The Alignment Playbook: Scaling Up

How does the book Scaling Up support CEOs in aligning their executive teams?

In my previous article, we talked about the four critical elements for achieving and maintaining executive team alignment: the One Page Strategic Plan (OPSP), Annual and Quarterly Planning, Clear Individual Roles and Expectations, and Efficient Executive Team Buy-in. 
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The truth is, these concepts aren't just my ideas; they're the battle-tested principles used by some of the best small to mid-size companies, formalized nicely by Verne Harnish, and contributing coaches, in his book, Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It... and Why the Rest Don't. 

Scaling Up provides a comprehensive framework for predictable, sustainable growth, built around four critical decisions: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. As you read it, you'll immediately see how the keys to alignment we discussed fit perfectly into the Scaling Up system.

Let's start with the plan. 

We know that getting an executive team aligned requires a "page to get on", and that's where Harnish's work truly shines. The One Page Strategic Plan (OPSP), which I mentioned he first introduced in Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, is a cornerstone of the Scaling Up system, fitting squarely in his Strategy pillar. 

The book dedicates significant detail to showing how to boil down your entire company's philosophy, 3-year plan, annual goals, and quarterly priorities onto that single, focused page. 

The OPSP is the tool that forces the executive team to get really clear and aligned about each of their decisions. This powerful tool comes directly from Scaling Up.

Hand-in-hand with that plan is the need for a disciplined rhythm of planning. Our discussion on Annual and Quarterly Planning is a direct nod to the Execution pillar in Scaling Up. 

Harnish emphasizes that a consistent meeting rhythm—including annual and quarterly planning—is essential for maintaining alignment, adjusting competitive strategy, and breaking down the annual plan into manageable 90-day chunks. This Execution rhythm ensures the team has the flexibility to learn, adjust, and course-correct as the market and organization evolve. This disciplined planning is a key principle that Scaling Up advocates for.

Beyond annual and quarterly planning to support executive team alignment, the Executiion pillar also covers the importance of data as well as monthly, weekly and daily huddles to support efficient execution.

When you move into the People pillar, the book strongly reinforces the need for Clear Individual Roles and Expectations. We previously talked about clarifying roles, results, and expectations to eliminate duplication, mixed messages, and internal friction. The Scaling Up framework stresses having the right people in the right seats, and one of the best tools for that is the Functional Accountability Chart exercise, introduced in the book. 

The Key Function Flow Map that I use with my clients, and that I picked up from Shannon Byrne Susko of Metronomics, is an excellent complementary exercise to make the Functional Accountability Chart even more actionable.

Scaling Up also introduces the job scorecard—which includes the function's purpose, results, metrics, and targets, and competencies. It is a prime example of a tool strongly featured in the Scaling Up system to ensure every leader is aligned on what they're expected to produce. 

​However, in Scaling Up, the job scorecard is emphasized as a tool for hiring great talent, while only suggesting metrics and priorities for setting expectations of individuals. Whereas myself, and many executive team coaches in my network, also recommend the job scorecard to clients to get clear on not only the “what” of the results expected of each team member, but also the “how” in terms of the competencies needed to achieve those results. Myself and some of my colleagues also suggest including values and behaviours, responsibilities and authority in the job scorecard, to get really clear on what’s expected of each person.

The People pillar also goes well beyond setting expectations to create executive team alignment, to also cover how to hire great talent, as I mentioned, and how to get and keep them engaged.

Finally, we hit the last key: Efficient Executive Team Buy-in. 

We advocated for shifting from dictating a plan to making decisions in collaboration with the executive team. Our approach of "disagree and commit,"  which Patrick Lencioni popularized in his best-selling book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which Scaling Up often references, is the final guardrail for driving executive team alignment. It's the process where everyone's voice is heard and considered, and then the team commits fully to the CEO's final decision. ​

While Scaling Up encourages using the Five Dysfunctions model, he frames it as an Execution discipline. Whereas, the model and the specific "disagree and commit" method is essential for all of an executive team’s discussions and decisions.

Beyond these three pillars that reinforce our alignment keys—People, Strategy, and Execution—a lot of what Scaling Up covers focuses on the crucial fourth pillar: Cash. This is vital for any growing company. The book provides actionable advice on cash flow management and maximizing your financial health as you grow.

If you're a CEO who's already committed to the four keys of executive team alignment we discussed, picking up Scaling Up is a great way to learn more about a popular integrated system for running your company. It provides a consistent language and framework to help align your team around the right people, strategy, execution and cash practices to grow a thriving company, team and life.

Does getting your executive team aligned seem daunting? We see it all the time with companies we work with. I’ll share the story of one of those clients in our next 5 Minute Growth Tip article.

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If you are a prairie CEO who wants to grow a thriving company, team and life more quickly, more easily and with less stress and headache, please contact me here