Scaling doesn’t require giving up operational control.

Topic: People

Critical Mass dilutes Founder Focus on the Customer and Market

Founders and entrepreneurs of successful growth companies, typically started their business because they saw a clear problem to be solved, and had a vision for a business that would solve that problem. They're at their best, when focusing on the Customer and the Market.

Overtime the organisation becomes larger and the Founder’s time and headspace is spread thinly over Customer and Market issues, (their natural strength and what they’re passionate about), and the operational aspects of the business, which now have some critical mass. 

The Founder finds themself with a number of direct reports, all who genuinely need their attention, and some who work in essential domains (HR, Risk, Operations, Technology) that the Founder is less familiar with. The Founder can feel conflicted between needing to stay close to the Market, while giving staff and operations the guidance that is needed.

Investing in Key Talent

Hiring someone who takes care of the day-to-day, while they focus on the market, can seem like giving up control. Furthermore, it can be challenging for the Founder to justify in their mind, the investment in hiring someone who does this, because the ROI on releasing their time to focus fully on the Customer and the Market, is hard to quantify.

The issue of giving up control is not really an issue. It is in fact giving up one kind of control, for a different more sustainable kind. For example, the 7 Direct reports into the Founder, each measured on widely different activities, can become 1 Direct report, who is simply measured on the performance of the whole, the KPIs of which are collaboratively agreed with the Founder. 

The investment in such a hire, is more so a leap of faith for the Founder, but for the Founder it’s simply backing themselves that staying Customer and Market focused has got them a long way, and the biggest risk is actually diluting that focus. Psychologically and emotionally, that’s a rationale that a Founder can be at peace with.