The Hidden Cost of Growth: Why Scaling Up Can Break Your Company Culture

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-23

Erik Vermeulen has spent over 20 years studying how organizations behave under pressure. As Managing Director of Ridgeline Consulting and a seasoned expedition leader, he's seen firsthand what happens when uncertainty hits—and why rapid growth often erodes the very culture that made a company successful. In this exclusive interview with Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency, Vermeulen shares hard-won insights on leadership, team dynamics, and the cultural pitfalls of scaling. ### Uncertainty Is the Only Certainty When you're leading an expedition across a desert or climbing a mountain, you quickly learn that outcomes are never guaranteed. Vermeulen believes business leaders face the same reality—they just mask it with routines and structures. "We have no certainty about whether we'll be around tomorrow to meet our sales targets or lead our teams," he says. "Adventure is any undertaking where the outcome is uncertain. That's life. That's business." Instead of pretending uncertainty doesn't exist, Vermeulen suggests embracing it as a lens for better decision-making. When you accept that the future is unpredictable, you stop over-planning and start building teams that can adapt on the fly. ### What Separates Great Teams from Groups of Individuals Vermeulen points to two key differences between genuinely high-performing teams and mere collections of talented people: - **Culture:** The unwritten rules that define what's accepted and what isn't. Great teams are crystal clear about which behaviors move them forward and which hold them back. - **Clear boundaries:** Great teams know exactly when they start and when they end. They set a specific goal, execute, and then reset before tackling the next challenge. "Most corporate teams just work together year in and year out, chasing the next target," Vermeulen explains. "Really great teams have a beginning and a very definite end to their teamwork before they reset." That reset is crucial. Without it, teams burn out, lose focus, and struggle to innovate. ### Why Growth Dilutes Culture—and What to Watch For Every organization has a growth metric: bigger, better, more sales, more products. But according to Vermeulen, that relentless push for growth is exactly where cultural problems begin. He uses a simple metaphor: a glass of cordial. The glass is your organizational structure. The cordial is your culture—the concentrated essence that gives your company its unique flavor. When you add more water (new hires, new processes, new markets), the drink becomes diluted. It still looks like cordial, but it doesn't taste the same. "Growth is where your problem starts in terms of culture," Vermeulen warns. "The more you scale, the more you risk losing what made you distinctive." So what should leaders watch for as they scale? - **Unwritten rules are forgotten.** New employees don't absorb the cultural norms that old-timers took for granted. - **Communication breaks down.** What used to be a quick hallway conversation becomes a formal meeting that never happens. - **Accountability blurs.** When everyone is responsible, no one is. ### How to Keep Culture Strong While Growing Vermeulen doesn't suggest avoiding growth. Instead, he advises leaders to be intentional about preserving culture. That means documenting your unwritten rules, regularly reinforcing them, and—most importantly—hiring for cultural fit, not just skill. "Great teams are very clear about what is tolerated and accepted," he says. "If you can't articulate your culture, you can't protect it." He also recommends creating clear team lifecycles. Instead of permanent teams that drift, build project-based teams with defined start and end points. This keeps energy high and prevents complacency. Finally, embrace uncertainty. The best leaders don't pretend they have all the answers. They build teams that can navigate ambiguity, adapt quickly, and reset when needed. "Adventure is a powerful lens through which to look at leadership," Vermeulen concludes. "When you accept uncertainty, you stop fearing it—and start using it to your advantage." For founders and executives, the message is clear: growth is inevitable, but cultural erosion is not. With the right focus, you can scale without losing the soul of your company.