McLaughlin Method The Unspoken Challenge of Operating at Scale — McLaughlin Method

Scale.

Scaling your business.

How often are these words being used by you, your board, your investors, even your employees?

All. The. Time.

How can we build our widgets faster?
How can we get to software releases faster?
How can we shorten our sales cycle?
How can we reduce costs and increase profits?

And so much more.

Scaling your business requires change.

New systems.
New tech.
New processes.
New leaders or team members.
New thought processes.
New behaviors.
New habits.
New ways of working.
New Culture.

Are you doing a double take at that list? Especially “New Culture”?

You should.

It’s so easy to get focused on the things: the tech, the systems, the processes, the messaging, the deadlines, the data, that we forget about the intangibles that can make or break your efforts to scale your business.

Your people. And whether they get on board (or not) the scaling train.

Your business needs to operate at scale in order to realize the revenue and business benefits of scaling.

Operating = People.

Scaling = Operating Changes = People Need to Change.

We Resist Change.

Whether we like it or not, change is scary. It’s the unknown. It’s not comfortable. It’s stressful and draining.

That’s your first barrier to scaling. The very notion of needing to change.

Odds are – your team’s gotten a bit comfortable with the way things work now. And I know what you’re thinking: we’re a startup and everything’s changing all the time. (and that’s part of what we like about our work!)

Many of the keys to scale are major operational shifts towards consistency, repeatability, and specialization.

Meaning… less is changing “all the time.”

That’s where the first level of change resistance comes into play and fears creep into your team’s minds.

What will my job look like?
Will I still have a job?
I like doing a bunch of different things everyday. I’ll be bored doing the same thing all the time.
My opportunities for growth are going away.
My opinions don’t matter anymore.
Who’s even making these changes anyway? What do they know about our work?

These kinds of fears are lurking in your organization whether you realize it or not.

You’ve already answered these questions in your mind, haven’t you?

“Of course you’ll still have a job. Scaling will bring even more job security.”
“This is an exciting time for our company!”
“Our company will always be a place for opportunity to do new things and take on different kinds of responsibility.”
“Your opinion matters here.”
“We’re working with <insert names of team members here> and <insert expert consultants here> to build out our new processes, or structures, etc.”

Because I know how invested you are in your team, your company, and your culture, you’ve probably already told your team these things in your recent All Hands.

Real talk: they didn’t get it.

Hearing something once doesn’t ease our fears. (Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could instantly learn something, calm down by hearing something once?!)

If I had $1 for every time I said something like “I’ve heard this before but this time it really hit me and I get it now” I’d have a LOT of money.

You would too, right?

But what to say? Do you feel like a broken record? Is the message even getting through? Is my team getting on board?

What happens if they don’t get it? You’ll be spending more time calming their fears, be frustrated with their resistance and sluggish engagement in the new changes, and won’t see the revenue growth at the speed that’s possible when everyone’s onboard. You’ll also lose your best people — spending $$ tons to replace them, train new people, and wait for them to get producing.

When you’re good at this kind of messaging — scaling your vision and intentions throughout your org’s culture — scaling feels simple, easy, and seamless.

Getting good at messaging change and answering those questions with ease takes work. It’s important work. But you’re moving so fast, where do you even begin? (and there’s not even time for that…)

This is why I work with Founders and companies just like you. I partner with you to work on your (and your company’s) unique culture challenges at every startup milestone you navigate.

Getting help is exactly what the high powered experienced executives do. So if you want your company to scale, you need to change, too.

Invest in support from someone who has been in the trenches in the startup world for over a decade.

Ready to scale successfully? Book a Call.