As a company grows there exists a unique problem and that is on how to remain fast and mobile, yet be able to control the organization. When a business starts – its usually found with a few people – tight and controlled. 
The founder or founders can manager and view all aspects of the business simply by showing up for work.
As the organization grows, it slowly becomes more more difficult for the leaders to know have in-depth knowledge of the whole organization. With enough growth, the leaders will likely reach the point where they no longer know all the staff, never mind all the components of the organization.
At this point, there is a decision that a business needs to take – growth or coast.
Both options are viable, and both have their pros and cons, but both options require a different strategy.
I will talk about my view of coasting in a separate article, meanwhile a couple of essential tools for growth will be explored.
For a company to continue to grow beyond, a new way of running the business is needed. Many books are written on this topic yet none offer a clear roadmap of how to transition from small to medium.
In my opinion, the transition require a couple of fundamental changes:
- Leadership needs to begin managing the business through reporting (vs. being active in the business)
- The business needs to become people independent – and by this I mean the business needs to be able to run without any individuals.
To accomplish the above, a number of tacit changes need to happen:
- IT systems need to be put in place that will allow for reporting
- Business processes must be implemented – to allow for abstraction between the individual and tasks.
Personally, the though of reports and processes is abhorrent to me, and in many ways, is somewhat distasteful. Yet, the process is absolutely necessary for an organization to grow.