Scaling a business is not just about increasing revenue or operations. It’s about scaling the entire system that powers the business.
Think of your company as a collection of interdependent sub-systems. For growth to be sustainable, all these sub-systems must scale together. If even one fails to grow properly, it will become the weak point that causes the entire system to falter.
Here’s what we aim to scale:
• Hiring and talent pipelines
• Leads and sales conversions
• Production and value delivery
• Reporting and financial tracking
The Sub-Systems of a Business
Every business is built on several critical sub-systems. These include:
1. Principles & Culture: The values and beliefs that guide decisions and behavior.
2. Strategies & Directives: The long-term goals and the plans to achieve them.
3. Systems & Cadences: The repeatable processes and rhythms of the business.
4. People: The talent, teams, and leaders driving the organization.
5. Sales: The processes and tools for generating revenue.
6. Operations: The mechanisms for delivering value to customers.
7. Finance & Data: The systems for managing money and tracking performance.
If any one of these areas fails to scale, the entire system will crash at that point. Your business is only as scalable as your least effective sub-system.
The Common Pitfall
Most businesses focus on scaling sales to drive revenue and operations to meet demand. However, other areas like finance, culture, or strategy often get sidelined. This approach creates constant fires and leads to a cycle of reactivity:
• Endless issues arise in underdeveloped areas.
• Teams feel overwhelmed, always responding to crises.
• Leaders lose the ability to think proactively and strategically.
The result? A business that grows on the outside but is fundamentally fragile on the inside.
Holistic Scaling
To build a truly scalable business, you need a balanced approach. This means creating a scale plan for every major area of the business. Scaling slower and deliberately—by growing all components together—ensures a stronger, more sustainable foundation.
This method takes time and resources, but it is the only way to avoid the long-term chaos and inefficiencies that come from uneven growth.
The Planning Framework
Building Your Box Plan
To start scaling effectively, ask these four key questions for each area of your business:
1. What does success look like?
Describe the ideal scenario in qualitative terms.
2. What systems and cadences are needed?
Identify the processes, tools, and technologies to support growth.
3. Who do I need to scale this area?
Outline the people, skills, partners, and vendors required.
4. What investments and outcomes do I expect?
Determine the projects, costs, expected revenues, margins, and cash flow to measure progress.
The 4 V’s of Scaling
To scale effectively, every sub-system must be examined through the lens of Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Value:
1. Volume: Handling 10x the workload
• How will you manage a significant increase in simultaneous activity?
• Example: If you ship 30 packages a day, how will you scale to 300? Consider facilities, inventory systems, and staffing.
2. Velocity: Increasing speed
• How can you reduce the time required for key processes?
• Example: If it takes 20 hours to close the books for one branch, how can you cut it to 10 hours?
3. Variety: Expanding into new markets or services
• How can you grow into new customer segments, services, or geographies?
• Example: Expanding into new markets adds diversity but also complexity. Consider cultural implications and operational risks.
4. Value: Maximizing return on every resource
• How can you make each customer, employee, or operation more valuable?
• Example: Focus on increasing the revenue or efficiency per transaction, customer, or team member.
Note: Each of these dimensions introduces both opportunities and risks. For instance:
• Increasing variety diversifies risk but adds organizational complexity.
• Increasing volume boosts revenue potential but demands significant pre-investment.
A Simple Process for Scaling
To create a scalable business, follow these steps:
1. Analyze each sub-system.
Pass each through the lens of the 4 V’s.
2. Develop a box plan.
For each sub-system, define the structure, systems, people, and investments required to scale.
3. Consolidate into a company-wide plan.
Integrate your plans for all sub-systems into a comprehensive 12–18 month roadmap.
A Stronger, Larger Business
Scaling is not just about rapid growth—it’s about intentional, sustainable growth. By scaling every sub-system of your business together, you can build a company that not only grows but thrives over the long term. This approach will minimize chaos, reduce reactivity, and allow you to stay proactive and strategic, creating a business that’s truly built to last.
