Every business starts with vision — but only those with well-built systems, clear leadership, and intentional scale strategy survive beyond the early stages. If your business has grown past its startup roots, you’re likely starting to feel the strain: confusion around decision-making, over-reliance on founders, and bottlenecks across teams.
At Lateral Solutions, we help businesses evolve past the hustle and into sustainable, scalable growth by focusing on three powerful areas:
Optimizing Leadership Structures for Growth
Business Process Engineering for Startups
The Science of Operational Scalability
Here’s how we work with leaders to build businesses that grow with less friction and more freedom.
Growing a business isn’t just about hiring more people — it’s about creating clarity and cohesion in leadership. Many companies hit a wall because they keep the same flat structure that worked at the startup stage, even as teams double or triple in size.
Symptoms of a Leadership Structure That’s Holding You Back:
Founders involved in every major decision
Poor cross-functional collaboration
Confused reporting lines and responsibility gaps
Lack of forward momentum due to misaligned teams
At Lateral Solutions, we help organizations restructure leadership for scale. That means aligning people to purpose, processes to outcomes, and leaders to strategy.
What We Implement:
Functional org charts that match business goals
Clear accountability models (RACI, OKRs)
Communication rhythms (like weekly L10s or monthly ops reviews)
Delegation systems that let founders step back
“Jon empowered my team to lead and gave me the space to focus on big-picture strategy.”
— Client Stories
Structure enables scale. The right leadership model accelerates decision-making, strengthens accountability, and reduces founder dependence.
Startups are built on agility, but at some point, agility becomes chaos. If you’re constantly reinventing the wheel — in how you deliver, onboard, hire, or market — you’re bleeding time, money, and energy.
Process engineering is the act of turning messy workflows into repeatable systems — without killing your startup’s momentum.
Where Early-Stage Businesses Lose Time and Profit:
Disorganized client onboarding
No documented SOPs or workflows
Key knowledge trapped in one person’s head
High variability in customer experience
Through our Business Process Engineering for Startups, we help growth-stage businesses implement structure without the bureaucracy.
What We Help You Build:
Documented workflows using tools like Notion, ClickUp, or Airtable
Repeatable onboarding flows for clients and employees
System triggers and automations to reduce manual tasks
Dashboards that track process performance in real time
“In six months, we cut costs by 10% and grew sales by 12% — all by systematizing our delivery process.”
— Real Results
The sooner you build the right processes, the faster you can scale without burnout.
Scalability isn’t just about growth — it’s about growth with control. Many businesses scale revenue, but fall apart operationally because their systems can’t handle the volume. That’s where operational scalability becomes essential.
Key Elements of Scalable Operations:
Repeatable processes that don’t depend on individuals
Data infrastructure to support fast decision-making
Tech stacks that integrate and automate effectively
A culture that embraces continuous improvement
At Lateral Solutions, we’ve developed the Growth Navigation System — a methodology that blends diagnostics, system design, and leadership coaching to help businesses build the infrastructure needed for scale.
Through our Operational Scalability Programs, we help clients:
Diagnose current operational constraints
Identify systems that need to evolve (delivery, sales, finance, HR)
Create change roadmaps with phased implementation
Coach leadership to manage complexity with calm
This isn’t theory — it’s based on 20+ years of helping real businesses scale. We’ve seen companies go from disorganized and reactive to focused and systematized in under a year.
We’re not here to hand you a PDF playbook and walk away. We partner with founders and executive teams to co-create the next version of their company.
Here’s our process:
✅ Phase 1: Discovery & Diagnostics
We conduct an audit of your current team structure, operations, and systems to find friction points.
✅ Phase 2: Strategic Blueprint
You get a customized growth roadmap — tailored to your size, sector, and goals.
✅ Phase 3: Implementation Support
We help install processes, rewire org charts, and ensure systems stick.
✅ Phase 4: Leadership Coaching
We work with founders and execs to grow into their next-level leadership role and avoid burnout as the business scales.
📞 Ready to explore how we could work together? Book a free strategy call.
We believe that systems unlock creativity. That structure drives innovation. And that leaders thrive when they’re not trapped in the day-to-day.
📘 Want to dive deeper? Download the first chapter of The Curious Leader — Jon Bassford’s guide to innovation-driven leadership and sustainable scale.
🎤 Looking to inspire your team or audience? Explore Jon’s speaking engagements and keynotes on systems, leadership, and organizational growth.
💬 Hear more real transformation stories from leaders like you — visit our media hub or explore our blog.
JD, MBA, CAE
Jon Bassford, JD, MBA, CAE, is an expert in curiosity-driven leadership. Not your typical operations professional, Jon has applied his curiosity to launch, manage, and improve operations for organizations ranging from venture-backed startups to global nonprofits with far-reaching impact.
Schedule a consultation with us today and discover how tailored strategies and expert guidance can unlock your business’s full potential.
Our approach combines data-driven diagnostics, tailored solutions, and leadership development. Led by Jon Bassford, we focus on empowering businesses to scale efficiently while fostering operational clarity and innovation.
Operational audits identify inefficiencies, streamline processes, and provide actionable insights. They serve as a foundation for sustainable growth by optimizing your operations and aligning them with your goals.
The Growth Navigation System is a comprehensive diagnostic tool that evaluates Operational Excellence and Transformation Readiness, helping businesses prioritize key areas for improvement and growth.
Executive coaching enhances leadership capabilities and ensures that leaders can effectively implement strategies uncovered during audits and diagnostics. It bridges the gap between operational insights and actionable leadership.
Take the first step toward transforming your business. Connect with us today to unlock operational clarity and drive sustainable growth.
At the heart of our work lies a passion for empowering businesses to scale efficiently and thrive in today’s competitive landscape.