Startups are in a constant state of evolution. Every new idea, opportunity, and growth stage brings new kinds of work. Consider a few of these common examples:

• New client types bring new service steps.
• New funding streams bring compliance steps.
• A new partner requires more granular data, so we start tracking it.
• We experiment with new sales strategies, adding extra steps to measure results.

This is all a good sign – it means we’re growing, thriving, and adapting. As our companies grow, so do our work streams.

Startups are great at adding extra steps. But there is another half to this healthy growth equation that too many overlook entirely: pruning. Without it, growth turns into a tangled mess of inefficiencies, wasted effort, and lost opportunities.

Let’s look at a real example of a nonprofit that unknowingly created years of unnecessary work – and how a simple pruning process turned everything around.