Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

“So one branch manager leads twenty-one people, and the other
branch manager leads two people?” I clarified.
“Yeah ... a little strange, but it makes sense on the ground,” the
president offered.
“How?” I asked. If it wasn’t clear to me looking at the org chart, I
knew it was highly likely that it didn’t make sense to the frontline troops
that were out there executing the company’s mission.
“Well, the bigger branches have more people because they are more
successful, and they generally have a stronger manager. Because he or
she is effective, the branch grows and requires more employees, which
increases the number of direct reports. Over time some branches can get
pretty big,” the president explained.
“What happens to the efficiency of the branch when they grow?” I
asked.
“You know, honestly, once a branch reaches a certain size, rapid
growth slows,” he admitted. “The branch manager usually just focuses
on the best performers, and the rest kind of get lost in the shuffle of day-
to-day business. Over time, most of these branch managers seem to lose
track of the bigger picture of what we are trying to do and where we are
strategically trying to grow.”
“And what about the smaller branches?” I asked. “Why do they not
grow?”
“Surprisingly, it is for a similar reason,” he replied. “When a branch
only has a couple people in it, there isn’t enough revenue for the branch
manager to really make money. So those managers are forced to
personally generate business themselves. When they are in the field
selling, they generally don’t have time to focus on leadership and
management of their teams and they lose track of the bigger picture—