Growing and Scaling the Business to Create a Self-Managing Company

By Brian Baum, CEPA®, CFP®

As a family-owned business ourselves, we’re familiar with the challenges of growing and scaling a business. As your company grows, your role within the company and the operations must evolve alongside it. Taking steps to scale your family-owned business might also allow you to focus on what you are passionate about and take a well-deserved step back as the organization becomes more self-managing. 

Establishing Business Policies and Procedures

Your team needs to make high-level decisions and steer the company toward a clear vision for the future. Part of the framework guiding your team toward the vision is your policies, procedures, and operating structure. These should be clearly defined and well documented for executives, managers, and employees alike to reference when making a decision on behalf of the company. Once the team is enabled to make smart decisions oriented toward the business’s future, the company begins operating in a different manner. 

Developing 10 Habits in 10 Quarters

Developing strong habits is the backbone of your business’s culture and ability to replicate successes. When growing and scaling a business, it’s important to assess what habits are present within the organization. At Interchange, we implement a strong system of habits by focusing on one of 10 core Rockefeller Habits each quarter for 10 quarters. 

By developing one key habit over three months, the entire team gets accustomed to aligning with these habits consistently. We use our custom Alignment Checklist to outline certain tasks to guide you toward developing those 10 habits. 

Reflect on which of these 10 habits are currently thriving within your company and which need immediate attention. Rotate through them as needed to make these habits present and relevant throughout the company:

1. The executive team is healthy and aligned
2. Everyone is aligned with the #1 thing that needs to be accomplished this quarter to move the company forward
3. Communication rhythm is established and information moves through the organization quickly
4. Every facet of the organization has a person assigned with accountability for ensuring goals are met
5. Ongoing employee input is collected to identify obstacles and opportunities
6. Reporting and analysis of customer feedback data is as frequent and accurate as financial data
7. Core values and purpose are “alive” in the organization
8. Employees can articulate the key components of the company’s strategy accurately
9. All employees can answer quantitatively whether they had a good day or week
10. The company’s plans and performance are visible to everyone 

Accelerating Communications

Looking back on how our journey started, the first habit we chose to focus on at Interchange was establishing a communication rhythm and moving information through the company with speed and accuracy. It’s been one of the best things we’ve ever done and has helped us grow and scale exponentially. Communication rhythm may look different depending on the needs of your business, but we’ve found this cadence works well for our organization: 

• Daily huddles Tuesday through Friday
• Weekly meetings across all teams
• Monthly meetings for DNA transfers and addressing big issues
• Monthly learning days for executives and middle managers
• Quarterly and annual off-site meetings for executives and middle managers

Establishing solid pathways for knowledge, concepts, and visions to travel throughout the company creates a more cohesive team. 

One-Page Strategic Plan

Over the past three years, we’ve consistently built out a one-page strategic plan to guide our path as we seek to execute goals, live our core values, and embody our purpose. We update our strategic plan each quarter. Our strategic plan is a living document encouraging our team to pursue the actionable priorities for each of their roles. 

Many companies rely on an annual plan, but the flexibility of a quarterly plan allows your team to be nimble in response to changing environments and shift priorities when needed. 

Grow and Scale Your Family-Owned Business

Creating a self-managing company requires attention to ingraining core habits into the framework of your business. With focused development of these habits, each level of your team aligns with the vision you have for the company and consistently implements the inspired actions to move the company forward. 

If you want to grow and scale your family-owned business and transition to a self-managing company, Interchange Capital Partners can help guide you through the process. If you’re looking for a personal, trusting partnership, please take advantage of our Second Opinion Service. Email us at team@interchangecp.com or call our office at 412-307-4230 to schedule an introductory appointment. 

About Brian

Brian Baum is the managing director of Interchange Capital Partners, a family business advisory firm providing family office and transition strategy services to family businesses. With over 10 years of experience, Brian spends his days working with our clients to determine ideal strategies to simplify and optimize their processes and the future of their business. He is known for his attention to detail and going the extra mile to become familiar with the dynamics surrounding each situation so he can offer customized and creative guidance. 

Brian has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in business from Penn State and is a  Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Brian is also the president of the Pittsburgh Exit Planning Chapter, which he helped found in 2019. The chapter’s mission is to give business owners a forum to become educated on how to build a valuable and transferable business through a proven process. Outside of work, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife, Natalie, and their daughters, Quinn and Blair. He is also an avid golfer and likes the occasional scotch and cigar. To learn more about Brian, connect with him on LinkedIn.

Interchange Capital Partners, LLC, (“INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS”) is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission providing investment advisory and financial planning services. Any reference to the terms “registered investment adviser” or “registered” does not imply that INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS or any person associated with INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS has achieved a certain level of skill or training. A copy of INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS’s current written disclosure (ADV 2A Firm Brochure) discussing our advisory services and fees is available for your review upon request. INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS, in addition to providing investment advisory and financial planning services, provides business consulting services. In connection with its business consulting services, INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS does not provide tax or legal advice.

This material is proprietary and may not be reproduced, transferred, modified or distributed in any form without prior written permission from INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS. INTERCHANGE CAPITAL PARTNERS reserves the right, at any time and without notice, to amend, or cease publication of the information contained herein. Certain of the information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources and has not been independently verified. It is made available on an “as is” basis without warranty. Any recommendations, projections, market outlooks, or estimates are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed as indicative of actual events that will occur.