@Richard recommended this book and I am mostly through it after much delay. I like it a lot, and think there are some interesting things in common with Org SCRAP. How do these 2 concepts relate? Most obvious is that SCRAP could fill in “subtraction” ni the Scaling mantras…but maybe there is more?
In a summary I read: “The book emphasizes that scaling is not just about getting bigger, but about spreading a mindset and eliminating destructive behaviors.”
Sounds consistent with SCRAP.
It is very consistent. Having gone through about 2/3 of it lightly I think there are at least 2 ways they are complementary:
- In SUE there are “scaling mantras” - one of which is “Scaling requires both addition and subtraction.” The description of this mantra is really similar to the definition of SCRAP:
As organizations grow larger and older, as the footprint of a program expands, and as the consequences of past actions accumulate, once useful but now unnecessary roles, rules, rituals, red tape, products, and services build up like barnacles on a ship; to make way for excellence to spread, these sources of unnecessary friction must be removed.
In particular, a hallmark of successful scaling is that leaders remain vigilant about what “got us here but won’t get us there,” as author Marshall Goldsmith would put it. These are beliefs, behaviors, and rituals that once bolstered excellence but now undermine it.
Sutton, Robert I.; Rao, Huggy. Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less (p. 28). (Function). Kindle Edition.
- More broadly, SCRAP may be useful to anyone using the SUE approaches as they do their work of spreading change.