5 “Skills” I Had to Unlearn to Scale from $1M to $10M

Ryan here…

I used to think scaling from $1M to $10M was about learning more, so I could do more.

That turned out to be completely backwards.

Because the hardest part of scaling wasn’t what I had to learn…

…it was what I had to unlearn.

What no one told me was that nearly everything that made me successful at $1M would eventually become a liability on the road to $10M.

And I didn’t realize it until things started to break.

Projects stalled.
Growth flatlined.
Margins compressed.
Our company culture went to crap.

…all while I was working harder than ever.

That’s when it finally clicked:

What works to get you to $1M doesn’t just stop working as you scale…

…it actively works against you.

And that’s what this issue is about…

...the five “skills” I had to unlearn (and the leadership shifts I had to make) so the business could grow without me becoming the bottleneck.

If you’re between $1M and $10M and it feels like you’re doing everything “right,” but somehow it’s getting harder instead of easier…

…this one’s for you. Let’s get into it…

I used to think being indispensable was the goal.

I was the one who built the products, wrote the copy, generated the leads, closed the sales, and put out the fires.

I also…

…checked the mail, managed payroll, and put out the fires.

And that worked…until it didn’t.

At scale, being the hero is the fastest way to cap your growth.

I had to get comfortable letting other people get the credit. First as a player-coach…then as a coach…and eventually as the owner on the sidelines.

That transition is brutal.

You go from doing everything to doing almost nothing that’s visible to the outside world.

But that’s the point.

If the business can’t win without you on the field, it’s not scalable…and you’re not free.

So here’s the shift I had to make…

The Shift: Hiring for Weaknesses → Hiring for Strengths

In the early days of my business, I hired helpers to do the menials tasks I didn’t want to do.

Then I hired experts to do the important tasks I didn’t know how to do.

But the hardest hire I ever made (and the hardest hire you’ll ever make) is when I replaced myself in the one role I was best at…the one I loved the most.

For me, it was marketing.

For you, it might be something else.

But if growth is hiring for your weaknesses, then scale is hiring for your strengths so you can shift your focus from “doing” to leading.

Early on, my instinct was my superpower.

I knew our customers
I knew our numbers.
I could feel when something was off.

But on the road to $10M, my gut started lying to me.

There were too many people…too many variables…and too much complexity.

Intuition still matters, but it has to be informed by data. At scale, the cost of a bad decision is just too high to rely on gut alone.

So here’s the shift I had to make…

The Shift: Gut-Based Leadership → Scorecard-Based Leadership

When a team member would ask me,

…instead of answering their questions with instinct, I started asking them a follow up question, first:

Because at scale, the job of a CEO is simple: Identify the constraints/bottlenecks in the business (a.k.a. the “red” metrics) and surge all available resources to unblocking that constraint.

Then repeat.

It isn’t always easy, but it is simple.

And it doesn’t require gut…just a scorecard, a great team, and the right questions.

I used to think hustle = responsibility.

Fast responses.
Constant availability.
Always “on.”

But at scale, hustle = liability.

At some point, “move fast and break things” isn’t as effective as it once was. A better strategy is actually to do LESS, reacting more SLOWLY, and allow issues to fully surface.

Patience beats panic when you have a lot of moving pieces.

So here’s the shift I had to make…

The Shift: 80-Hour Work Weeks → 4-Hour Work Weeks

That’s right, I actually had to force myself to work LESS.

And not because I’m lazy…

I had to force myself to work less because it forced intentionality and IMPACT into my calendar.

Let me ask you a question:

Now let me ask you another question…

For me, it was “Almost never,” and if you’re anything like the entrepreneurs I work with, you can probably say the same.

So, here’s the solution…

Block out 4 hours of “Focus Blocks” on your calendar to do the high-impact genius work that actually matters. (For me, it was 9 am - 11 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

You’ll obviously work more than those 4 hours (this isn’t some Tim Ferriss “Four-Hour Workweek” kinda thing), but make a deal with yourself that if you only get those 4 hours in, that’s a productive, meaningful week.

Because at scale, the goal isn’t to do more…

…the goal is to do LESS…better.

I used to measure productivity by what I got done.

Marketing emails sent.
Sales calls completed.
Customer support questions answered.

But at scale, my personal “To Dos” became less important, because I was still just one person limited by the same 24 hours.

If we were going to go from $1M to $10M, I had to change my definition of “productivity” from what I could personally get done to what my TEAM could get done.

That meant my highest-value work was no longer in the doing of the work…

…it was in the building of the systems that made the work happen without me.

So here’s the shift I had to make…

The Shift: To Do List → To Build List

Instead of keeping a “To Do” list, I started keeping a “To Build” list…

“Write the email”

…became “Write a template” so someone else could reply to that email next time.

“Fix the error”

…became “Document the fix” so someone else could fit that error the next time it happened.

“Call the angry client”

…became “Create a talk track,” so I wasn’t the only one who could put out ever fire that flared up.

In other words, I had to stop DOING and start creating things like:

→ SOPs
→ Automations
→ Hiring systems
→ Sales scripts

These are all ASSETS you build, not tasks you do.

Assets work when you don’t, so the more you can replace yourself with repeatable assets, the more time you buy back for strategy…for creativity…for leverage…

…for life.

This habit was easily the hardest one for me break…

I used to believe sacrifice was part of the deal.

“I’ll just take less this month…”
“We should reinvest those profits back into the business…”
“We can take that vacation next summer…”

That mindset nearly broke the business…and almost cost me everything that mattered.

At scale, the ultimate sign of a healthy business isn’t revenue, growth, or customer satisfaction.

The ultimate sign of a healthy business is its ability to distribute large chunks of cash to its owners.

So here’s the shift I had to make…

The Shift: Growth at All Costs → Profit-First Growth

I had to shift from “I’m willing to starve for this company” to “This company must generate real profit.”

First, I mandated that all my companies had to operate at a minimum 20% profit margin.

It wasn’t easy.

In some cases, it was downright painful.

But profit created clarity, and clarity forced better business decisions that made the company healthier (and more successful) in the long run.

Then, instead of letting cash sit in my company’s operating account, I started sweeping everything dollar over a set amount (usually one month’s operating expenses) into a “Distribution Account.”

Then, at the end of every quarter, I distributed 80% of the funds in that account to my partners and me.

And again, not because I’m greedy or selfish, but because when profit becomes non-negotiable…

…decision-making gets clearer…
…margins start expanding…
…and companies start scaling again.

Here’s the truth most founders don’t want to hear:

The person who got you to $1M isn’t the person who gets you to $10M.

And that doesn’t mean you’re failing…

…it means you’re maturing.

And if you’re willing to unlearn what worked before, I’m here to tell you that it’s so much better on the other side.

⚡️ Action Step: Read through the five shifts above and make a list titled: “Habits I Need to Unlearn.” Circle the one habit you’re still clinging to, and commit to letting it go this quarter and so you can make room for a new, more scalable habit.

Because scaling isn’t about doing more…

…it’s about becoming the leader your business now needs.

Ryan Deiss
Co-Founder and CEO, The Scalable Company

P.S. I’m looking for 5 business owners who want to work 1-on-1 with my team and me to install a custom “operating system” in 2026, so your business can scale and so you can exit the day-to-day. Click here for the details.