One of the biggest fallacies widely shared in small business circles is that real employee training is something you invest in when you’re big.

It’s not.

It’s what you do to get big.

Think of process and training as table stakes for going to the next level.

If you’re hitting the ceiling, you’ll want to read this:

Most small teams operate well for a time period. Usually up to about 10-12 people.

Line-of-sight management, personalized connections, and a shared value system keep a small team tight, focused, and executing at a high level of excellence.

It’s when they get a little bigger that things start to break down. Right around 15 to 20 people, the wheels come off.

Why? What changed?

Well, you stopped being a tight little team where everyone got a beer on Friday night and shared stories back and forth. You stopped knowing the names of everybody’s kids. You stopped imprinting values on everyone by working shoulder to shoulder.

What changed is that you simply can’t manage or mentor 20 people the way you do 5.

So this idea that “training is what you do when you’re big” isn’t true. The data don’t support it. The stories don’t support it. Even common sense doesn’t support it.

And even reading it, you know you need to do it….but do you?

Here’s how to break through: Transform your wisdom into training. Create a digital campfire where stories and best practices live. Tackle Process and Followed By All as a business function NOT a Rock this quarter that you’ll shelve next quarter! Scale your values and processes to grow, optimize, and protect your organization from the loss of key people.

And finally, change your frame because what got you here won’t get you there.