Scaling with purpose: balancing core identity and growth

As we’ve grown our problem-solving consulting to serve more clients across different industries, we’ve welcomed a lot of new talent. How do we ensure we preserve our company’s DNA and methodologies while expanding into new sectors? We sat down with Addestino co-founder Dominique and consultants Flor and Baziel to explore how businesses can scale while maintaining their core identity.

How does staying true to a company’s mission and vision actually contribute to its growth? Dominique doesn’t hesitate: “While our core Addestino DNA and approach have remained entirely intact, word-of-mouth has led to more projects – whether it’s helping trusted clients expand to new territories or bringing us in as experts to solve an entirely new challenge.”

Senior consultant Flor chips in: “We still operate with the same customer promise – working at the intersection of business and technology – but our scope has broadened. A large part of our ability to cater to our clients’ needs lies in the diversity of our team, which brings together a wide range of backgrounds. We heavily rely on this mix of expertise, as every challenge we take on is unique by definition. There are no roadmaps, templates or pre-set slide decks for any of it. This naturally requires leadership that is able to cope with inherent uncertainty.”

“Delivering practical and actionable outcomes is easier said than done, however” says junior consultant Baziel, now in his second year at Addestino. “There are three key pillars that help us uphold our principles and standards as we grow. First, all the knowledge and experience we accumulate is shared internally through a central knowledge portal. On top of that, colleagues are always willing to lend a hand and share their expertise during quick brainstorming sessions. These informal huddles are great for getting fresh insights, since we all come from such diverse backgrounds.”

Flor adds: “We’ve streamlined all the training for new hires into a single, structured programme. This makes it easier for fresh graduates and experts coming from academia or different fields to quickly find their footing. But there is more: another crucial factor is our individual career track, which provides an alternative to the classic hierarchy with slow, set growth paths.”

Dominique continues: “This kind of personalised, role-based career path not only accelerates our consultants’ growth and learning, but it also benefits the companies we work with. Traditional hierarchies typically create layers of bureaucracy, leading to slower decision-making and delayed delivery for our clients. By avoiding rigid hierarchies, we don’t lose structure, however – in fact, it’s the opposite. It allows us to focus on individual strengths and interests, which ultimately make us stronger and more agile as a consulting team.”

Flor has witnessed plenty of changes since joining in 2020. “I’ve had the chance to expand my expertise across new sectors, ranging from telco and IT to banking. This has helped me to take on more of a coaching and mentoring role. This is something that would have been much harder to do at this stage in my career in a more traditional corporate environment, where career paths are much more set and rigid. I’ve always been interested in taking on a coaching role, and so I took my chances.”

“This variety in collaboration is not only fun for us as consultants: it also adds real value for our clients,” Baziel adds. “I can always tap into the resources created by our entire team if necessary, which makes our work fundamentally stronger.”