On this episode, we talk with Simon Little of Studio STL in Port Townsend, WA. Simon runs a business that used to be just himself and has now grown to several employees. We discuss some scalability principles he can apply in a small office environment that would make an impact for the staff and clients.
Before anyone worries about scaling though, they should make sure they have the right processes in place. Some examples include making sure you’ve got the right talent on board, ensuring there is clarity so people know what success looks like, people receive recognition of excellent performance, the lines of communication are open, and there are feedback opportunities. These are things that don’t change as you grow.
Culture is all about behaviors and you can be very intentional with that. You don’t need to have a large company with a lot of resources in order to have a good culture.
If you’re wanting to grow your company, make sure you go ahead and define what the culture is now – write it down on paper! Eventually, when you add more team members, you’ll walk them through an orientation and onboarding process to make sure the team members understand why the company exists.
Culture can start to slip away if you don’t start feeding it.
At Disney, every person regardless of your role goes through “traditions” which teaches you the history of the company and why it exists. Then they talk about the values of the company, what they should expect, and the 4 keys. Mostly people learn from watching others and seeing how people interact with one another.
Resources mentioned in this episode include the Exploding Kittens card game.
You can find Simon Little and Studio STL Here.
