Welcome back to The COO Solution Podcast! In this solo episode, Derek Fredrickson breaks down the root reason most founders stay overloaded, overwhelmed, and stuck in the weeds: you can’t delegate chaos.
If your team depends on you for answers…
If projects stall unless you step in…
If your business grows but you get busier instead of freer…
Then you’re missing one (or more) of the three foundational systems that make scaling possible.
In this episode, Derek walks through the exact systems that free your time, remove you as the bottleneck, and create clarity and consistency across your team so the business can run without you.
In This Episode:
[00:02] The Pain of Growth Without Freedom
Why your business can look successful on the outside but feel heavier than ever behind the scenes.
[01:02] The Real Problem: Not People — Systems
Why even great teams fail without structure, and why all roads still lead back to the founder.
[03:12] System #1: Communication
How to eliminate “quick questions,” stop being the hub, and streamline updates, decisions, and collaboration.
[04:20] System #2: Operations
Why you can’t scale what lives in your head — and how SOPs, workflows, and tools create consistency you can trust.
[05:28] System #3: Accountability
The system that keeps everyone aligned, performing, and owning results (without you chasing follow-ups).
[06:34] Case Study: From Firefighting to Freedom
How one CEO went from daily chaos to finally leading again after installing these three systems.
[07:34] The Big Question
Which system is missing for you — communication, operations, or accountability?
📌 Why This Matters
A business that requires you to run is not scalable. It’s fragile. Freedom comes from systems, not hustle.
With the right structure underneath you, your team moves faster, decisions get made without you, and growth becomes effortless instead of exhausting.
✅ Action Steps for Listeners
- Identify which of the three systems is weakest in your business.
- Document one core process that your team still depends on you for.
- Establish a simple accountability rhythm: scorecards, metrics, and owners.
- Audit your communication flow — eliminate anything that unnecessarily routes through you.
Resources & Links:
Transcription:
00:02
Derek Fredrickson
You know that feeling when your business has grown, but somehow you feel busier than ever. You’ve got a team, you’ve got clients, revenue, but you’re still the one answering questions, fixing problems, and chasing follow ups. It’s like every win comes with more weight. And instead of freedom, you’ve built something that now depends on you to keep it all moving. Here’s the truth. Most founders don’t have a people problem. They have a systems problem. Because no matter how talented your team is, without the right systems, everything falls back on you.
01:02
Derek Fredrickson
And today we’re going to discuss the three foundational systems every CEO needs to break the bottleneck and scale with freedom. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the COO Solution podcast. I am your host, Derek Fredrickson, and if you’re new here, this show is about helping you, the founder or CEO, build a business that runs without you, one that grows because of your leadership, not your involvement in every little thing. At the COO Solution, we’ve seen it again and again. A business starts to scale. Things look great from the outside, but inside, chaos. Because growth exposes what’s missing. And what’s usually missing are the systems that allow your team to operate independently. The goal isn’t to do more. It’s to make sure everything runs smoothly without you having to do it all.
02:06
Derek Fredrickson
And that starts with systems Because here’s the thing. You can’t delegate chaos. You can hire, you can spend, you can hustle. But if your business doesn’t have the proper structure underneath, all roads still lead back to you. And the difference between a business that scales and one that stalls comes down to this. Whether or not you have systems that create clarity, consistency, and control. So let’s talk about what those are. The three systems that free you from being the bottleneck. System number one. Communication. The first system every growing business needs is a communication system. Most businesses hit a wall because the founder is still the hub. Every message, every question, every update, it all flows through you. Slack messages, texts, emails, team members are waiting for your response before they can proceed. That’s not communication. That’s dependency.
03:12
Derek Fredrickson
A real communication system creates structure for how your team connects and collaborates. It defines where conversations happen, how decisions are documented, what gets shared and when weekly team meetings, dedicated channels for key projects, and clear lines of escalation for when something does go wrong. When communication is organized, your team stops interrupting you for every little thing because they know where to go and how to get answers. You get fewer hey, quick question messages and more progress happening without you. Let’s talk about system number two, which is operations. The second system is your operation system. This is what turns chaos into consistency.
04:20
Derek Fredrickson
Without it, your business relies on people remembering what to do, which means that if someone leaves, the knowledge walks out the door. An operation system is your playbook. It captures how your business actually runs the processes, the workflows and the checklists that make things predictable. This is where SOPs, standard operating procedures, project management tools and templates live. But here’s the key. It’s not about documenting everything. It’s about documenting what matters. If you ever said we do things differently depending upon the situation, that’s usually a sign your operations needs tightening. When you have clear, repeatable processes, your team doesn’t have to guess. They can execute with confidence, consistency and speed. That’s how you scale without things falling apart. Let’s talk about system number three, which is accountability. The third system, and this one’s non negotiable, is your accountability system.
05:28
Derek Fredrickson
This is what keeps people aligned by performing and responsible for outcomes. Because, let’s be honest, without accountability, teams can drift. You end up in these endless meetings that go nowhere. Everyone’s busy, but no one’s truly owning results. A strong accountability system solves that. It includes clear roles and ownership through an accountability chart, weekly scorecards, tracking metrics that matter, leadership meetings that actually identify and solve issues. When accountability is in place, you can finally trust that things are being handled not because you’re checking, but because the system is. And that’s when real freedom begins.
Let me share a quick story. As an example, we worked with a founder here at the COO Solution, running a multi seven figure service based business. Incredible team, great product. But every week felt like firefighting. The client was managing clients, approving deliverables and fixing mistakes constantly.
06:34
Derek Fredrickson
When we started working together, she told me, Derek, I can’t grow because everything still depends on me. And we’ve heard that time and time again. Within the first month we installed these three systems. We built a structured communication flow so the team could operate constantly without check ins. That’s Slack. We documented her core operational processes, so nothing was left to memory. That’s Asana. And we set up weekly leadership meetings with metrics and ownership, real accountability. That’s a meeting cadence. Ninety days later, she wasn’t firefighting anymore. She was finally leading again. And she told me, I finally feel like I own my business. It doesn’t own me. That’s the power of systems. So let me ask you a direct question. Which of these systems are missing in your business? Is it communication? Is it operations? Is it accountability? If even one of them isn’t working?
07:34
Derek Fredrickson
That’s why everything still depends on you. At the COO Solution, this is what we do every day with our clients. We help founders install the structure, systems, and leadership that make the business run so they don’t have to. If you’re ready to break the bottleneck and finally scale with freedom, let’s talk. Just head to thecoosolution.com and book a call. Let’s have a conversation and we’ll look at where you are now, what’s missing, and perhaps how a fractional COO can finally change everything. Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode. I hope you got value from this content, and if it resonates with you, please share it with another founder or CEO who’s carrying too much in their business. Because no one builds a business to stay stuck in it. You built it for freedom, and the right systems make that possible.
08:29
Derek Fredrickson
I’m Derek Fredrickson, and this is the COO Solution podcast. See you next time.