There is no point in looking for managers among competitors. There may be one exception - if this COO is a sufficiently sought-after and significant employee in the market and can raise the company, increase capitalization by his presence alone, if the owner is thinking of selling the business at a higher price.
When we recruit a competitor, we only look at the external appearance, without paying attention to the internal processes. We may think that this high-ranking executive is successful and achieves the desired results. However, you cannot simply take someone else's experience and transfer it to your company, expecting similar results.
Perhaps the success was due not only to the leader, but also to the well-coordinated teamwork. Or his approaches were based on certain conditions that have changed, and these decisions will no longer be effective. The luck factor cannot be ruled out either.
Based on this, it is easy physician data package to understand that you cannot count on the fact that the hired COO will simply come from a competitive company and immediately improve all the indicators in your business. The attitude towards such employees is equivalent to the attitude towards candidates from the open market. To start working, it is necessary to check his real skills and abilities, study his professional path, collect information from his colleagues and former employers and communicate with them. Draw certain conclusions and do not expect a miracle.
Don't pay attention to specialized education
In our country, few people work with their specialized education. Therefore, one should not rely on the information provided in the diploma. The only thing that can tell us something about a person is their second education, obtained at a more conscious age. One can ask the question: what are the reasons for choosing this second education? What knowledge and experience did the person gain thanks to it?
If we are talking about young managers who graduated from the university 5-10 years ago, then we can draw enough conclusions about their choice of place of study. Let's say a person lived in the region, but studied at a fairly well-known and prestigious Moscow university, where there was an incredible competition for a budget place. What does this mean? That the person knows his goal, he is persistent, ready to overcome any difficulties.
However, the choice of a university does not mean anything and certainly does not guarantee the presence of real skills, abilities and knowledge. A diploma is not a guarantee that a person can apply the acquired knowledge in practice. Of course, everything also depends on the specialist you are looking for. You are looking for a store manager or a general manager.
When a person has more than 10 years of experience, checking education becomes less important. It is much more important to pay attention to what he has been doing for these 10 years, what problems he has encountered and how he has solved them, and based on this, what experience he has gained. This is what should be checked in potential employees, and not just the presence of a diploma or academic degree.