2026 Dynamic Dozen No. 7: The Arc of the Ozarks

SBJ: What has been key to your recent growth?
Tim Dygon: It really starts with your attitude. You have to start with “What could we do?” or “Could we try to do this?” We’re always looking for ways to innovate and grow and help more people. The baseline is “We will and we can” rather than “It’s too hard” – because growing is hard. It’s hard to hire more staff. It’s hard to build new service lines. It stretches your resources.

SBJ: What are your top issues when it comes to managing growth?
Dygon: It’s being thoughtful about the process and really planning in advance of how you can really make that growth work in a meaningful way without stretching resources too thinly or stretching your focus too far.

SBJ: What has the company’s growth enabled you to do?
Dygon: The bottom line is serve more people. When we grow, it means more people get served. There is so many individuals with disabilities and mental health that need services. We bought the building across the street from our current Autism Center to expand services and we know more people will get served. We currently have a wait list for the Autism Center.

SBJ: Is your fast growth sustainable?
Dygon: You have to be smart about it. You have to think about your company structure first. You have to be able to anticipate and hire people to be able to build product, build services rather than build services on people who are already overworked and then try to hire later. It’s really about a strategic mindset.

SBJ: Is there such thing as growing too fast?
Dygon: You can’t just grow endlessly. You have to grow with purpose and you have to make sure that your company structure can meet that demand before you do it. A little over a year ago, we started services in St. Charles and we expanded in that area. We had opportunities to expand in other areas but we chose not to because we felt it would stretch us too thin.

SBJ: Have your goals changed as business has taken off?
Dygon: I would not say they change. Our goal is always serve people and help people live better lives. Our mission is to serve individuals with disabilities in directing their own lives as valued members of the community. Finding new ways to serve more people has expanded our mission and that is largely due to the Autism Center.

SBJ: What is the best business advice you’ve received?
Dygon: Your quality is only as good as your weakest link. As you grow, your weakest links can grow and you have to make sure you’re doing everything in your power to demand that your quality remain the same. The second is to grow with purpose and what that means is don’t just grow for the sake of growing because it adds revenue or it adds new programs or it looks good in the paper. Grow because it meets your mission.