Scaling for Success

Managing a high-growth organization requires both strategy and adaptability. Unfortunately, start-up founders and executives seeking to scale up to the next level find all too frequently that growth turns into chaos. Rather than laying the groundwork for the future, organizations get stuck by covering up complex problems with unsustainable band-aids and duct-tape fixes, implementing anecdote-based solutions from the latest tech-industry unicorns or leadership books, and relying on too much on-the-fly learning from inexperienced managers.This book is the definitive guide for leaders of high-growth organizations seeking to understand and execute the people-management principles that are essential to continued success. Combining a wealth of practical experience, well-grounded academic research, and easy-to-apply frameworks, Andrew Bartlow and T. Brad Harris offer a practical toolkit that founders, functional leaders, and managers of people can use to rethink their practices to meet their organizations’ needs. They help readers identify the core people-management programs and practices that are best for an organization at its current stage and size while also supporting a foundation for continued development and the capacity to adapt to inevitable surprises. Practical, actionable, and supplemented with numerous diagnostic tools and illustrative examples, Scaling for Success is a must-have playbook for organizational leaders pursuing smart and sustainable growth.

Scaling for Success explores the realities of what it really takes to scale up a company. It is a must-read for high-growth company leaders. This book will help you think about how and when to hire or promote leaders. It will ensure that you have set out goals and responsibilities that are clear and nonconflicting—so your people are completely aligned with where you are going without duplication of effort. Andrew Bartlow and T. Brad Harris have created the ultimate roadmap to growth., Leading an organization through rapid growth is often experienced as chaos, with unexpected people challenges seemingly around every corner. Scaling for Success provides an impressive roadmap for making sense of the madness, crafting a plan that works for your organization, and executing a winning people strategy. With decades of HR practice and research behind them, Bartlow and Harris offer direct and actionable advice tailored specifically for high-growth organizations., Finally! Help for the unique challenges of small and high-growth companies aiming to scale up with a clear and evidence-based framework. Bartlow and Harris offer a refreshing perspective, with examples and actionable frameworks from real start-ups, not just large companies., Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, but most advice on HR practices focuses on large firms. Bartlow and Harris fill a major gap in HR practice by providing solutions for smaller firms. This exceptional book offers specific plans and actions for business and HR leaders of small and medium-sized firms., Bold, grounded, and full of wisdom. Scaling for Success is a blueprint for founders at any stage and scale who want to maximize their organization’s impact and create a strong foundation for their culture. An absolute must-read for founders, CEOs, and people leaders who understand that creating a great organization begins with investing in its people.

Andrew Bartlow is the founder of Series B Consulting, which advises organizations on talent and people management during periods of rapid growth and change. He previously led human resources for tech companies in the real estate and ed-tech sectors and has guided organizations through massive growth, multiple mergers, and a public offering.T. Brad Harris is an associate professor of management at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University and has a joint appointment with the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a coauthor of 3D Team Leadership: A New Approach for Complex Teams (2017).