Growth Broke the Business

What worked at 20 people fails at 70.

01
Situation
A logistics firm doubles headcount in two years. Delivery errors and customer complaints rise faster than revenue.
02
Evidence
- Rising error rates
- New staff trained by shadowing
- Managers firefighting daily
- No shared definition of 'on time'
03
The decision
Hire more supervisors, or redesign how work is defined and reviewed?
04
Analysis
Informal methods don't scale. Each new hire learned a slightly different way of working.
05
Framework
Standard work: documented processes, clear measures and a daily review rhythm.
06
Resolution
SOPs for the core delivery process, an agreed on-time measure and a daily 15-minute review.
07
Founder exercise
Apply it to your own business:
- Pick your most repeated process
- Ask three people to describe it
- Write down where their versions differ

Situation