When Bryce Phillips started selling ski and snowboard equipment on eBay, he managed everything—customer care, supply chain, technology, buying, and finance—all from his apartment. Eight years later, Phillips’s company, Evo, runs a hugely successful eCommerce site, employs more than 60 people, manages its Seattle flagship store, and operates a 40,000 square foot distribution center. Evo has grown at least 70 percent every year and recently hit $10 million in sales. To effectively lead this rapidly expanding venture, Phillips continually looks for ways to delegate responsibilities to the capable managers around him.

As a pretty straightforward business, Evo is well served by its flat, functional structure. A recent company-wide meeting showcased this ever morphing structure. Department heads introduced themselves and their staffs and explained the function of their departments so new employees and the whole company would have a better understanding of how all the pieces of the company fit together. Director of eCommerce Nathan Decker explained how the new creative services team would operate. Phillips gave the latest details on his current passion, a new adventure travel offering called evoTRIP.

Beyond its formal structure, Evo works within a set of core values called “The Great 8,” which provides another important operating framework. The Great 8 includes authenticity, balanced ambition, credibility, style, leadership, respect, communication, and evolución. On Evo’s Web site, Phillips explained, “Even with all of the changes, many things have remained constant, and we are where we are because we have stayed true to the Great 8. We established the Great 8 to guide us through the decisions, big and small, that we make every day. Decisions from how we set up a new display in the store, to what investment we take on, and who we decide to work with to lead this company are scrutinized using the Great 8 as the final sounding board. We don’t take this lightly.”

In 2004, when Evo employed only six people, flexibility was a way of life. Everyone wore multiple hats and did everything necessary to get the job done. As the number of employees on payroll approached 50 and 60, it was time to make sure the people who dealt directly with customers possessed the authority and flexibility to deliver excellent service. This organizational soul-searching yielded the new customer care policy: “Just Say YES!” Now, customer service representatives (CSRs) make their own decisions about how to make customers happy. Reps no longer use the phrases, “Could you please hold while I talk to my manager?” or “I’m afraid we’ll have to get back to you on that.” If free shipping is likely to guarantee a return customer, then free shipping it is. If throwing in free ski poles means winning a lifelong customer, CSRs can authorize free ski poles.

Recently, Evo’s organizational adaptability was put to the test. Delivering packages to customers on time is essential to running a successful eCommerce company, so Evo decided to stop outsourcing its distribution when the company realized it couldn’t control quality. Beyond the massive task of building out the physical plant, setting up the distribution center (DC) involved
hiring a dozen people and creating defined roles and responsibilities for these new positions. The DC was easily incorporated into the supply chain department, thanks to its broadly defined function.

Midway through construction of the new DC, Evo faced the unexpected loss of an employee. Evo’s head buyer became ill suddenly and died within two months. Her husband was in charge of launching the DC, but he had to take a leave of absence to care for his wife. Down two department heads, Evo faced an organizational crisis and had to adapt quickly. Because the responsibilities and authority of both positions were clearly defined, two people, one step down the chain of command, were able to jump into their former bosses’ shoes with relatively few glitches. 

Phillips was last overheard discussing ways Evo could adapt to the troubled U.S. economy. Luckily, tackling monster moguls on the ski slopes had prepared him for almost anything.

Discussion Questions

1. Given Evo’s current structure and pace of growth, what organizational challenges might arise in the future?

2. Is Evo a centralized or decentralized company? Explain.

3. Imagine it is 20 years from now and Evo is organized into divisions. What are they?