Introduction
Scaling is a journey undertaken by businesses of all shapes and sizes across every industry, from early-stage firms getting themselves off the ground, through to large cap companies transforming by launching new solutions into new markets.
The scale up journey is one that every company faces; and if they are to be successful and avoid stagnation expect to do so numerous times over phases of the company’s lifecycle. A common misconception is that ‘scaling up’ is a term associated with startups, however many of the most successful companies do not lose appetite for risk and desire to innovate. Continual improvement and delivering amazing customer outcomes are core business principles for goliaths like Nike and Amazon, which has been their catalyst for hyper-growth and market dominance. Both were start-ups once and both have grown in stages, often with different leaders joining to navigate their next stage of evolution.
We understand the specific nuances of appointing leaders that possess the required skills and experiences for the exact stage of maturity (or immaturity) the company is in. It is well known that the leadership skills required in earlier stage firms are qualitatively different to that of a maturing business. Sometimes leaders evolve the skills needed to continue the value creation journey, but more frequently, they do not evolve (or can’t), at the required pace and leave or are replaced usually at a significant cost.
In this article, experts from the Scale Up Collective globally, across the US, Canada, Singapore, Netherlands, and the UK, share their own insights on the typical traits needed for each stage of evolution, highlighting the opportunities and challenges they have observed working with businesses in their own markets.
The Scale Up Collective, powered by Odgers Berndtson, is our solution for partnering with investors and their portfolio companies at every stage of their value creation journey, irrespective of operational maturity or whether their investments are growth or transformation. In both instances, value is the most important objective.
We understand the specific nuances of appointing leaders that possess the required skills and experiences for the exact stage of maturity (or immaturity) the company is in. It is well known that the leadership skills required in earlier stage firms are qualitatively different to that of a maturing business. Sometimes leaders evolve the skills needed to continue the value creation journey, but more frequently, they do not evolve (or can’t), at the required pace and leave or are replaced usually at a significant cost.
In this article, experts from the Scale Up Collective globally, across the US, Canada, Singapore, Netherlands, and the UK, share their own insights on the typical traits needed for each stage of evolution, highlighting the opportunities and challenges they have observed working with businesses in their own markets.