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In “Preserve Culture While Scaling: The Road Back to Cohesiveness,” Gereon Hermkes tackles the complexities of maintaining a cohesive corporate culture amidst the explosive expansion of a technology firm. Gereon initiated a simple Scrum@Scale strategy focused on rejuvenating the core values of shared language, trust, and cooperation that had defined the early days of the company but began to deteriorate with rapid scaling.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”1″ _address=”0.0.1″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_cta title=”CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT” disabled_on=”on|on|off” admin_label=”Call To Action” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ header_font=”Poppins|600||on|||||” header_font_size=”18px” header_line_height=”1.8em” body_font=”Open Sans||||||||” body_font_size=”16px” body_line_height=”2em” background_color=”#ffffff” border_radii=”on|10px|10px|10px|10px” button_icon=”%%22%%” button_icon_color=”#ffffff” button_on_hover=”off” button_alignment=”left” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_vertical=”30px” box_shadow_blur=”40px” box_shadow_color=”rgba(11,9,26,0.1)” text_orientation=”left” background_layout=”light” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”-46px||28px|39px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”0px||0px|0px|false|false” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding=”||||false|false” animation_direction=”top” hover_transition_duration=”0ms” locked=”off” _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.1.0″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_enable_color=”on”]Trainer Name:<\/strong> Gereon Hermkes The “Einheit” concept\u2014<\/span>defined as communicating seamlessly through mutual understanding, using a minimum of key, well-understood phrases that are developed through familiarity, trust, and shared experience<\/span>\u2014was at the heart of <\/span>a startup<\/span> company’s foundational success. <\/span>The founders emphasized a high-trust, decentralized, and cooperative culture from the start, and when the company was still small, it worked. However,<\/span> the company struggled to preserve culture while scaling; as culture waned,\u00a0<\/span>sales stalled<\/span>, leading to internal conflicts <\/span>and the departure of numerous veteran employees.<\/span> There was high decision latency, rivalry amongst teams, a general sense of unhappiness regarding management, and feelings of helplessness across the board. Employees had lost touch with what others were working on or struggling with, and the company lacked a common outlook. That’s when Gereon stepped in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From a traditional business standpoint, it appeared that the company had three options: halt growth altogether, tolerate the chaos and deterioration of company culture and keep pushing forward with expansion, or embrace what Gereon refers to as the process trap. The process trap, a significant shift towards implementing new standard operating procedures, can be highly attractive amid rapid scaling when levels of chaos are high, but you risk losing large swaths of the original company culture. In this case, that original culture instated by the founders was worth saving. Gereon turned to a Scrum@Scale<\/a> pattern to try and reinstate the Einheit that was present at the founding of the company. <\/span>By introducing a Scaled Daily Scrum (SDS)<\/a>, Gereon aimed to reestablish this lost unity by enhancing communication, <\/span>creating shared language across the company<\/span>, and reducing barriers among teams.<\/span><\/p>\n In response to these challenges, Gereon implemented a SDS across eight teams. <\/span>The SDS implementation served as a low-resistance method to foster frequent and effective interactions across the board. Emphasizing mutual trust and the importance of shared <\/span>language and<\/span> learning experiences, the initiative allowed teams to rediscover their collaborative spirit. <\/span>Of key importance in this SDS implementation was the inclusion of leadership \u2013<\/span> leadership’s willingness to display vulnerability and focus on collective learning during the SDS played a crucial role in this cultural reinvigoration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Results: Revitalized Culture and Improved Business Outcomes<\/span><\/p>\n The results were profoundly positive. The section of the company that embraced the SDS witnessed an 8.87-fold increase in revenue with significantly higher margins. Furthermore, the group managed to elevate its pricing by 21%, while also enhancing employee qualifications and satisfaction. The results that they saw stemming from the SDS pushed them towards embracing other aspects of Scrum@Scale.\u00a0This revitalization not only restored internal harmony, but also propelled the company to new heights of market success.\u00a0By rekindling their sense of unity surrounding the culture of Einheit, they effectively enhanced internal collaboration, allowing teams to operate with greater autonomy and mutual support, which in turn accelerated decision-making and initiative-taking processes.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIndustry: <\/strong>Consulting
\nOrganization Size: <\/strong>Small start-up
\nTopic: <\/strong>Adapting to Change, Continuous Improvement and Impediment Removal, Scaled Daily Scrum (SDS), Scaling Anti-Patterns, Leadership Participation
\nDate:<\/strong> 2019
\nWebsite: <\/strong>https:\/\/www.teamflow.de\/de\/<\/a>
\nLinkedIn:\u00a0<\/strong>https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gereon-hermkes<\/a>[\/et_pb_cta][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.27.3″ min_height=”786.5px” bottom_divider_color=”#cc0000″ bottom_divider_height=”50px” hover_enabled=”0″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”1″ _address=”1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.3″ link_option_url=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/QtZnafhhpOM” _i=”0″ _address=”1.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.27.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0″][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/4AicY79RonE” thumbnail_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”1.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.3″ custom_padding=”1px||1px|||” _i=”1″ _address=”1.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.27.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0″][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/www.scrumatscale.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Gereon-Hermkes-Scrum-at-Scale-Case-Study-Slides.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Download Slides” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#cc0000″ button_border_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0)” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” button_bg_enable_color=”on” _i=”0″ _address=”1.1.0.0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ disabled_on=”on|on|on” admin_label=”Testimonial” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#eeEEEE” background_color_gradient_end=”#666666″ background_color_gradient_direction=”60deg” custom_padding=”50px|0px|50px|0px|false|false” disabled=”on” fb_built=”1″ _i=”2″ _address=”2″][et_pb_row module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ width=”89%” width_tablet=”80%” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” make_fullwidth=”on” _i=”0″ _address=”2.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”2.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Romaric Chardonneau” job_title=”Licensed Scrum Trainer” portrait_url=”https:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dmwoxjusp\/image\/upload\/v1573472196\/Romaric_Chardonneau_RC.JPG.jpg” quote_icon=”off” portrait_width=”130px” portrait_height=”130px” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ body_font=”Open Sans||||||||” body_font_size=”18px” use_background_color=”off” text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark” _i=”0″ _address=”2.0.0.0″][\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Case Studies” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ background_color=”#fafafc” min_height=”718px” custom_padding=”22px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” fb_built=”1″ _i=”3″ _address=”3″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.27.3″ custom_padding=”|||0px||” locked=”off” _i=”0″ _address=”3.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” _i=”0″ _address=”3.0.0″ custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text ul_position=”inside” ul_item_indent=”20px” admin_label=”Write up” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.6em” ul_font_size=”16px” ul_line_height=”1.8em” header_2_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_2_text_align=”left” header_2_font_size=”28px” header_2_line_height=”2em” header_3_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_3_font_size=”18px” _i=”0″ _address=”3.0.0.0″]<\/p>\nCase Study Summary\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Preserve Culture while Scaling with\u00a0Scaled Daily Scrum
<\/b><\/h3>\nThe Solution: Scaled Daily Scrum as a Cultural Catalyst<\/b><\/h4>\n
Key Outcomes<\/b><\/h4>\n