What a Chief of Staff Brings to a Startup

John Quayle is an Operations Professional for small businesses, startups, and brands that are economies of one. Three months ago, he became the Chief of Staff at Four Growers, a startup that’s revolutionizing farming with robots that can pick ripe fruit in greenhouses. Jenny and John discuss false limitations, OKRs, what exactly is the role of a Chief of Staff, and explore of the art of setting goals.

What you will learn in this episode

• (0:00) Intro
• (1:34) Conversation with John
• (3:00) What is Four Growers
• (5:50) Role of Chief of Staff
• (10:30) The art of planning goals
• (12:20) False limitations
• (16:20) Operational rituals at Four Growers
• (22:30) Setting goals
• (26:00) High level of autonomy
• (26:45) Knowing expectations of the role
• (32:20) View on OKRs
• (35:05) Q4
• (38:40) Quickfire questions
• (43:00) Advice to Chief of Staffs
• (45:21) Outro

Relevant links

• Four Grower’s website
• Atlantic Arrow
• Webinar: Chief of Staff Roundtable
• White paper: Driving Organizational Effectiveness as a Chief of Staff