A talk I gave 23/02/2015 as scale coach for the TechCityUK @upscale program. Thoughts and discussion around scaling operations,

1. SCALING OPERATIONS
Upscale – February 2016
@norrisnode

2. 1990
2000
2006
2007
2010
2012
1972
2014

3. What is operations
anyway?

4. In your words…
Everything that happens after a customer places an order
Making the founder's vision a reality
Everything not done by the engineering team/sales team/CEO
External operations is how we give the best possible physical
product experience to our customers. Internal operations is
organising ourselves to best achieve that.
The day to day running of the business, balancing priorities to
achieve short term and strategic business goals, and setting
foundations for sustainable growth.

5. Usually includes
Finance
HR/Talent
Customer service
Account management
Office/Facilities
BI/Analytics
Legal

6. Sometimes includes
Sales
Product
Marketing
Engineering
Investor relations
Delivery / returns
Purchasing

8. Is Operations similar to
product management?

9. Analyse, define, launch
and retire (products)

10. How about scaling?

11. Scaling can mean to increase in size
It can also mean to do so efficiently

12. Maybe this might be what we do?
CAPABILITY
i.e.
COMPETENCE x CAPACITY

13. What’s it like having
4 kids?

14. 4 people = 6 relationships

15. 6 people = 15 relationships

16. Organisational
complexity is non-linear

17. 8 people 28 relationships

18. 50 people?
R=(N x (N-1))/2 R=(50 x 49)/2 1225

19. R for 10 to 150 people

20. INDIVIDUALS DON'T BUILD GREAT COMPANIES, TEAMS DO.
“

21. Group formats change
predictably with scale

22. From Hunting Party to City
Hunting Party
2-7 people

23. From Hunting Party to City
Village huts
8-40 people

24. From Hunting Party to City
Large village
50-250 people

25. From Hunting Party to City
A town
250+ people

26. From Hunting Party to City
A City
10s of thousands of people+

27. Dunbar’s number
Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive
limit to the number of people with whom
one can maintain stable social relationships.
These are relationships in which an
individual knows who each person is and
how each person relates to every other
person

28. 150

29. Hierarchies can be slow
Reducing complexity and
increasing speed
requires small group
sizes with clear
mandates

30. Amazon’s 2 pizza team rule
Small teams = ownership = speed = less fragility

31. Transferwise form teams around KPIs

32. Spotify’s tribes, chapters and guilds
Max 100 Max 100

33. Minimise people needed
to complete a customer
task

34. Form teams around the customer, not the function

35. What are you optimising for?
Quality
Speed
Cost

36. Optimise for quality first

37. How?

38. Process is not a dirty
word

39. Processes are like ratchets that secure quality

40. Principles and outcomes
if stated clearly can
reduce the need for
detailed processes

41. Processes are best written by the people doing the work
Process name Name
Owner Name
Last updated Date
Why Why is this policy or process needed?
Give context and background information
Words Define any relevant vocabulary
Policies or
principles
State any policies or principles relevant to
this process
Process Describe the process in numbered steps
Measures State measures / KPIs and reporting
frequency that will determine whether this
process has been successfully followed

42. Organisational debt is
normal. Be careful how
much you borrow.

43. Keeping up with growth, but only just
How we
used to do
it
How we
would do it
to optimise
for today’s
volumes
What we
will need to
do to
optimise
for
tomorrow’s
volumes

44. It’s your path to chart

45. WHENEVER THERE IS AN EXECUTION OF PURPOSE,
THERE MUST BE AN AGENT
“
Adoniram Judson

46. Practice leads to theory
Theory is not superior to
practice

47. Q & A