewpoints.
Excellent communicator, with the ability to speak and write clearly and effectively.
Skilled strategic planner, with demonstrated competency in strategic planning, business operating systems, project management, and business development.
Confident decision-maker with a strong aptitude for problem-solving.
Analytical, with a working knowledge of data analysis and performance/operation metrics.

Overview of General Responsibilities

Oversee the day-to-day operations of the company.
Develop and implement processes and systems to increase efficiency and productivity.
Lead and mentor the team, fostering a positive and collaborative culture.
Identify and pursue new business opportunities and partnerships.
Monitor and analyze key performance metrics to make data-driven decisions.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with clients and partners.

COO SCORECARD

This scorecard outlines the expectations for the Chief Operating Officer role in 2023. Please note that the specific outcomes, scope of work, strategic plans, goals, initiatives, and more will be collaboratively developed during the onboarding process. Completion dates for these outcomes will be determined based on the start date of the individual in this role. For confidentiality reasons, financial information is not included in this publicly shared job description. Please consider the listed outcomes as examples.

Mission

Set overall direction of the company and ensure execution of plans to scale.
Implement a succession plan to eliminate the need for the founders to work in the business.
Prepare the business for a future sale, reducing discount factors in order to command a high multiple.

Outcomes

Create alignment to make HPS the best place to work

Install the Entrepreneurs Operating System (EOS) or similar operating system.
Establish scorecards for all roles to ensure alignment and set up to scale.
Create consistent cadence for performance mentoring meetings with team members.
Conduct annual reviews of all team members performance and comp packages. Implement adjustments as needed.

Make financial reporting transparent

Report financial results with the team quarterly.
Create and share budgets quarterly.

Increase profitability

Increase EBITDA by a min of X%.

Produce new avenues for growth

Increase lifetime value of clients by expanding our program offerings.
Work with sales to increase numbers of referrals into entry level programs.

Make HPS better at projects and SOPs

Oversee the installation of a PM management methodology that is used by everyone.
Improve standard operating procedures and oversee completion of ops manual for all business activities.

Eliminate bottlenecks

Standardize communication processes throughout the company.
Establish clear goals and responsibilities for all team members to ensure alignment and accountability. Everyone should have a number.
Make sure everyone is held accountable for goals and responsibilities.

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

2023 On-Target-Earnings: $250,000 (salary plus bonus based on growth).
Pathway to CEO role.
More details (including additional bonuses and benefits) will be provided to candidates during the interview process.

BENEFITS? YES, WE HAVE LOADS OF THOSE.

20 days PTO (+ paid time off for official holidays). We love and respect brain breaks.
401K plan. Your contributions to the 401K can be in the form of a post-tax ROTH 401K or pre-tax Traditional 401K
Platinum health insurance plan. We share the premiums for you and your dependents, if you choose to enroll.
Monthly cash allowance for your computer and phone.
Life insurance and disability insurance.

WORK LOCATION AND TRAVEL

Reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work. We need you to be within driving distance of our headquarters in Lambertville, NJ. Philly is an hour by car. NYC is an hour and a half away. We primarily work from home but meet at HQ regularly. Of course, we are present for multi-day events which usually occur twice per month. Here’s a little more about our tranquil, storybook river town.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

If you have an MBA, that may be helpful but we are looking for someone that has had success scaling a company, implementing an operating system, and a succession plan. If you have direct experience in M&A, that’s a plus.

GET THESE MATERIALS READY IN ORDER TO APPLY

Your resume.
A cover letter.
A private link to a short video introduction posted on the video platform of your choice (around 2 min or so). We don’t expect an Oscar Award-winning speech but please DO NOT READ OFF A SCRIPT. We just want to get to know you and give you the opportunity to tell us, in your own words, why you are the perfect person for this position.
Links to your public social media profiles. (If you don’t have these, just explain why in your cover letter.)
If we begin the interview process with you, you’ll be asked to sign an NDA so that we can share all applicable financial data and growth plans with you.

We can’t promise to interview everyone who applies for a position at Heroic Public Speaking, but we promise to review every application that is submitted. We know how challenging the job hunting process can be and we respect all the effort you put in to land the job of your dreams. Maybe the job of your dreams is here at Heroic Public Speaking HQ

BTW, we also ask you some questions in the application. We do this to get to know you. We want to know how you think and what’s interesting and important to you.

Apply to join our team

(This will take you to a form where you can enter the information requested above.)

HEROIC PUBLIC SPEAKING CORE VALUES

1. We develop people …

… so we look for what’s working before we look for faults in performance.
… so we give people the feedback they need to improve their performance in a way that they can hear.
… so we encourage and support people to go after big goals that might make them nervous.
… so we embrace changing roles and responsibilities as we grow.

2. We make and keep promises …

… so we do what we say we’re going to do even when it’s inconvenient.
… so we show up prepared and on time.
… so we don't make loose commitments that could lead to unmet expectations; we are explicit and clear in our promises even if we have to say "no."
… so we communicate in advance if a deliverable has changed.

3. We apply constraints to be more creative …

… so we use process checklists to free our minds from worrying about busy work.
… so we are lean and nimble and can adapt to whatever comes our way.
… so we protect our time to allow for focused creativity.
… so we keep our space and ourselves clean, tidy, and organized.

4. We pursue mastery of craft …

… so we create transformational experiences for our students.
… so we are more focused on being effective than being right.
… so we develop everyone’s skillset because talent is overrated.
… so we produce “client ready” work; we don’t do sloppy.

5. We stay focused and on track …

… so we use OKRs to achieve our goals and guide our activities.
… so we play the long game and focus on the end goal rather than short term hacks.
… so we get gritty and try again if something doesn’t work and, if it still doesn’t work, we try something different.
… so we make decisions that align with our shared goals.

6. We create collaboratively …

… so we ask for help when we need it.
… so we treat others the way they want to be treated.
… so we make sure to recognize each members’ contributions.
… so we say, “Yes, and..” rather than “Yeah, but…”

7. We are always performers; never critics …

… so we go high when others go low.
… so we focus on achieving our goals instead of beating others.
… so we don’t waste time being petty or small.
… so we lift others up rather than put them down.

8. We care more about results than approval …

… so we don’t do unnecessary work just to look busy or impressive.
… so we don’t say we know how to do something when we really don’t.
… so we are transparent about our losses as well as our wins.
… so we bounce back quickly when rejected or disappointed.

9. We communicate clearly and directly …

… so we never gossip or pander.
… so we show respect to others.
… so we get to the point and don’t waste time.
… so we stand behind our convictions and values.

10. We take care of each other …

… so we are flexible and adapt to the needs of our team members.
… so we offer meaningful compensation, benefits and life experiences for our employees and their families.
… so we regularly express our gratitude and recognize the sacrifices people make in pursuit of big goals.

Chief Operating Officer (COO)