Hi {{first_name|there}},

This week we're coming to you with a new podcast episode and a big announcement.

🎧 New Episode: Positioning Yourself as a Chief of Staff

If you've ever stared at a Chief of Staff job description and wondered how to prove you can do the job without having held the title, this one's for you.

I sat down with the Chief of Staff Network team - Tom Guthrie, Rahul Desai, and Lauren Werner to talk through what actually gets candidates hired. A few highlights:

  • Lead with commercial rigor. Rahul has reviewed thousands of CoS resumes. The ones that stand out tie everything back to business outcomes. Not "I prepped the board deck" but "I led our board process and helped secure an oversubscribed follow-on round."

  • Be a five-tool player. Tom laid out the five things principals are screening for: analytical horsepower, people skills, industry experience, stage experience, and increasingly, real AI capabilities. You don't have to be world-class at all five, but you can't be missing any.

  • Skip the resume pile. Thousands of people apply to every posted CoS role. The most effective path? A tailored cold note to the principal that shows you've done your homework. Engage with their content. Bring a perspective. The odds are dramatically better than being applicant #847.

Listen to the episode

‼ Introducing the new Chief of Staff Fundamentals

We've completely refreshed our Fundamentals course, and it's the most comprehensive version we've ever released. Here's what's new:

  • 15 self-paced lessons, covering everything from your first week with a principal to planning your post-CoS career

  • A new lesson on the Archetypes Framework to help you identify your natural operating style, including the six healthy archetypes and their shadow expressions

  • A new lesson on AI fluency with our AI Readiness Diagnostic, so you can assess where you and your organization sit on the adoption spectrum

  • A bonus lesson on planning your next move, drawing on data from 400+ CoS Network alumni and the 55+ unique titles they've moved into

  • Real stories from 20+ podcast guests woven throughout every lesson, so you're learning from Chiefs of Staff who've been in the trenches

Whether you're actively interviewing, just got the role, or are six months in and looking to level up, Fundamentals gives you the playbook.

Explore the Fundamentals Course

From Administrator to Project Manager: Elevating BizOps

What if we stopped treating business operations as a series of one-off tasks and started managing the full engagement lifecycle like a project? Fiona Myers explores how adopting a PM mindset - ownership, proactive planning, and stakeholder communication - can transform BizOps into a strategic function. Read more →

Upcoming IRL CoS Events:

💻 Upcoming Virtual Events

View all events 👉

best,
Scott  
Founder, Chief of Staff Network & BizOps Network

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