The Efficiency Manifesto
By Justin Oberbauer
Growth shouldn't mean bankruptcy.
In the enterprise world, the solution to every problem is "buy another tool" or "hire another manager." In the SMB world, that’s how you burn through your runway.
We believe that efficiency is the ultimate competitive advantage. When you have limited resources, you can’t afford waste—whether that’s money spent on unused software or time lost to broken processes.
To scale a team from 10 to 50 without losing your mind (or your margins), you need to audit your operations, consolidate your tools, and get maximum ROI from every hour your team works. Here is the framework for making it happen.
Escape the "Subscription Trap"
If you audit your bank statement, you are likely paying for tools you don't actually use. The average small business uses 40+ SaaS applications. You have tasks in Trello, chat in Slack, files in Dropbox, and docs in Notion.
Not only is this expensive, but it also creates the "Hidden Cost of Integration." You might think you are saving money by using free or cheap tier tools, but the cost of paying engineers (or wasting your own time) to make those tools talk to each other dwarfs the subscription fees.
The Solution: The "One Workspace" Philosophy Stop stitching together "best-of- breed" apps. For an SMB, an integrated platform is almost always cheaper and faster. We recommend conducting a "Shelfware Audit" immediately: identify any software no one has logged into for 30 days and cancel it. Centralize your data to stop the bleed.
Measure the ROI of Friction Removal
We often obsess over a $20 monthly subscription but ignore the $500/week meeting that produces no results. Real ROI comes from giving your expensive talent the time to actually do their jobs.
You need to calculate your "Work About Work ." This is the time your team spends writing status updates, searching for lost files, and context switching between those 40+ apps mentioned above.
The Cost of a Distraction Research suggests that a single 5-minute interruption costs 23 minutes of productivity as the brain attempts to refocus. If you view process economics through this lens, saving just one hour per person, per day, can impact your bottom line more than landing a new client.
Operational Efficiency (Lean Process, Not Lean Staffing )
Efficiency isn't about forcing your team to work harder; it's about removing the drag on the system so a team of 10 can output the work of a team of 20.
Automate the Boring Stuff Your talent shouldn't be copy-pasting data between spreadsheets. U se AI and simple logic rules to handle data entry, lead routing, and invoice generation. If a task is repetitive, rule-based, and re quires zero creativity, a human shouldn't be touching it. Save your team's energy for the work that actually requires a brain.
Template Everything The "blank page" is the enemy of speed. If you do a task more than twice — whether it’ s a client kicko ff email, a monthly report, or a project board setup — turn it into a template. This ensures consistency across the organization and reduces the cognitive load of "starting from scratch" every time.
Zero-Waste Workflows Be ruthless about cutting steps in your process that add no value to the final customer. Do you really need three people to approve a tweet? Do you need a synchronous meeting to review a PDF? If the client isn't willing to pay for that specific step, it is likely waste. Cut it.
Smart Budgeting for Growth
Eventually, you will need to spend money. The trick is knowing how to scale operations without costs scaling linearly.
This requires a strict "Build vs. Buy" discipline. Early on, it might make sense to "hack" a solution together using spreadsheets. But you must apply the Scalability Test: Will this process still work when we have 50 employees? If the answer is no, you need to identify the trigger point for when to upgrade from Freemium to Premium— and when to invest in professional software.
Ready to stop the bleeding?
Efficiency starts with knowing where your money (and time) is actually going. Don't guess. Download our Tech Stack Audit Guide to map your current subscriptions, identify waste, and start cutting costs today.