The Hidden Cost of Scaling: How Growth Can Dilute Your Company's Core

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-23

Let's talk about something that keeps founders and leaders up at night. You build this amazing company culture—it's your secret sauce. Then growth happens, and suddenly, that special feeling starts to fade. It's like watching your favorite drink get watered down. Erik Vermeulen has spent over 20 years studying this exact problem. As a behavioral strategist and Managing Director of Ridgeline Consulting, he brings a unique perspective. His background isn't just corporate boardrooms—it's leading expeditions through deserts and up mountains where uncertainty isn't a theory, it's the daily reality. That combination shapes everything. He looks at how people make decisions under real pressure, what separates truly effective teams from just groups of people, and why rapid growth often weakens the very culture that made a company successful in the first place. ### What Adventure Can Teach Us About Business Uncertainty One of Erik's big insights is about uncertainty. For years, he thought adventure was about specific activities—climbing a 29,000-foot mountain, crossing a 100-mile desert. But he realized adventure is actually any undertaking where the outcome is unknown. Sound familiar? That's business. That's life. "We tend to mask the uncertainty," he explains, "through all the rituals, routines, and structures we build around ourselves and our teams." We create these elaborate systems to feel in control, but the truth is, we have no certainty about tomorrow's sales targets or next quarter's team performance. Leading expeditions taught him to embrace that uncertainty rather than fight it. When you're guiding people through unknown territory, you can't pretend to have all the answers. You have to build teams that can adapt, communicate, and make smart decisions when the map runs out. ### The Two Things That Make Teams Truly Great So what separates a high-performing team from just a bunch of talented individuals? Erik points to two crucial elements. First is culture—those unwritten rules that everyone just knows. What's accepted? What's not? Which behaviors move you toward your goal, and which ones pull you away? Great teams are crystal clear about their boundaries. The second element is more controversial: great teams know when they start and when they end. Think about it. In corporate settings, we often have teams that just keep going year after year, chasing one target after another. But Erik argues that truly great teams operate differently. They set a specific goal, follow a process to achieve it, then consciously reset. They have a definite beginning and end before tackling the next challenge. - They're mission-focused, not just permanently assembled - They celebrate completion before moving to the next thing - This creates natural rhythm and prevents burnout ### Why Growth Dilutes Culture (And How to Stop It) Here's where it gets really interesting. Every organization wants growth—more sales, more customers, more impact. But according to Erik, "Growth is where your problem starts in terms of culture." He uses a simple metaphor: cordial. Think of your company as a glass. The glass itself is your structure—your processes, your hierarchy, your physical or virtual space. The cordial you pour in is your culture, your people, your unique way of doing things. When you're small, that glass is full of strong, concentrated flavor. Everyone tastes it in every interaction. But as you grow, you keep pouring in more water (new hires, new processes, new locations) without adding more cordial. The flavor gets weaker and weaker until it's barely there. Leaders need to watch for this dilution constantly. Are you actively reinforcing your core values with every new hire? Are you promoting people who embody your culture? Or are you just adding water to the glass and hoping the flavor holds? The pace of change keeps accelerating. Leaders who can help their teams adapt while preserving what made them special in the first place—those are the ones who build companies that last. It's not about avoiding growth. It's about growing intentionally, making sure your culture evolves with you instead of evaporating behind you. Remember, uncertainty isn't your enemy—it's just reality. Great teams aren't born, they're built with clear boundaries and shared understanding. And that secret sauce culture? You have to keep adding more seasoning as your company gets bigger, or it will fade into something bland and forgettable.