How To Apply Signals That Scale And Avoid Noises That Stagnate Founders And Their Firms In 2026

Every Scale-stage founder in Collective 54 is likely doing some version of the same thing right now.

Reviewing 2025. Refining a plan for 2026. Deciding what to double down on — and what to stop.

That feels responsible. It’s also where many founders quietly lose a year.

Not because they lack intelligence or effort. Because they fail to separate signal from noise at the exact moment it matters.

I’m writing this as a Scale-stage founder who just completed his first year of the scaling phase and had to confront that reality.

Where I Lost Signal In 2025

In 2025, I attended too many internal “working sessions.”

They were:

• Well-intentioned
• Collaborative
• And some became undisciplined by year-end

I failed to set and hold clear expectations for what leaders needed to deliver before those meetings. By year-end, there was too much “winging it.” By others and by me. It’s my fault.

Over time, something predictable happened.

Our non-billable, internal work on our firm developed scope creep.

Meetings turned into:

• Progress updates
• Opinion sharing
• Activity reports

Instead of:

• Progress against benchmarks
• Decision context
• Scope pruning
• Clear recovery plans

That’s how signal degrades.

Not suddenly.
Gradually.

Why Non-Billable Scope Creep Is A Silent Killer At Scale

At the Scale stage, scope creep doesn’t just slow execution. It destroys outcomes.

When scope creep isn’t pruned immediately:

• Focus drifts
• Activity replaces outcomes
• Targets slip
• Discipline erodes

One Firm Estimator goal matters deeply:

• 30% year-over-year growth in recurring services within a niche

Scope creep makes that goal unattainable.

Miss that goal and you lose a full point on your multiple.

That’s real money.

If your EBITDA target at exit is $3,000,000 and your team has incentives tied to that outcome, everyone loses – big time!

The Real Enemy At The Scale Stage

The enemy isn’t planning. It’s misapplied planning.

Noise looks like:

• Too many priorities
• Too many initiatives
• Too many meetings with low-value deliverables
• Too much talk about the past
• Too much worry about the future

Signal looks like:

• Stage discipline
• Fewer goals
• Permanent systems
• Clear ownership
• Measured execution

Scale rewards constraint. Not enthusiasm.

Stage Discipline Is A Score, Not A Feeling

Knowing your stage isn’t enough. You must prove it.

At the Scale stage:

• The Boutique chapters are the test
• The questions are the test
• The order is the test

The signal is objective:

• Which chapters did you score 8/10 or higher?
• Which answers are wrong?
• Which gaps constrain value, leadership leverage, or recurring revenue?

Those gaps determine focus. Everything else is noise.

How The Blocks Are Meant To Be Used

The Collective 54 Blocks are not just a curriculum. They are precision tools.

At the Scale stage:

• Each missed question becomes a workstream
• Each workstream has one owner
• Each owner leads the installation of a permanent system
• Short-term fixes are unacceptable

If the system fails without the founder, the answer is still wrong.

Try to fix everything at once and nothing gets fixed well.

Sequencing is signal.Parallel work is the trap.

The Rule of Three

This rule protects founders from themselves:

No more than three firm-level goals per year.

More than three creates diffusion. Less than three creates imbalance. My firm’s three goals for 2026 are intentionally narrow. Here they are:

Goal #1: Firm Value

Achieve Firm Estimator Metrics

This goal eliminates noise fast. If an initiative doesn’t improve:

• EBITDA
• Revenue per employee
• Year-over-year growth percentage
• Founder dependency

It doesn’t get done.

Value creation isn’t storytelling. It’s math.

Goal #2: Firm Culture

Develop Business Leaders to Achieve Their Highest Potential

This goal is grounded in my personal purpose:

My purpose in life is to develop into the highest and best version of myself that God created me to be and help others do the same.

At Scale, culture is not morale.

Culture is decision quality without the founder present.

In 2026:

• Each team member owns one metric
• That metric ties directly to the Firm Estimator’s metrics
• Monthly reports include:
  
  
  • Goal and plan restated
  • Last month’s position
  • This month’s progress
  • Next month’s actions
  • Biggest mistake last month and plan to break biggest obstacle on way to goal

Monthly reports and quarterly summaries replace long meetings.

This eliminates winging it. It helps develop leaders.

Goal #3: Clients

Delight Niche Clients by Exceeding Expectations

Scale doesn’t come from breadth. It comes from depth.

We’re doubling down on one niche with the right economics to hit firm estimator metrics.

In 2026:

• AI tools built in 2025 and new ones in 2026 are fully deployed
• Account Revenue Expansion is systematically and comprehensively executed
• Clients receive semi-annual intelligence reports

Even without expansion, clients gain value. That’s how trust compounds.

What Happens If You Ignore This

Ignore this discipline and one of two things happens:

You add another year to Scale or you never scale at all.

Frustration builds. Confidence erodes. The idea of a meaningful exit fades.

Not because you weren’t capable. Because you worked on too much, out of order, for too long.

The Real Opportunity for 2026

Here’s the opportunity most founders miss:

Getting the next 12 months right matters more than launching a perfect 2026 plan.

If it takes another month to get clarity:

• Take the month
• Re-score the chapters
• Identify the constraints
• Assign ownership
• Install systems
• Execute in quarterly sprints

Trust the C54 and other teachings you have studied and need to study. Trust the process.

Stop reliving the past. Stop worrying about the future. Focus on this year.

Execute. Measure. Adjust.

Final Challenge

If you’re Scale-stage, ask yourself:

• Do I know the single chapter questions limiting us right now?
• Do I have only three firm-level goals?
• Do they tie directly to Firm Estimator outcomes?
• Do my systems stand without me?
• Do meetings produce decisions and progress or just updates?

In 2026, the separation will be obvious.

Some founders will scale.

Others will remain disappointed.

The difference won’t be talent.

It will be signal.

Take the Next Step

If this way of thinking resonates:

• Apply for membership in Collective 54
• Subscribe to Collective 54 Insights
• Connect with me on LinkedIn. I am willing to help any C54 member. The same has been done for me by many and I am grateful for their help!