The seventh direct report

Nothing broke when the team grew from six to nine. But decisions started queueing, and the arithmetic behind that is more brutal than most owners expect.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The seventh direct report

A business adds three people over eighteen months. Good hires, all of them. Revenue is up, the work is getting done, nobody has left. And yet something has gone wrong that nobody can name. Decisions that used to take a day now take a fortnight. The owner is in meetings from nine to six and does the actual thinking at weekends. Quotes go out slower. Two people are quietly waiting on the same answer and neither knows it. The instinct is to look for a culprit: a weak hire, a…

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