Acknowledgments The authors are extremely grateful to the anonymous reviewers and special issue editors for their constructive feedback. Special thanks to all colleagues involved for their invaluable comments and support of the process. The authors would also like to profoundly thank all the founders and experts who generously contributed to this work, including but not limited to the following; Aliza Knox, Anna Hüttl (Next Mannheim), Baris Istipliler (University of Mannheim), David Gowdey (Jungle Investments), Emmanuel Cassimatis (SAP), Hans de Back (Finch Capital), Inge-Marit Nölle (Inn ..read more

The Hedgehog Concept: Connecting Strategy and Execution for Business Growth In the pursuit of business growth, execution plays a pivotal role. While topics like strategy, innovation, and capital often dominate strategic planning discussions, execution is sometimes overlooked. Yet, flawless execution can be just as powerful as exceptional strategy. You need both to drive scale or rather, high and efficient business growth. Like a swimming pool without water—strategy without execution is a pointless endeavour to dig yourself a big hole resulting in disappointment all around. This is where a Bus ..read more

This week I have used some downtime to review both my personal and business aspirations, outcomes and plans for this calendar year. Every year, fresh with post-break energy and clarity I take out a few days for Personal Planning. This is a good time in the year to reflect. To think deeply about how I want to lead my work-life in the coming year and what changes or improvements I would like to see on the previous. Many people are surprised when I share my method of Personal Planning because it's not too dissimilar from how I plan for my business. Most importantly - it's not just something I do ..read more

This is the third article in a series on Getting the right people in the right seats during Scaling. See my previous articles on How to determine the right seats using the Functional Accountability exercise and How to assess performance using the Talent Assessment exercise.   The new year is usually a time of people movement. People who have been thinking about moving on usually do so within Q1 or after their annual bonus. Likewise, a fresh start to the year often brings with it decisions to end months of frustration on both sides from mis-hiring.   No-one likes mis-hiring. It's bad ..read more

What’s the difference between Talent and Terrorists? One has deep skills and incredible expertise. They get the job done. Maybe they break a few rules and make a few enemies along the way. But the results are there. They speak for themselves. The others are Talent. In my previous article “How to get the right people in the right seats during Scaling” we covered how to determine the “right seats” and how to think about right skills and capabilities necessary for successful scaling. Now we will dive deeper into "Right People" and the Scaling Up Talent Assessment tool. The Talent Assessment Chart ..read more

As the founder/CEO or leader of a scaling organisation, one of the best things you can do for your business (and your life!), is to prioritise hiring the right people into the right roles. We all know the pain of a mis-hire. Not to mention the wasted expense in salary and recruitment costs, only to find out weeks or months into an appointment, the new leader or talent you spent months searching for, weeks pursuing and days interviewing, are not right for the role and/or the company. So how do we minimise the number of mishires and maximise our liklihood of hiring the BEST PERSON we can afford ..read more

Smart plays to ignite your team, scale your business and finish the year stronger. Many start a race fast out of the gates. But as the saying goes "starting strong is great, but finishing strong is epic." As the winter thaws here in Australia, and the sun warms up our beautiful spring days, it's easy for that Coke Summer Feeling to enter our sub-conscious. Lulling our people into a sense that the year is almost over. The year is definitely far from over! With at least 12 to 14 weeks left until school's out for the summer, and the sizzle of Christmas prawns on the BBQ, plenty of time to achiev ..read more

It was thrilling to watch the Matildas play to win their FIFA World Cup game, crushing Canada 4-0. Leading up to the game all commentary was focused on the strategy, the star talent and the risks. However, on the night itself, the game was transformed as it came down to the focus, discipline and skilful performance of the entire team. Entrepreneurs and executive teams can learn a lot from this do or die game to have their own Matildas Moment with their team. Entrepreneurs and leaders who come to Scaling Up Coaches usually lack knowledge of what is important during scaling and the many tools av ..read more

Just when we think we have it figured out - the world shifts again. Here's a way to stay on top of emerging opportunities and turn your scaling team into a learning machine. Once start ups begin to grown up and transition to scale, it's natural to get caught up in operational goals, allowing little time or energy to focus on much else. In today's rapidly changing world and on-trend customers, this can be a mistake. What matters for long-term sustainable growth is not just operational greatness (like smashing the quarter's critical numbers), but how your team manages knowledge and codifies lea ..read more

Pre-mature scaling is a large cause of start-up failure and it's important to understand there is a transitionary stage before scaling to avoid failure or stagnation. It's no surprise that many ambitious entrepreneurs and CEOs with some early success in their ventures are jumping at the bit to start scaling. I certainly was with my own start up. Yet 'premature scaling' is cited as one of the biggest causes of failure in new ventures. With all the confusion around scaling and scale ups, it's sometimes difficult to get a precise handle on when to begin scaling or rather, when to take more risk ..read more