Les McKeown - Do Scale - A road map to growing a remark

For Jen Gerasimas

An unparalleled mentor and coach, and an irreplaceable friend.

Published by The Do Book Company 2019
Works in Progress Publishing Ltd
thedobook.co

Text Les McKeown 2019
Illustration Ruth Broadway 2019

The right of Les McKeown to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

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eISBN 978-1-907974-60-1

These days it seems that every business leader talks at some point about wanting to scale their organisation, but most have a confused, unattainable and, frankly, plain wrong understanding of what this means and what it entails. And those who do have some clarity on the matter seem to have no idea how to go about it.

In writing this book, I hope to not only clearly define what it means to scale an organisation (whether for-profit or not-for-profit), but also lay out the personal challenges facing the founder or leader who wants to scale, and provide a clear step-by-step road map they must follow in order to scale successfully and sustainably.

By reading this book, you will:

• Know what scaling truly means and at what point in the business it is an option for you.
• Have the information you need to decide whether the implications of scaling your organisation is something youre prepared to personally commit to.
• Understand the behavioural, attitudinal and skill shifts youll need to make as a leader if you are to scale up.
• Take away a step-by-step road map of the specific, mechanical steps you need to take to scale your organisation (and those people working within it).
• Have access to online resources that complement each chapter.

To help you navigate the book, I have divided it into three clear sections:

The first part clarifies what we mean by scaling, including a specific definition that will be used in the rest of the book, and contrasts scaling with other forms of growth within a business. The second part explores the personal changes required to become a scalable leader, while the third and final part lays out a precise road map of the actual steps required to scale.

There are two final considerations before we get started.

As a founder, leader or entrepreneur, how do you know when the time is right to consider scaling your organisation? Id say there are three indicators that the time is right for you. None of these are inviolable if you truly want to, you can probably scale when only meeting one or two of the three points below but if you meet all three, the time is most definitely right.

• Youre past the early startup phase. Getting a new venture off the ground has its own challenges, and it is important to focus on becoming viable first, before looking to scale. (I know, I know ... what about Amazon, and Facebook, and ... Well see later in the book why the myth of the scalable startup is just that a myth.)
• You have strong cash flow. As well see, scaling has financial implications there are some investments youll need to make, mostly in systems and processes. So, while I cant tell you precisely how much money youll need in the bank to start down the road to scalability, you will at the very least benefit greatly if you are experiencing consistent positive cash flow.
• Your market segment is strong and growing. In terms of your organisations ability to scale, the growth of the overall market segment you operate in will act either as a headwind (where you are battling low, slow or no growth in the overall market), or as a tailwind, accelerating your scalability with overall market growth. Its much easier to scale in a fast-growing market than in a sluggish one.

Why do I get to write this book? What entitles me to talk about scaling and scalability?

Very fair question. In a nutshell: experience and pattern recognition. After qualifying as a chartered accountant (the UK equivalent of a CPA), I became a serial entrepreneur (although we didnt have that term back then), launching over 40 businesses before I was 35. In my mid-career, I co-founded and managed one of the very first business incubation units (again, we didnt use that phrase back then), which grew over a decade into an international business growth consultancy, employing at its peak over 100 people in 13 offices world-wide.

Two decades ago, I sold my share in that company and moved to the US to study growth patterns in very large enterprises. After working with organisations such as Microsoft, American Express, the US Army, Harvard University, T-Mobile (now EE in the UK), United Technologies and Chevron, I distilled the patterns of growth and scalability that I had recognised and published Predictable Success: Getting Your Organisation On the Growth Track and Keeping It There, which became a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller, followed by The Synergist: How to Lead Your Team to Predictable Success and Do Lead: Share your vision. Inspire others. Achieve the impossible.

For the last 15 years, I have been coaching and consulting with leaders in both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations on how to successfully scale and this book is the culmination of that work.

My hope is that you find it useful and it helps you navigate this new and exciting phase of your business. Enjoy!

In the first part of Do Scale, we will look closely at what it actually means to scale an organisation; agree a definition to use throughout the rest of the book, and contrast scaling with other types of growth.

Theres no better place to start than by defining our terms: what exactly do we mean when we talk about scale, scaling and scalability?

In this chapter:

• Well look at the most common misconceptions and myths about what scaling means in a business context.
• Ill provide a clear definition of scalability that we can refer back to as we journey through the book and examine its implications.
• Well turn our definition into a customised, motivating Scale Vision written specifically for your organisation that will become your North Star as you and your team navigate your way to scale.