Good systems require discipline. Do your reps.
As you scale to 100+ people, you’ll notice increasing confusion, misalignment, and a last-minute reactionary workstyle. Do you see this in your org??
Here’s what’s happened: As you grew, you blew past depending on individuals, to needing operational systems. And you haven’t yet put in place these systems of scale to make up for this.
What do good systems of scale look like??
Build an operating rhythm that amplifies itself. Being intentional about how you schedule key events (board meetings, leadership offsites, company-wide in-person events, investor events, MBRs/QBRs etc) allows you to build an operating rhythm that amplifies itself. You leverage the narrative for each to feed into the next event - it significantly reduces pre-work and prep when you design materials with the right foresight and intent from the start. Starting with your board meetings, map all other events to an operational rhythm that flows from these.?
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Create clarity for the company. Your vision, values, 2023 goals, and immediate priorities. Repeat, repeat, repeat these across the company. Studies show that on average it takes 7 repetitions before messages sink in, so don’t be shy.? When the context around you changes (eg a shift in economic environment or a rising competitive threat) your company will be confused about whether the priorities still hold. Question your priorities as a management team. Are they still accurate, or do they need to be adapted? And wherever you end up as a team, re-create clarity across the company - even if it’s only to confirm that the original priorities still hold. Repeat, repeat, repeat.?
Build accountability through measurement. Define what KPIs truly show whether you’re being successful. These will change based on your strategy and the changing context around you - so don’t be complacent about always using the same KPIs. Once you have these, establish a regular rhythm for review to stay on top of your business - eg MBRs or QBRs. A quarterly rhythm is generally better during steady state, and a monthly rhythm during times of transformation.
I coach founders & execs at early stage & growth startups to lead with vision, build their culture, empower their people and deepen knowledge of self
1 年And change the way you operate that system!
General Counsel @ Staffbase | Start-Up Advisor
1 年This is super advice for both companies and teams. As good as the people are, you must always ask yourself whether that person's absence would hobble the smooth functioning of the team. If all the know-how is in their head rather than memorialised in a system or database, troubles lie ahead!