I was recently working with a household-name brand – the kind that makes most people nod in admiration just from hearing it.
When I met them, their team seemed stacked. They talked the talk. Credentials? No one with less than 5 years experience. Headcount? Very suitable for the project I was brought on to help with..
But spend just one week behind the scenes, and it became painfully clear:
No one cared to learn anything new.
I mean nothing. Not even out of curiosity.
It wasn’t laziness. It was something more insidious: they were simply clocking in. Good enough was good enough. They hit their KPIs, collected their paychecks, and tuned out.
I walked away thinking: This is what happens when you hire employees.
Now, here’s what this project showed me.
The passive workforce trap
There’s a difference between someone who’s hired to do the job – and someone who needs to figure it out.
Employees think in boxes.
Operators think in outcomes.
Employees ask:
“What’s my role?”
Operators ask:
“What’s the goal?”
The brand I was consulting for had built a team of employees. Smart ones, sure. But they were used to being given a box, staying in it, and optimizing only what lived inside.
They didn’t question if the box was needed in the first place. They didn’t care if the box was slowing everyone else down. They didn’t even notice when the box became irrelevant.
They weren’t bad people. Just passive.
Because no one had ever asked them to be anything else.
The operator advantage
An operator is different. They might not even know how to do the thing… but they’re dead-set on figuring it out.
Operators treat your business like their own. They care about what you care about. When something breaks, they don’t send a ticket – they dig in.
I’ve worked with operators who rewrote SOPs without being asked. Who automated 10 hours of busy work just because they were bored. Who taught themselves analytics tools, AI tools, and new marketing frameworks just to make a campaign better.
You don’t have to “manage” those people.
You just resource them.
Hiring operators is hard. Here’s what to look for.
The problem? Operators rarely look good on paper.
They’re often career misfits. Jumpers. Wildcards.
They’ve changed industries. They’ve taught themselves new skills. They didn’t climb the ladder – they built a new one on the other side of the wall.
But here’s the signal: look for people who’ve shipped something without permission.
- They started a side business.
- They ran a high-performing community.
- They automated a part of someone else’s job for fun.
- They built a tool, process, or system that saved time or made money — and they liked it.
Operators are driven by ownership.
They’re not waiting to be told what to do. They want to figure out what needs doing.
Here’s the uncomfortable part
Most leaders say they want operators.
But deep down… many don’t.
Because true operators will challenge your thinking.
They’ll push back. They’ll question priorities. They’ll tell you when your strategy is flawed. They might even outshine you in some areas.
That’s not insubordination. That’s ownership.
If your ego can’t handle that, then don’t hire operators.
Hire order-takers. Just don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
The bottom line
If your business feels stuck, it might not be a market problem. It might be a people problem.
Operators don’t need permission to improve things.
They just need a clear mission and the space to execute.
So next time you hire, don’t look for someone who’s done the job before.
Look for someone who can’t rest until the job gets done right.
They won’t just do the work.
They’ll make the work better.
Until next week.