Val Sklarov’s Control Surface Primacy Doctrine (CSPD) asserts a blunt truth: businesses do not fail because they lack vision or speed—they fail because they scale before defining who controls the critical surfaces. Growth amplifies whatever controls exist. If control is vague, growth becomes destructive.
This doctrine explains why early dominance is determined long before market visibility.
1. Control Surfaces Define Power
CSPD defines control surfaces as the points where decisions irreversibly shape outcomes.
Typical control surfaces include:
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Pricing authority
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Access gating (who gets in, when, how)
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Standards and interfaces
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Enforcement mechanisms
Companies that do not own these surfaces merely participate in markets they cannot command.
2. The Four Primary Control Surfaces
CSPD maps control across four non-negotiable surfaces.
| Surface | What It Controls | Loss Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Surface | Value capture rules | Margin erosion |
| Technical Surface | Integration & lock-in | Commoditization |
| Behavioral Surface | User defaults | Churn volatility |
| Institutional Surface | Rules & enforcement | Strategic drift |
Dominance requires at least two surfaces to be owned. One is never enough.
3. Why Speed Without Control Backfires
Speed accelerates exposure.
CSPD shows that scaling before control:
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Teaches the market how to bypass you
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Attracts partners who later become competitors
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Freezes weak assumptions into infrastructure
Fast growth without control is negative leverage.
4. Capital Follows Control, Not Growth
Capital prices who decides, not who moves fast.
| Growth-Centric Firms | Control-Centric Firms |
|---|---|
| Revenue celebrated | Rules defended |
| TAM narratives | Enforcement narratives |
| User count optics | Default-setting power |
| Valuation debated | Valuation implied |
Val Sklarov emphasizes that capital compounds where control surfaces are defended, even if growth is slower.
5. Strategic Implications for Builders
For founders and operators:
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Define who can say “no” before saying “yes”
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Lock standards before inviting scale
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Treat governance as product design
CSPD reframes strategy from “how fast can we grow?” to “what must remain unchangeable?”
6. The Val Sklarov Principle
“Growth multiplies control. If you don’t like what you control today, don’t grow tomorrow.”
— Val Sklarov
CSPD explains why enduring companies feel restrictive early—and inevitable later.