Scaling Up Certified Coach: Mastering the Four Decisions for Strategic Growth
Scaling Up is a comprehensive growth methodology developed by Verne Harnish, built on decades of research with high-growth companies worldwide. The framework centers on the Four Decisions every company must master: People, Strategy, Execution, and Cash. As a Scaling Up Certified Coach, I help founder-CEOs and their leadership teams implement this proven system with discipline and precision. My certification followed a decade of applying these tools in my own Inc. 500 company before a successful exit.
PROVEN FRAMEWORK
More than 102,000 companies across 70 countries have scaled using this methodology. The Four Decisions framework provides a comprehensive, battle-tested system for aligning leadership teams around people, strategy, execution, and cash—the areas where growth companies succeed or stall.
PRACTICAL TOOLS
Scaling Up delivers actionable tools like the One-Page Strategic Plan and Rockefeller Habits Execution Checklist. These aren't theoretical concepts—they're working documents that create clarity, drive accountability, and translate strategic vision into daily operational discipline.
MEASURABLE RESULTS
Companies implementing Scaling Up consistently report doubled cash flow, three times industry-average profitability, and significant valuation increases. The methodology creates the alignment and execution rhythms that turn ambitious growth plans into predictable business outcomes.
SCALING UP
The Proven Methodology for Scaling Growth Companies
OVERVIEW
Scaling Up emerged from Verne Harnish's research into how a small percentage of companies successfully scale while most plateau or fail. His book Mastering the Rockefeller Habits introduced the foundational concepts, later expanded in Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't.
The methodology provides a systematic approach to growth that addresses the increasing complexity companies face as they scale. Rather than treating people challenges, strategy questions, execution problems, and cash constraints as separate issues, Scaling Up integrates them into a coherent system where each element reinforces the others.
DELIVERABLES
Scaling Up provides a comprehensive operating system for growth companies built on two interconnected frameworks. The Four Decisions addresses the critical areas where scaling companies succeed or stall, while the Rockefeller Habits create the execution rhythms that translate strategy into daily action. Together, they give leadership teams a common language, shared tools, and disciplined practices for navigating growth complexity.
The Four Decisions
Every growth company must get four critical decisions right:
People — Having the right people in the right seats, with clear accountability and alignment around company priorities.
Strategy — Developing a differentiated strategy that creates competitive advantage and drives profitable revenue growth.
Execution — Building the disciplines, rhythms, and habits that translate strategy into consistent daily action.
Cash — Managing cash flow to fuel growth rather than constrain it, understanding the dynamics that either accelerate or drain resources.
The Rockefeller Habits
Ten fundamental practices that high-growth companies use to maintain alignment and momentum—from establishing clear priorities and metrics to implementing effective meeting rhythms and accountability structures. The One-Page Strategic Plan captures your strategy, priorities, and metrics in a single working document that keeps leadership teams aligned quarter after quarter.
TARGET
Scaling Up delivers the most impact for growth-stage companies in the $10 million to $100 million revenue range. These businesses have moved beyond startup survival mode but face the complexity challenges that come with scale: leadership team alignment becomes harder, strategic clarity gets diluted, execution discipline breaks down, and cash constraints emerge unexpectedly.
The methodology is particularly valuable for founder-CEOs navigating the transition from entrepreneurial hustle to systematic growth. If your leadership team struggles with alignment, your strategy lacks differentiation, your priorities shift constantly, or your growth is consuming more cash than it generates, Scaling Up provides the structure to address these challenges systematically.
CERTIFICATION
Scaling Up maintains rigorous standards for the coaches who implement this methodology. Fewer than 300 certified coaches operate globally—a small community relative to the tens of thousands of companies using the framework.
Certification requires more than fifty hours of intensive training: deep study of the system, toolset, and case studies; multi-day in-person sessions with senior coaches and trainers; simulated coaching engagements with direct feedback; and a ninety-minute oral examination before a panel of senior coaches—without notes or supporting materials.
The exam tests your ability to work through complex client scenarios and demonstrate genuine command of the Four Decisions framework under pressure. This rigor ensures certified coaches can deliver results, not just recite frameworks.
MY APPROACH
I first encountered Verne Harnish and the Rockefeller Habits through the Entrepreneurs' Organization and the Entrepreneurial Masters Program at MIT. Over the following decade, I applied the Scaling Up framework in my own software development company as we grew onto the Inc. 500 list five consecutive years before a successful exit in 2013.
Three applications made the biggest difference. We used the People tools to define clear roles and responsibilities across our leadership team. The Strategy framework helped us develop genuine differentiation in a crowded market. The Execution system of quarterly priorities focused our entire organization and aligned efforts in ways that previous planning approaches never achieved.
When I pursued formal certification in 2016, I came with this decade of practical application plus more than ten years of experience as a Lean/Agile coach. That foundation gives me unusual depth in understanding how the Four Decisions framework translates from theory into operational reality—and where adaptation is required for different business contexts.
I also hold several other rigorous certifications in coaching, leadership, performance, and strategy. This means I can integrate Scaling Up with complementary methodologies when your situation requires it, rather than forcing every challenge into a single framework.
Featured Content
Why the Secret to Fast Growth Is to Sell Fewer Things to Fewer People: Growing your business quickly requires you to focus your strategy. Here are five steps that’ll get you there.
Master the Art of Quarterly Planning With These 7 Steps: Effective quarterly planning meetings are crucial for executing strategy and setting priorities. Here’s how to master them.
The Growth Barriers: Scaling From Millions to Tens of Millions: Identifying the obstacles that hinder business growth, and the strategies to overcome them.
If you're exploring whether Scaling Up fits your company, I'm happy to discuss your situation. Whether you're facing leadership alignment challenges, strategic clarity issues, or execution breakdowns, a brief conversation can help determine if this approach fits your needs.
Learn More About SCALING UP
Client Testimonials
"Bruce is a best-in-class business coach who brings real-world experience and partnership to every engagement. I met him through the Scaling Up Masterclass while trying to implement the methodology alone—and quickly realized a coach would accelerate my growth. His support was key to successfully implementing ScalingUp and Metronomics."
T.J. Daly, Chief Delivery Officer, Unboxed Training & Technology
"I read Scaling Up in 2020 and was overwhelmed by how one book contained so many solutions. I chose Bruce after reviewing all Scaling Up certified coaches based on his professional services experience, knowledge of Agile principles, and people skills. Having had many strategic coaches, Bruce is far above the rest."
Elyssa Stephenson, Co-President, Thiel & Team
"Bruce's knowledge of the Scaling Up and 3HAG frameworks impressed me, but what sold me was his experience as a founder/CEO—he understands what it's like in the driver's seat. My leadership team has worked with Bruce for several years, and he's enabled us to set clear strategy and dramatically increase accountability."
Nancy Gruskin Warner, Founder/CEO, Assurpack LLC
"Educate has engaged Bruce in multiple ways over three years—strategic planning from annual meetings to quarterlies and weekly huddles. He's helped us think methodically about our one-page strategic plan, BHAG, and unique value proposition. Bruce works alongside you while pushing your thinking, always pleasant to work with. He'll get you there in a fun, effective way."
Stacey Schultz, President, Educate