What is the maximum (ideal) number of employees in the company?

Question

Remember reading the book by Malcolm Gladwell – The Tipping Point.

The number stated there was: 150

150 is ideal for sustaining the group with clear communication and cohesion. It is also known as Dunbar's Number.

What do you think about this theory and what number do you consider reasonable?

André J · Accepted Answer

Yepp. AQR8. Something that isn't talked about tho. is that at that point. Around 33% is already redundant, they served their purpose. Change is inevitable. Esp in todays fast pace of change.

Gernot Bernkopf · Answer

150 employees is quite okay, but in my experience, 50-70 is ideal for maintaining a positive work environment and a strong sense of community among colleagues.

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

@dcupl as for introvert, for me, 2 is enough.

André J · Answer

@busmark_w_nika If your apple. Sure you can afford using excess manpower for other projects. But apple is 150k not 150. Small tech companies would go bust if they did that.

suti harsih · Answer

100 people of great people will be a great team

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

@sentry_co YY, Not everybody is Apple. 🪱

Siseko Siwali · Answer

It all depends on the stage of the product and type of offerings. We've actually done quite a lot of research on this, and have found that companies generally need 30%-40% of the administrative staff they normally employ, and 15%-20% of management, or more likely leadership.

Bloating companies are a management issue.

Josh Dormody · Answer

I would say under 150. I have worked at a tech company that quickly grew from 50 employees to over 5,000. It was wild to see a culture shift from people who really cared about producing a top notch product to people who tried to fly under the radar and doing as little work as possible. Every company is different, but I do believe when there was a smaller headcount the company was innovating more.

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

@sentry_co In the book they didn't mention firing up other people who exceeded the number. They recommended creating another division. Like "the cell division".

But yeah, times are changing and many things can be automated.

What is the maximum (ideal) number of employees in the company?

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