Scaling Up Excellence Summary

Why is it so hard to replicate excellence across teams, organizations, or locations? Scaling up offers solutions to spread best practices widely and effectively.

1. Scaling Is the Challenge of Growth and Improvement

Scaling is more than just replicating success—it’s about growing while improving. Sutton and Rao define scaling as spreading excellence, whether it’s by doubling a team or expanding a global business. As organizations scale, challenges arise, such as maintaining high standards and innovating along the way.

Bridgewater International Academies is a strong example. Starting with one school in 2009, it expanded to over 210 through meticulous planning. The organization focused not just on reaching more students but constantly improving its methods, such as tailoring teacher training for students with different learning styles.

Scaling also requires internal reflection. It’s not just a numbers game; it's about making "the good" better. Whether it’s a tech start-up doubling its employees or a hospital improving its procedures, scaling needs an approach that balances growth with improvement.

Examples

• Bridgewater Academies focused on customizing teaching approaches during scale-up.
• Start-ups often struggle to maintain culture while adding employees.
• Hospitals aiming to reduce errors during scaling emphasize iterative process improvements.

2. Scaling Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Scaling isn't quick or easy. It's a long process requiring endurance, akin to running a marathon. Leaders must prepare for challenges, setbacks, and obstacles, pressing forward steadily to reach goals.

Mark Zuckerberg exemplifies this at Facebook. In its early days, Zuckerberg personally invested in employees' commitment to the company's mission. New recruits still go through a rigorous orientation to understand the culture deeply. This approach is about building sustainable commitment across all levels.

Another analogy used is that of a "ground war." Scaling isn’t about flashy, quick-fix solutions but requires continuous effort, resources, and time. Persistence pays off as you push the entire team toward success incrementally.

Examples

• Facebook’s six-week onboarding for staff to absorb culture.
• Ground wars provide the analogy for methodical, incremental scaling efforts.
• A Stanford graduate applied persistence to streamline a motorsports pit crew.

3. Navigating Between Standardization and Local Flexibility

One of the challenges in scaling is balancing standardization with customization. Sutton and Rao describe this as the "Catholicism versus Buddhism" trade-off. Catholicism represents a high level of standardization, with rigid adherence to a centralized model. Buddhism, on the other hand, emphasizes adaptability according to local context.

In-N-Out Burger follows the Catholicism approach, with consistent products, rules, and training across locations. Conversely, IKEA adopts the Buddhism model. In most countries, customers assemble their own furniture, but in China, IKEA provides assembly services to fit cultural preferences.

The key is determining the right balance for your organization. Healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente blends both — standardizing its electronic health record system’s core elements but allowing regional adjustments for flexibility.

Examples

• In-N-Out Burger’s strict standardization across all outlets.
• IKEA creating localized services in China for cultural alignment.
• Kaiser Permanente offering adjustable configurations for its software system.

4. Beliefs and Behavior: Two Entry Points for Change

To spur scaling, leaders must decide whether to influence beliefs or directly change behaviors. Both are valid starting points. Changing belief systems typically involves emotionally resonant storytelling or clear values. However, shifting behavior first can gradually alter attitudes as people adapt actions into norms.

Stanford University biking helmets case underscored this. When students heard an accident survivor’s story, many shifted beliefs about helmet safety. Yet encouraging designer helmets made helmet-wearing behavior fashionable, which eventually reinforced the belief system.

Choosing between belief and behavior hinges on context and target outcomes. Regardless of the starting place, commitment to follow-through is crucial for success.

Examples

• Stanford students adopted helmets more after a survivor's story.
• Fashionable helmet designs influenced student behaviors positively.
• Both beliefs and behaviors interplay depending on the scenario.

5. Simplify to Achieve Excellence

Organizations face a trap during scaling: unnecessary complexities that slow progress. As teams grow, rules, bureaucracy, and layers often bog down efficiency. Leaders should focus on removing redundancies to create space for better performance.

Take Adobe, for example. By replacing annual performance reviews with informal, frequent check-ins, managers removed administrative workloads while improving conversations around growth.

Simplification isn't about cutting corners; it’s about focusing energies where they matter most. Big companies often forget this, but lean principles help ensure growth doesn’t equate to inefficiency.

Examples

• Adobe shifted focus from rigid reviews to personalized check-ins.
• Gas stations bogged down by extensive refund approval processes lost efficiency.
• Removing red tape freed staff to address customer issues directly.

6. Build Accountability Among Employees

Scaling requires the right people—those who excel and act in the organization’s interests responsibly. Accountability fosters trust and ownership, ensuring team members contribute positively to scaling efforts.

The Japanese company Tamago-Ya recruits high school dropouts as delivery drivers. Through rigorous training, they cultivate drivers who feel invested, know Tokyo intricately, and exceed expectations.

Apart from hiring accountable talent, it’s wise to nurture a sense of community and shared purpose. BP Oil, for instance, encourages team spirit through healthy competition. They motivate teams by emphasizing excellence over competitors, galvanizing their workforce around shared benchmarks.

Examples

• Tamago-Ya turned dropouts into reliable delivery drivers through training.
• BP Oil’s team spirit inspires employees to challenge competitors.
• Shared goals improve accountability across diverse teams.

7. Connection Between Team Members Accelerates Scaling

Relationships matter in spreading excellence. The more connected a team is, the easier it becomes to share good practices across departments swiftly and effectively.

JetBlue cultivated cross-functional collaboration by inviting employees with various roles to solve core problems. Diversity of thought improves innovation and spreads cohesion.

Encouraging these meaningful connections also means using diverse communication approaches. A mix of personal stories and top-level messaging creates a united effort.

Examples

• JetBlue involved baggage handlers and pilots alike to solve operations issues.
• Bazaars and storytelling sessions created cross-departmental connections.
• Combining CEO directives with grassroots efforts ensures buy-in.

8. Address Bad Behavior Before Scaling Good Practices

Bad behavior can derail any scaling effort. Sutton and Rao emphasize the contaminating effect of negativity within teams. Even one disruptive employee hampers performance and morale.

Stanford’s d.school found an inventive solution: grouping disruptive personalities together. Under a coach’s guidance, these individuals outperformed expectations by neutralizing each other’s tendencies.

The broken windows theory illustrates how addressing minor transgressions quickly prevents larger ones. Leaders must pro-actively minimize negativity to create a healthy foundation for scaling.

Examples

• Stanford d.school grouped disruptors, turning their focus into results.
• The broken windows concept emphasizes stopping small issues early.
• Negative team dynamics often derail scaling efforts when left unchecked.

9. Envision the Finish Line with a Premortem

Scaling success requires foresight. Pretending the project has already concluded and imagining factors behind triumph or failure sharpens planning. This is called performing a premortem.

Consider Mitch Kapor of Lotus. Had he imagined his future dissatisfaction with a corporate structure, he might have scaled the business differently. The premortem technique mitigates risks by uncovering hidden assumptions.

By mapping out success or failure before starting, teams can identify opportunities and roadblocks, ensuring smoother implementation.

Examples

• Lotus founder Mitch Kapor struggled to enjoy a corporate company he created.
• Implementing premortems uncovers risks unseen in traditional planning.
• Teams discover enablers to success by imagining forward-looking scenarios.

Takeaways

1. Embrace persistence and focus efforts incrementally when scaling—like a ground war, small consistent actions win over time.
2. Keep processes simple by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy, allowing people to focus on excellence.
3. Proactively address negativity, fostering good behavior and accountability within teams for lasting success.