As a Founder or CEO, you are well aware that success in business is rarely about dramatic leaps forward. Success in anything - especially building and scaling a business is about disciplined, consistent progress over time. Jim Collins’ “20 Mile March” concept beautifully captures this principle: defining a steady pace of achievement and sticking to it regardless of external circumstances. For organizations experiencing rapid growth, this discipline is not a nice-to-have—it is essential.

The 20 Mile March

Jim Collins' 20 Mile March is a powerful concept from his classic book Great by Choice that emphasizes the power of consistent, disciplined progress toward long-term goals, regardless of external circumstances. Inspired by the story of two polar expeditions—one succeeding through steady daily effort (Amundsen) and the other failing due to inconsistent strategies (Scott)—the 20 Mile March advocates for:

• Setting clear performance goals: Defining specific, measurable targets within achievable boundaries.
• Maintaining consistency: Committing to steady progress, avoiding overextension in good times and underperformance in tough times.
• Focusing on discipline: Prioritizing deliberate action over reacting to unpredictable conditions.

By adhering to a defined pace, organizations build resilience, reduce risks, and ensure sustainable growth, especially in volatile environments. The 20 Mile March highlights that disciplined action over time outperforms erratic bursts of effort.

Rapid scaling brings chaos. Opportunities arise faster than your team can evaluate them, and challenges emerge that can derail momentum. In these environments, discipline is the stabilizer. The 20 Mile March gives your organization a clear boundary: what to do, what not to do, and how to maintain focus. At the heart of this discipline are effective meeting rhythms, which align people, strategy, and execution.

Meeting rhythms provide the structure that keeps your team disciplined, your decisions intentional, and your execution consistent. Here is how they apply to the three pillars of the 20 Mile March: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action.

1. Disciplined People: Aligning Talent Amid Chaos

Rapidly scaling businesses often suffer from a lack of alignment. With so much happening so quickly, even the most talented team can lose focus. Meeting rhythms anchor your people to what matters most, ensuring that they pull together rather than in different directions.

• Daily Stand-Ups: Short, tactical check-ins that bring focus to immediate priorities. These meetings allow teams to address small issues before they become big problems.
• Weekly Alignment Meetings: Dedicated time to review progress against key metrics and priorities ensures that everyone understands how their efforts contribute to the company’s goals.
• Monthly Strategy Reviews: Scaling businesses require frequent recalibration. Monthly reviews provide a forum for leadership to assess growth, reallocate resources, and reinforce the company’s vision.

With disciplined meeting rhythms, even a fast-moving team can remain cohesive and aligned with the 20 Mile March.

2. Disciplined Thought: Strategic Clarity in a Rapidly Changing Environment

Scaling businesses are often tempted to chase every opportunity that arises. However, without clear boundaries and deliberate decision-making, this scattershot approach can lead to inefficiencies and burnout. Meeting rhythms create the space for disciplined thought—ensuring that decisions are intentional, not reactive.

• Quarterly Planning Sessions: These sessions are critical for reviewing your organization’s progress against the 20 Mile March boundaries. They help teams evaluate whether they stayed within the defined pace and avoided the pitfalls of overreaching or underperforming.
• Structured Decision-Making Meetings: Scaling companies must deal with a constant stream of new opportunities and challenges. Use strategic frameworks like cost-benefit analysis, pre-mortems, or prioritization matrices to make thoughtful, data-driven decisions.
• Focus on Metrics That Matter: Meeting rhythms should prioritize discussions about key performance indicators (KPIs) directly tied to the march, ensuring that the team is focused on the right outcomes.

Disciplined thought prevents shiny object syndrome, ensuring that growth is intentional and sustainable.

3. Disciplined Action: Turning Plans into Results

Execution is where most scaling organizations falter. Without a system to track progress and hold teams accountable, even the best strategies will fail. Meeting rhythms ensure that disciplined action translates into measurable results.

• Action-Oriented Agendas: Every meeting must produce specific, actionable outcomes. Assign accountability to individuals and ensure follow-up at the next meeting.
• Progress Tracking and Transparency: Use tools like dashboards or scoreboards to make progress visible. Regularly reviewing these metrics in meetings keeps teams motivated and focused.
• Celebrate Consistency: Scaling businesses often reward breakthrough achievements, but the 20 Mile March emphasizes steady progress. Celebrate your team’s ability to maintain discipline over time—it builds a culture of resilience and trust.

Disciplined action requires a relentless focus on execution. Effective meeting rhythms ensure that plans are not just discussed but implemented.

Why the 20 Mile March Matters for Scaling Organizations

Scaling organizations face intense pressure to grow quickly, often at the expense of sustainability. The 20 Mile March imposes a framework of discipline that ensures growth remains steady and predictable. It prevents overextension during periods of abundance and protects against stagnation during times of adversity.

However, the discipline of the march is only possible when supported by a culture of consistent communication and accountability. This is why meeting rhythms are critical. They create the foundation for teams to stay aligned, strategic, and focused, even in the face of rapid change.

Next Steps: Build Your Meeting Backbone

To implement meeting rhythms as the backbone of your 20 Mile March, follow these steps:

1. Engage Your Team for Buy-In: Inform them that meeting rhythms are a fact and that proper meetings happen for them - not to them. 
2. Audit Your Meetings: Evaluate the frequency, purpose, and outcomes of your current meeting structure. Are they driving alignment, thought, and action?
3. Define Clear Agendas: Every meeting should have a specific purpose and a measurable outcome.
4. Link Meetings to Metrics: Ensure that discussions are tied to the KPIs that reflect your 20 Mile March boundaries.
5. Commit to Discipline: Consistency is key. Establish your meeting rhythms and stick to them, regardless of external pressures.

The 20 Mile March = Discipline

Discipline = Winning.

The 20 Mile March is a discipline for all organizations, but it is particularly vital for those navigating the complexities of rapid growth. Meeting rhythms are the backbone of this discipline, aligning your people, clarifying your strategy, and driving your execution.

Do not leave this journey with your best music in you... As a strategic leader, your ability to create and sustain these rhythms will absolutely determine whether your organization thrives in the long game or succumbs to the chaos of scaling. Build the backbone. Make every meeting count. Stay focused. Stay the course. Your march depends on it.