The first sign that growth is turning into friction is rarely dramatic; it’s the moment decisions start to feel heavier, even though the team is working harder than ever. That’s the moment Lisa Feher, founder of First 500 People, is often called in. Her work focuses on a specific gap many scaling companies underestimate: the systems that are supposed to carry growth forward quietly stop working.

Lisa has spent her career inside early-stage and growth companies, operating at the point where ambition meets reality. She works with founders and executive teams who are no longer asking whether growth is possible, but why execution suddenly feels so difficult. The answer, in her experience, is rarely about effort or talent. It’s about design.

When “Execution Feels Hard,” Something Is Off

Companies tend to describe the same problems when they first reach out. Execution feels harder than it should. Leaders are not aligned. Managers who once performed well seem stretched or stuck. On the surface, these look like leadership or performance issues.

Lisa consistently finds a deeper pattern. People and Culture were never operationalized. Expectations live in conversations instead of systems. Decisions are made on the fly, without clear ownership. Performance frameworks reflect an earlier version of the company, one that no longer exists.

As complexity increases, these gaps widen. Teams stay busy, but momentum slows. Leaders get pulled into decisions that should not require escalation. Execution doesn’t fail loudly; it erodes quietly.

People and Culture as Operating Infrastructure

At First 500 People, Lisa approaches People and Culture as infrastructure, not support. Her work centers on aligning people strategy, performance, and AI into a single operating system that reinforces execution rather than competing for attention.

This approach is shaped by her experience leading People functions inside global and hybrid organizations. She has rebuilt people operations from the ground up, supported executive teams through scale, and helped companies integrate AI in ways that improve decision-making rather than add noise.

The starting point is always clarity. Who owns what? How decisions get made. What success actually looks like at this stage of the company. Once that logic is in place, speed follows naturally. Fewer debates. Fewer reversals. Less drag on leadership time.

AI fits into this system as leverage, not spectacle. When workflows and decision rights are clear, AI improves signal quality and reduces friction. Without that foundation, it simply amplifies existing confusion.

Why Managers Struggle as Companies Grow

One of the most common misreads Lisa sees is around management. As companies scale, managers are asked to lead larger teams, handle more ambiguity, and deliver through others, often without clearer expectations or stronger systems.

When performance slips, managers are blamed. In reality, the structure around them has not kept pace. Decision authority doesn’t match responsibility. Feedback loops are inconsistent. Priorities shift without explanation. Even strong managers struggle in these conditions.

Lisa’s work focuses on resetting leadership expectations and performance rhythms so managers can actually operate at scale. When that happens, execution stabilizes. Escalations decrease. Leaders regain time and focus.

Designing for Momentum, Not Heroics

The organizations Lisa Feher helps build share a quiet quality. They are calm under pressure. People know what matters and why. Leaders trust the operating rhythm instead of relying on constant oversight. Performance does not depend on heroics or proximity.

This is especially critical in global and hybrid environments, where visibility is often mistaken for productivity. Her work reinforces a simple truth: alignment comes from clear systems, not physical presence.

For founders navigating growth, her message is practical. When execution breaks down, pushing harder rarely works. The real leverage comes from stepping back, examining the system, and redesigning it to support the complexity the company has already reached. Growth becomes sustainable not when people try harder, but when the system finally works the way it should.