I keep a Hoberman sphere on my desk. You’ve probably seen one — that geometric toy that collapses into a compact ball and expands into an intricate lattice of interconnected joints and struts. It’s become my favorite way to describe what happens inside a growing organization.
When the sphere is small, you can hold the whole thing in one hand. Every connection point is visible. Simple. But expand it and something fascinating happens — the number of connection points multiplies fast. What was once easy to grasp becomes a web of relationships, each one adding a layer of complexity to the whole.
This is exactly what happens to your team as your business grows.
The Hidden Cost of Growth
When your company had five people, communication was easy. Everyone knew what everyone else was doing. Decisions happened quickly. But add five more people and the math changes dramatically. Five people have ten possible connections between them. Ten people have 45. Twenty people have 190.
Each of those connections requires energy. Human energy. The energy to stay aligned, communicate clearly, resolve tension, maintain accountability, and keep everyone moving in the same direction.
And unlike the Hoberman sphere with its fixed structure, human connections are messy. They’re shaped by unclear roles, misaligned expectations, and the simple fact that we’re all interpreting the world through our own experience.
Where the Energy Actually Goes
I ask every leadership team I work with the same question early on: where is your energy going?
The answers are pretty consistent. Most of it is going to revisiting conversations that were never truly resolved. Managing conflict that comes from unclear accountability. Filling gaps when people aren’t in the right seats. Trying to figure out what someone really meant in a meeting. Wondering whether everyone is actually on the same page.
That’s energy that could be moving the business forward. Instead it’s being consumed by organizational friction — the natural result of growth without structure.
What EOS Does About It
EOS doesn’t eliminate complexity. Nothing does as you grow. But it creates a framework that manages human energy more efficiently. It’s like adding intentional structure to that expanding Hoberman sphere so that even as it grows, every connection point has a purpose and a place.
A shared vision means people stop pulling in different directions. A clear Accountability Chart means everyone knows who owns what. A consistent meeting rhythm means your team stops spending energy wondering when they’ll communicate and starts using that energy to actually solve things. A scorecard replaces gut feelings and circular debates with a shared view of reality.
What I’ve always appreciated about EOS is that it doesn’t fight human nature. It works with how people actually operate — giving them clarity where there was ambiguity, accountability where there was confusion, and rhythm where there was chaos.
The Question Worth Sitting With
Is your operating system managing your team’s energy, or consuming it?
If you’re spending more time navigating internal complexity than focusing on your customers and your market, you have your answer. And if that resonates, it might be worth a conversation.
Your business doesn’t grow because you work harder. It grows because you direct your human energy more effectively.
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Ready to simplify your organizational complexity? Let’s talk about how EOS can help your leadership team get more traction. Contact me to schedule a conversation.