Preserve The Magic Of Companies With Fewer Than 100 Employees

There’s something special about companies with fewer than 100 employees. Everyone knows everyone (or should). They can get away with little or no bureaucracy. Run properly, they can feel more like a community than a mere place to get a paycheck.

Years ago, I was recruited to work at The Danbury Mint, which was part of MBI, Inc. My boss told me that the company’s owner intended to never let a division grow to more than 100 people before he would split it in half and create two smaller divisions, each with its own leader. While that statement turned out to be false, I spent the better part of a year thinking about what a wise practice that would be.

Every business is a collection of human beings, but leaders often lose sight of that fact. People work best with other people they actually know and trust. They also feel better about work when they feel seen and appreciated.

Under 100 people, it’s easier to avoid cliques and politics. Another company I worked for was magical until our headcount topped 100 people, when it started to feel a bit like every other organization.

But if the purpose of business is to grow, how do you keep a business under 100 employees?

First, recognize that higher revenues don’t always require more headcount. The most profitable businesses maximize their revenues per employee. This can also be an effective strategy for increasing opportunity and compensation over time, which aligns each employee’s interests with the company’s interests.

Second, if you do grow over 100 people, establish fully autonomous divisions and don’t insist that each division adheres to a single corporate culture. Let each division have its own personality and management team.

Third, preserve just a few extraordinarily clear and simple principles that apply to all employees, all divisions and all owners, such as: take care of employees and they’ll take care of customers.

In an economic system obsessed with growth, sometimes the smartest strategy is to avoid entirely the problems that growth brings. Only cross that 100-employee bridge when you are certain that life will be better on the other side.

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