Be Exponential: Speaking at Singularity University

I was invited to speak at the Singularity University chapter in Northwest Arkansas on what it means for organization’s to be “exponential.” 

Singularity University has a big mission. In fact, they’ve coined the term massively transformative purpose (mtp) because it’s bigger than a mission. Their MTP is to prepare global leaders and organizations for the future. They’re actively working on it too (check it out).

To Be Exponential

The history of the world has mostly involved the growth of populations, technology, and industry via local and linear means. The changes took place rapidly in some cases. But, it was a constant exchange of 1 for 1.

Exponential growth comes when new information/data, technologies, or access to resources change the equation. From 1 to many. 

A great example is Google. They use information as their primary resource or asset. Making their search engine powerful and valuable to their customers.

But, Google doesn’t create almost any of the content it uses as it’s product.

Google leverages web content it doesn’t own to create it’s value. Indexing all of web content and categorizing it to create meaningful recommendations. When you have a question… Google uses external resources to find your answer.

The unique data it creates around categorizing and providing the right web content in response to the right keywords is its unique differentiator.

Allowing Google to scale rapidly without having to add people and resources at the same pace. This is exponential.

There’s a great list of the 100 Top Exponential Organizations you can use as examples of this model.

Becoming Exponential

After describing what it means to be exponential, the next step is to diagnose where your organization is currently.

I shared a unique diagnosis survey allowing participants the ability to see how exponential their organizations really are. With that information they can assess what else they have to do to become more exponential then they are today.

Participants also received an Exponential Organization (ExO) Canvas which is a simple tool allowing you to roadmap your way to exponential success.

When we can diagnose, benchmark, and roadmap our future — we create powerful opportunities to transform.