Exponential Organizations: The Factors of Success

by Kevin Smith Author

For exponential organizations or ExOs, society moves at a rapid pace. They challenge entrepreneurs to rethink the way they operate their business. For them, running a company based on a hierarchical arrangement is a thing of the past.

They're aligned on a foundation called massive transformative purpose (MTP) that provides organizations with focus and direction, similar to how mission and vision statements work. Under it are 10 attributes that serve as the new factors for success. Read on to learn about these.

SCALE

SCALE focuses on the external ecosystem. It stands for:

1. Staff on Demand. This means hiring staff only when they're needed. Keep a good number of freelancers and self-employed personnel that has a specific skill and knowledge. Outsourcing as many tasks as possible allows corporations to fill gaps in expertise, ensuring a constant flow of new ideas.

2. Community and Crowd. Reach out to customers to build a community. Companies see feedback as a vital resource that allows them to test concepts and get crowdfunding when necessary.

3. Algorithm. No business can do without this as it's the basis of computer language. The industry revolves around data collected and shared using different digital platforms.

4. Leveraged Asset. ExOs rarely own their assets; instead, they rent or outsource, which helps minimize costs and commitments. This enables them to share properties locally and globally without boundaries.

5. Engagement. The letter C in SCALE is connected to engagement because it aims to turn the crowd into a community. It's always beneficial to involve customers. Internally, it can be translated to boosting employee loyalty, innovation, and collaboration.

IDEAS

IDEAS target internal mechanisms, which are:

6. Interface. Two systems of an organization communicate with each other through an automated workflow that routes the outputs done in SCALE to the right people within the company. It's also a way for them to keep in touch with clients.

7. Dashboard. This enables businesses to monitor their performance. It's linked to the interface, which permits visibility on all parts of the corporation. This also allows them to see and prevent problems from happening.

8. Experimentation. Not taking any risk is the biggest risk, and whoever learns the fastest wins. Experimentation keeps company processes aligned with the ever-changing world.

9. Autonomy. As there's no hierarchy, teams must function autonomously. Decisions are made quickly, and everybody is responsible for their actions.

10. Social Technologies. This enables a real-time enterprise with 7 key elements: social object, task management, file sharing, activity stream, virtual world, telepresence, and emotional sensing. When implemented, they create connectedness and transparency as well as lower the latency of information.

Exponential organizations aim to think of a new structure or make adjustments to their company to survive in this rapidly changing world. Using real-time performance metrics accessible to everyone is recommended. Coupled with social technologies, scalable strategies, and crowd-sourced solutions, aspiring businesses can achieve 10 times more than traditional brands.