Running the Gauntlet is an Essential Guide for CEOs, Founders, and Leadership Teams Navigating the Challenges of Scaling a High-Growth Company.

Authors Meg Thomas Crosby and Howard Cleveland present the Growth Gauntlet Framework, a proven roadmap that aligns six critical imperatives—Focus, Culture, Leadership, Talent, Structure, and Communication—across four distinct growth stages.

Drawing on decades of experience advising private equity-backed companies and high-growth organizations, the authors provide actionable strategies to sharpen focus, build resilient teams, and drive sustainable success. This book arms leaders with practical tools, real-world case studies, and strategic questions to anticipate obstacles, improve decision-making, and foster long-term organizational health and reveals how to:

Predict and prepare for the challenges you’ll encounter as your company moves through the four stages of growth.

• Use key levers to proactively drive organizational growth including sharpening focus, calibrating culture, strengthening leadership, and elevating talent.
• Evolve your role as CEO as the organization becomes larger and more complex.
• Avoid the pitfalls that derail growth.

Whether you’re a first-time CEO or a seasoned executive, Running the Gauntlet offers a structured and practical approach to scaling with intention, ensuring that both leaders and their teams thrive in the face of rapid growth and evolving business demands.

Howard Cleveland | Principal & Co-Founder

Cleveland is a strategist who serves as a trusted advisor and professional coach for founders, executives, and leadership teams of purpose-driven businesses, including those that are PE-backed, family-owned, and publicly traded. Drawing on over 25 years of experience in roles as labor and employment attorney, growth advisor, and coach, Howard helps leaders and teams get unstuck and unlock their full growth potential.

Meg Thomas Crosby | Principal & Co-Founder

Crosby is a strategic advisor to CEOs, boards, and investors. She sits on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards and serves as an Operating Partner with SSM Partners, a growth equity firm focused on investing in software, services, and healthcare companies. During her 20-year career in human resources, she has worked for companies of all shapes and sizes, including a global Wall Street investment bank, a small tech start-up in Los Angeles, and Google.