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It is not enough to simply call-out the extraordinary times.
Leaders and task forces deserve solutions built for extraordinary action.
For Scramble™ to be the action leaders take to mobilize
their organization and set Precedent in defining moments.
Deliver Otherwise Unachievable Results™
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When you need take coordinated action beyond your organization's normal operating controls, capabilities, and capacities — this is Non-Standard.
These situations are defined by the collapse of your standard protocols and playbooks, fractures in the systems and structure, and destabilizing forces (of complexity, volatility, divergence, and disruption). These factors limit options, and create more uncertainty and risk in the perceived paths available.
Often times, following best practices leads to opposite results. Legacy SOPs fail. Solutions trapped in strategy decks feel impossible to achieve. And relying on more meetings to arrive at an approach results in plausible deniability, strategic ignorance, and performative alignment.
If you’re here, let's talk. Your time to Scramble is now.
Our programs are designed and facilitated to set Precedent.
No Precedents set? Then, no breakthroughs.
No breakthroughs? No new outcomes.
No new outcomes? No meaningful change.
Precedent leaves no room for plausible deniability.
Our programs elevate accountability.
We accompany teams through their most difficult and defining situations.
We venture into the uncertainties and don’t flinch when the facts are uncomfortable.
We state assumptions out loud.
We identify conflicted behavior if we see it.
We know that once trust bends, the level of performance needed to emerge breaks.
In high-stakes environments, half-measures approaches sabotage real possibility.
We meet clients where they are at, but we don't stay there for long.
A Scramble System introduces a series of intensive, focused program interventions in a compressed timeframe.
Our full-commitment approach is what it takes to reach the escape velocity of Non-Standard Situations.
Scramble Systems was founded in 2008 during a period of massive disruption for U.S. businesses.
Unemployment rose to 10%. Credit markets seized up. Lending standards tightened. Access to working capital froze. Mass layoffs spanned nearly every sector. Commercial and residential foreclosures surged. Consumer confidence fell to record lows. A global downturn ensued, wiping out trillions in wealth and plunging economies into recession.
We are exceptional program partners for exceptional situations. Our work spans 100s of urgent-change programs across enterprises, startups, and institutions.
From our origins operating distressed businesses, we began helping companies proactively engage their critical business challenges before issues became terminal.
Our core team and extended network bring decades of experience as operators and leaders. We draw from battalions and boardrooms, manufacturing floors and truck yards, value-driving PE and mission-driven nonprofits, trade schools and elite universities, laboratories and kitchens, and Olympic arenas and crisis rooms.
Founder & Managing Director
Hi, I'm Stephen Douglass.
I specialize in leading teams and task forces through Non-Standard moments — when business sovereignty, trust, or critlcal success are at risk. Scramble Systems is the result of 17 years spent leading interventions, refining practices under pressure, and building what we couldn't find anywhere else.
Before Scramble, my work spanned M&A transaction advisory at BB&T (now Truist) and leading PE- and VC-backed operational turnarounds and workouts. My approach didn't fit standard playbooks, so I began architecting specialized programs for high-stakes situations in sectors such as manufacturing, defense, media, CPG, nonprofit, transportation, and services sectors.
Growing up in a small town, I learned early on how communities and businesses survive shocks — and what happens when they don’t. This shaped how I think about resilience and what it takes to lead through distress and high-pressure situations.
To prepare the next generation, I’ve guided 1,000s of students through innovation and venture-building intensives at Harvard, Babson, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, and other top universities. I hold a BA in Economics from William & Mary and an MBA from Babson College.
All of this is why I built Scramble Systems — to help teams navigate their most critical moments with clarity, speed, and conviction. So you can be ready for whatever comes next, and to set precedents when it matters most.
What we strive to uphold when we do our work.
Breakthroughs and enduring change do not happen by chance — they happen by setting intentional Precedents.
We build client ownership — not reliance. Our role is to equip, guide, and strengthen teams so they lead their outcomes, long after we’re gone.
Integrity builds trust. Trust creates strength. We operate from strength — and move others into stronger positions.
Show up fully. Think independently. Ask for help. Offer help. Call out assumptions. Revel in hard truths. Share the hard thing. Protect what matters. Take the time you need. Act with authenticity. Stay accountable. Move forward — especially when it’s not easy.
Be equipped and enabled to meet the moment.
You don’t have to change your mind.
Just upgrade your thinking.
Set Precedent
Precedent is the precursor to breakthroughs and enduring change. All aims are on setting precedents.
Dependable, Not Dependency
Clients must feel ownership of their approach, abilities, and results. We are invited to support clients through their journeys.
Strength in Integrity
Integrity builds trust. Trust imbues strength. Move to and from positions of strength.
Challenging Structures, Exciting Work
Reality is structurable. Systems are stacked. Leaders must navigate this. Do the hard work and enable for the best possible outcomes to emerge.
Find Fearless Selves
Be present. Embrace hard truths. Think independently. Share vulnerabilities. Stand by right decisions. Take courageous action. Move onward.
Stay "Ready For Whatever"
Generate data, insights, and information that enable clients to more effectively respond to and advance humanity’s needs.
Be Upgradable.
You don’t have to change your mind.
Just upgrade your thinking.
We have a deep and broad bench of trusted experts and specialists spanning dozens of industries, functions, and skills. We’re able to get clients in-depth perspectives and up-to-speed on virtually any situation.
When needed, we leverage a deep and broad bench of trusted experts and specialists spanning dozens of industries, functions, and skills. We’re able to get clients in-depth perspectives and up-to-speed on virtually any situation.
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