Table of Contents
SCALING FOR SUCCESS
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New YorkChichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright 2021 Andrew Bartlow and T. Brad Harris
All rights reserved
EISBN 978-0-231-55083-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bartlow, Andrew, author. | Harris, T. Brad, author.
Title: Scaling for success: people priorities for high-growth organizations /
Andrew Bartlow and T. Brad Harris.
Description: 1 Edition. | New York City: Columbia University Press, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020044081 (print) | LCCN 2020044082 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780231194440 (hardback) | ISBN 9780231550833 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: New business enterprisesManagement. | Personnel management.
| EmployeesRecruiting. | Employee selection. | Business planning.
Classification: LCC HD62.5 .B377 2021 (print) | LCC HD62.5 (ebook) |
DDC 658.3/01dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044081
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020044082
A Columbia University Press E-book.
CUP would be pleased to hear about your reading experience with this e-book at .
Cover design: Noah Arlow
For the dreamers and for the doers. We hope to lighten your load just a little.
AB
For all the builders trying to make something better, bigger.
BH
CONTENTS
We owe a debt of gratitude to the many individuals who helped us bring this book to fruition. Although it is impossible to mention everyone who has provided some measure of support along the way, we do want to acknowledge those who have been especially instrumental in this process.
First, to the friends and professional colleagues who gave their time to be interviewed during our research for the book, offered a quote or provided a friendly review, wrote a chapter introduction, or just provided a much needed and well-timed word of encouragement: Cara Allamano, David Allen, Guissu Raafat Baier, Luke Beseda, Wendy Boswell, Nichelle Carpenter, Michael Case, Peter Clarke, Steve Conaton, Patrick Downes, Gentzy Franz, Jesse Freese, Richard Gardner, Quasar Hamirani, David Hanrahan, Saydeah Howard, Laura Huang, Kaifeng Jiang, Brad Kirkman, Amit Kramer, Carmela Krantz, Ning Li, Steve McElfresh, Blair Middlebrook, Ashish Raina, Sara Roberts, Kati Ryan, Michael Sherrod, Eric Steinert, Brian Swider, and Melissa Taunton.
Second, to the kind and very patient folks who helped us navigate the publication process, including our editors at Columbia University Press, Brian Smith and Myles Thompson, for giving us a shot; our former editor and now extremely gracious friend Margo Beth Fleming, for offering so much useful advice; and the super talented group, Amy Anderson, Lauren Miller, Cole Noone, and Ryan Winn, who helped us sort out so many little things along the way.
Third, to our employers and other affiliated organizations that provided us a notable measure of opportunity to sit down and write a book, including Series B Consulting, The Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University, and the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In this same spirit, we also want to thank the Texas Christian University MBA students who took our Scaling for Success class. They not only pushed us to think more critically about our ideas for this book but also confirmed that there are many incredibly bright minds out there with ideas worth scaling.
Finally, to our families, for their immeasurable support and motivation along the way.
The purpose of this book is to help startup founders and executives pursuing rapid growth develop and execute an effective people strategy (i.e., recruiting, acquiring, and ultimately leveraging an organizations human capital for strategic success). If you are currently in the midst of accelerated growth, or even hypergrowth (>50 percent headcount growth per year), you undoubtedly know what an exciting and terrifying process it can be. In many cases, rapid headcount growth follows a funding event, which provides fuel that can either burn up the competition or burn down the house from the inside. Our goal is to help your company successfully scale up.
Leading a high-growth startup is unlike many other challenges, both professionally and personally. You and your company have probably survived early challenges thanks to your ability to adapt to the needs of the market. As your company grows, however, it will inevitably hit a breaking pointand several more breaking points if you are doing things right. Borrowing from bestselling author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, you must realize that what got you here wont get you there.new systems and processes that align an ever-growing number of employees with the right priorities. You need a plan.
Recent empirical research indicates that management practices are a more potent differentiator of top versus bottom organizational performers than other popular factors such as great tech, R&D expenditures, and even worker skills.
The following scenario describes a pattern among high-growth startups:
A promising company has recently raised a new round of venture capital and is now trying to nearly double its staff in the next year. The founding team has been reliant on their personal networks and search firms to find talent so far, but they know that approach will not scale. They need to determine what new roles need to be filled, in what sequence, with defined skills, capabilities, and responsibilitiesand how to attract and select those candidates in a highly competitive talent market.
When the team finds an interested candidate that they want to hire, they must present a package of pay, equity, perks, and programs that will convince the target to join the company. The new hire needs to be effectively provisioned, informed of how to get things done within the organization, and understand what things are most urgent and important. In a chaotic startup environment, role and goal clarity are often fuzzy, in part due to inadequate planning, rapidly changing priorities, and inconsistent messages from leadership.
Early employees are hesitant about changes to people and management practices, and even worry that the companys cultural soul is in danger. To relieve these fears, the leadership team spends countless hours trying to articulate and communicate a vision, mission, and core values for the organizationwhich are usually so watered down in an attempt to appeal to everyone that they are useless. Costly incentive plans and administratively intensive performance management processes are implemented to motivate and align employees to the most important priorities, but those priorities are usually unclear, unstable, and often conflicting.
Employee engagement survey scores decrease and turnover increases. Replacing employees becomes more difficult as the remaining managers are stretched to the breaking point. Perks and programs are introduced to improve morale, and some senior leaders are changed out. Alas, these tactics only add to the pressure and sense of chaos as more disruption is introduced and core issues are not adequately addressed. Employees become more frustrated and less committed. Product road maps fall behind schedule. Operating results do not meet expectations. The pressure and anxiety snowballs, and the future of a once-promising startup begins to look bleak.