This blog post started as a single bullet point - the one thing that stops organizations from going from Medium to Large. A discussion with a colleague expanded that to 2 points, and then a third occurred.
Lets say you are a mid level company, wondering how to get to the next level. Business is good and you are growing faster than you can manage. That's the good news. And the Bad News. There comes a time when every lucky organization has to decide whether to go to the next level, or to oblivion.
"You can't go on being a good egg. You either have to hatch, or go bad." - C S Lewis
The People
As one realizes more and more, in the end, its about people. ALL about people. Get people who are loyal, and get some people who have the big canvas view.
There are 2 ways to convert a village into a city. The first is to go on building as the need arises and then realize that we missed some things like sewage lines and traffic adjusted roads, pedestrian routes and schools and hospitals and built altogether too many malls. The second is to call in a city planner, and get some ideas on what it takes to make a city. No prizes for guessing the outcome of each approach.
As the culture changes, as it must, we will need a lot of loyal hands - people to whom their style of work matters less, and the common cause matters more. There are always such people in the organization - people who identify with the brand of the organization as they identify with a cause. They will go wherever the brand goes. These are the people who are selected when the organization is branching into a new area. They are going to build the brand, even if the business changes, even if the culture changes. These loyal hands are important.
Process Thinking
Small organizations run on connections, large enterprises run on processes. Small organizations are about who you know, Large organizations are about, what you know. If you have to learn just one word about scaling up the organization - from small to medium and from medium to large - it is Process.
Smaller organizations benefit from the agility that comes from the lack of a defined process. Fewer controls mean greater flexibility and scope for innovation. But a ship is not steered the same way that we steer a sailboat. As the organization grows, processes ensure uniform treatment and adequate controls. Both of these are crucial if we have to scale up as a large organization.
Systems
Upgrade your systems. As an organization grows, it has only one tool to ensure uniformity - systems. Which is why the biggest battle is in the systems department. Homegrown systems are great. They are, like homegrown processes, flexible and convenient and lean and not too time consuming.
Enterprise software or ERP is data intensive. It has too many controls and is generally not as user friendly as home grown systems or even out of system procedures. Automating these procedures and making systems more integrated is going to be resisted, which is where the first point - that of loyal employees who will carry your change, comes to your rescue.
So, if you are sitting in that corner office, it is time to build that triangle on the white board. As you achieve success in one domain, color that side of the triangle, and very soon, you will be able to appreciate how one side facilitates the others.
This article is contributed by Nidhi Arora, Co-Founder and Director at Topgain Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
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