When setting out on a new endeavour or goal, the advice we often get is to start small and grow from there. It makes sense because we can naturally get ahead of ourselves. Either we are trying to run before we can walk, worrying about bridges further down the river, or frustratingly comparing ourselves with those who have more experience and skill.
But there’s an issue with the idea of starting small; it can sometimes trip us up. It holds an implicit assumption that we should always be aiming big.
We celebrate ambition for scaling up, expanding, and shooting for the stars.
A quick search reveals synonyms for “scale-up” like flourishing, thriving, prospering, succeeding, and soaring. Scaling down is replaced by depreciating, diminishing, devaluing, and limiting. Whether or not we mean it, there is a value judgement there. Aiming for bigger is a sign of strength, and aiming for smaller is shameful.
These are interesting things to consider when living a life of meaning and quality.
How often have we seen scaling up bring a depreciation of product and service quality, a downgrade of materials and care from artisanal craftsmanship to manufacturing, and a blandification of ideas when outsourcing to those who aren’t connected to it in any meaningful sense? And those who have experienced mainstream success pining to return to the essence and simplicity of their treasured craft. The lesson is be aware of what you’re wishing for and consider alternative definitions of success that give you what you actually want.
Lessons From Norma’s Double R Diner
This is one of the gentle threads in Twin Peaks: The Return, in which Norma Jennings, the owner of the iconic Double R Diner, has turned it into a franchise. There are now several branches of Norma’s Double R around Washington State, which are all more successful than the flagship diner (i.e. they make more money). Norma’s soon-to-be ex-business (and romantic) partner, Walter, tries convincing her to source cheaper ingredients and change the recipes for the pies in her original diner to make them easier to mass-produce. Much to Walter’s confusion and anger, Norma refuses to follow his advice and asks him to buy her out of the franchises so she can focus on running the core diner and spending time with the people she loves.
The Double R makes enough money, and Norma takes great pride in the food she creates and serves. It nourishes the stomachs and souls of all who pass through.
Although we don’t see it on screen, it’s easy to imagine the start of this journey. The Walter’s of the world say, “Start small with one diner, and then you can scale up from there”. But what if one diner is enough? Why would more diners make things better? What compromises would need to be made?
It’s a retelling of the fisherman and the banker where the logical fallacy at the heart of indiscriminate scaling leads us back to the start. The wisdom gained from growing big is the desire to return to smaller and simpler for a more meaningful life.
Growth Is Not Linear
Of course, aiming high and scaling up isn’t innately bad. That’s not my point here. In fact, suggesting big is bad ends up with the same problem in reverse. But I would love to see the same appreciation for aiming deep and planning to keep things small. How would it look for aiming small to be a legitimate and respected choice?
Perpetual linear scale is unnatural. The laws of nature mean things don’t keep getting bigger indefinitely. But growth changes its complexion once it peaks. It might look like deeper wisdom, maturity, support, acceptance, and gentleness as the physical body wears, tears, and falls apart.
Big = Best is a Self-Limiting Belief
In coaching conversations, I sometimes see this self-limiting belief. Except it’s rarely recognised as such. In fact, we often think of limiting beliefs as causing us to aim too small with our dreams.
Can we start small, aim small, and remain small without compromising the integrity of what we do? Can we aim small with profound freedom and ambition? Maybe growing something simple, small, and inconspicuously successful IS the big dream.
It sounds counter-intuitive to see aiming big as a limiting belief. Everything in the personal and business development world points in the other direction regarding allowing yourself to grow and prosper. But this is something worth examination and scrutiny. Is this kind of perpetual “up-and-to-the-right” mindset a belief that limits our ability to imagine a simpler, smaller, and more sustainable future?
Many conversations I’ve experienced suggest this could be true. There is often a desire beneath the noise of the culturally ingrained message of scaling up at all costs to keep things small, simple, and meaningful.
We’ve all seen scale, size, and growth ruin good things. It encourages organisations to skimp on important elements like customer service, quality ingredients, and maintaining deep knowledge and craftsmanship in employees. So, what if we had some different ways of measuring the value of our endeavours?
Maybe finding a way to do small sustainably is a more effective path for you. Perhaps you not only want to start small but to aim and remain small, too. This is not a flaw or failure. But it might require some fundamental rewiring when it comes to the normalised and naturalised cultural messages about the limits of aiming small.
Starting Small Case By Case
To reiterate, it’s not that we shouldn’t want to scale up and make big things. But we should know why we want those things, and pursuing them should be our choice rather than our default.
For many of us, the idea of growing too big can actually stop us from starting. I’ve felt this tension in my music ambitions over the years and it’s been a question for me when it comes to running The Haven. I don’t want it to get so big that I don’t know every member who wants to be known by name. I don’t want it to get so big that I have no capacity to be present in the live happenings and forums.
So, what if “aiming small” could be our objective from the beginning? How would that change our relationship with our goals and projects? What could it make possible?
Here are some questions I’ve found helpful for considering the state of our ambition with particular goals and projects.
What does growth mean…
- To you?
- To your idea?
- To the world?
The cost of growing too big…
- To you?
- To your idea?
- To others?
- To the wider world?
The cost of staying small…
- To you?
- To your idea?
- To others?
- To the wider world?
A payoff from aiming big…
- To you?
- To your idea?
- To others?
- To the wider world?
A payoff from aiming small…
- To you?
- To your idea?
- To others?
- To the wider world?
If any of this rings true and you’d like to spend time untangling it with me, you can book a Pick The Lock call. We will explore your relationship with growth and peel back layers around your ambition for a particular project/goal or in life more widely. Learn more here.
