What is Business Operations? A New Definition

The traditional definition of operations goes something like this:

“Operations is the design, management, and improvement of the systems that create and deliver products and services to customers.”

However, having worked in a whole range of businesses—from creative agencies to music companies to breweries to media companies—I can say this with some confidence: in practice, there is very little consensus across businesses, sectors, and even departments regarding what the word “operations” actually means.

A case in point: how many of you have worked with a COO who was either a) a salesperson, b) an accounts person, or c) the member of the founding team who just happened to not be the CEO? Likewise, with the role of Operations Manager. I have seen the reality of this role range from Office-Manager-in-all-but-name to someone running all the business’s essential functions. Sometimes, I’ve seen it be both.

Why the Confusion?

Part of the reason for this ambiguity is that operations focus on the workings of a business or organisation, and those workings vary widely across industries and sectors. The day-to-day responsibilities of an operations specialist at a retail company may look entirely different from someone with the same title at a social media agency.

However, even accounting for those differences, the traditional definition doesn’t chime with what I’ve seen in practice or the potential for what operations could be.

The Missing Ingredient: Humans

Read that traditional definition again. For me, it conjures images of flowcharts, production lines, and graphs, but it misses something essential: humans. You can build out all the playbooks, workflow diagrams, and policy guidelines you like, but in the end, process is people doing things, usually with the help of some technology.

This is also one of those rare moments where focusing exclusively on customers is wrong. Great business operations don’t just deliver value to the customer—they deliver value to the people undertaking the work. Great operations make people’s lives as frictionless as possible and provide the tools with which they can do their best work.

A New Definition of Operations

So I think it’s time for a new definition of operations, one that takes this into account. Here’s how I think about it:

Operations aims to design and maintain the systems, tools, processes, and environments that enable productive collaboration among two or more people, delivering tangible value for customers and stakeholders within the business.

Or, if you prefer the shorthand version:

Operations is productivity for two or more people.

A Human-Centered Approach

This definition allows us to take a more holistic, human-centered approach to operations. It acknowledges a central truth: operations are about empowering people to achieve amazing things.

I’m also hoping this new way of thinking about operations will help shake off the perception—in some cases, not entirely unearned—that operations people are inflexible sticklers for process who care more about tightly defined rules than about actually creating or delivering value. The very best operations people I know are masterful code-switchers, interpreting the perspectives and demands of one function for another. They are the connective tissue that binds an organisation together behind its common goals.

If we redefine operations in this way, we create an opportunity to not only improve how businesses function but also how people feel about the work they do every day.