Adding for organizations is no longer enough, not if they want to stand out within the digital era’s disruptions; adding is little. We have already entered the era of multiplication, of exponential growth.
Until now, a company’s success has been measured according to a certain percentage of growth that can be achieved year after year, a linear sum. As its name implies, exponential growth stipulates that said expansion be multiplied month after month and year after year. The business world is heading for 2x, 4x or even 10x development.
Another way to identify an exponential organization is to contrast it with its competition. Exponential companies are those whose results are excessively greater compared to their commercial adversaries, effects that can be up to 10 times greater.
To achieve these levels of growth, especially in already established organizations, it is necessary to use new organizational management models and digital strategy through the use of exponential technologies while exploring new products or services to offer customers and reaching new prospects.
But the starting point is in the purpose that the organization or business should have. Said purpose must be ambitious, with a global vision, a Massive Transformation Purpose (MTP). The MTP is the cornerstone on which the organization will be built to evolve towards exponential growth; it is the thinking that will lead the company to set ambitious goals that can ultimately lead to rapid levels of development.
The MTP is aspirational, and therefore it should not be transmitted only to the organization’s consumers or clients but should also permeate the identity of its employees. According to Deloitte, those companies that adequately develop their purpose end up being up to 30% more innovative than their competitors and retain up to 40% more of their human talent.
For Deloitte, the purpose is everything. They explain that those companies are driven by a clear purpose, experience greater gains in market share and grow three times faster than their competitors. Everything occurs simultaneously that these companies have greater satisfaction among their employees and consumers.
“Companies that are focused on and build around a purpose can achieve ongoing loyalty, consistency, and relevance in the lives of consumers. While those that cannot be identified with that purpose and put it into action can survive in the short term, but over time people tend to demand more from said company. Today, consumers tend to identify with the purpose of the brand, in search of a deeper connection, at the same time that the brand aligns with who it is and what it wants to be”, maintains the multinational firm.
10X Transformation
The University of the Singularity (SU, for its acronym in English) gives a little more shape to what an organization requires for its exponential transformation. In the first place, they consider that three fundamental bases are necessary:
- Create a strategy focused on the future, which they call the 10x Strategy.
- Develop the leaders of tomorrow, what they call 10x Leadership.
- Build value for the future consumers, what they call Innovation 10x.
Although, of course, there is no guaranteed formula for success in the exponential transformation of a company, strong Leadership, backed by a clear strategy and focused on innovative practices, will consistently outperform its competitors, who do not have any of the foundations above.
Going from 10% gains to 10x increases requires an integrated approach that aligns its resources with its mission and purpose. The lack of strategic coordination is one of the reasons that can lead companies to fail in their innovation plans and therefore not become a 10x business. Innovation programs that are not aligned with the company’s current and future goals and without a digital strategy are almost certain to fail. But here are seven steps that can bring an organization closer to its goal.
Align The Organization Behind a Strategic Vision
Although innovation and digital transformation programs are categorized as another technology project to deal with in some organizations, it is necessary to have a broader vision of it. The move from linear to exponential acceleration involves transforming the way companies, and even an entire industry, do business and all aspects of the global economy.
Given the speed and complexity of changes that occur within organizations, a strategic vision that combines planning with cultural change is necessary. The successful company will create its innovation strategy to follow its global Strategy and future objectives, and it is not simply about technical requirements.
Understand The Emerging and Exponential Elements That Power Technology
Because exponential technologies are growing so fast, including the blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT, for its acronym in English), Artificial Intelligence, and nanotechnology, among others, it is vital to know their impact on the organization and integrate it into your digital Strategy.
Likewise, understanding the technological trends that are most relevant for the company that you want to empower and your industry will help the team know where it is best to invest time and resources. Technology has had periods of acceleration in the past, but never at the current level. For this reason, it is advisable to explore the elements behind the evolution of exponential growth technologies, including those that affect the B2B model.
Embrace Analytics and Experimentation
Today there is more information available than ever before in history, and today’s large companies have specialized in using that data to gain a competitive advantage. Organizations that have developed advanced platforms for handling such data have a great gift when incorporating exponential technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain into their businesses.
The organization’s performance on innovation reflects the effectiveness of business processes and the ability to embrace analytics and experimentation. A data-driven approach helps organizations improve their current processes while planning strategies outside of their core business, focusing on innovation.
Develop Ambidexterity
I have an “ambidextrous” business that can focus on achieving its objectives quarter after quarter and have the same ability to develop new products and services that will be key to the company’s future.
Innovative leaders put this skill into action by balancing organizational goals and focusing between the present and the future. That is, they must be able to focus on the current linear growth of 10% and the end of 10x.
Build An Innovation Diagram
Many organizations that fail to succeed in their innovation plans fail because they do not have a system to measure and track their progress, from idea to commercialization. For a project to be carried out effectively and profitable, it must think of various options for innovative business ideas.
Organizations that have learned to manage innovation usually periodically review their different projects or ideas to assess which ones can have the greatest growth and impact in the future and which ones do not.
Monitor The Context
Today’s leading organizations must develop early warning systems to identify challenges and opportunities that exponential technology trends may bring. The ability to see and follow directions, relevant technologies and market activity can help organizations learn when and how to take action on the threats of technology trends.
One of the advantages of modern times is that technology makes it easier to follow the behavior of adjacent industries and the elements that may threaten the organization and its plans.
Be Bold and Take Action
Perhaps one of the most important lessons of the age of the digital economy is that innovative organizations are increasingly using exponential technologies to change their industries and gain lasting competitive advantage. The last step on this list is to explore and implement the vision and purpose that you want to achieve with the company.
Also Read: What Is The Cloud, And How Can It Benefit Your Company?
Exponential Model In The B2B Business
For a company to achieve exponential growth, it must go through a transformation process that will permeate from the organization’s leaders, through its collaborators, and finally to its final customers, whether it is a B2C or B2B model. The exponential transformation model is perfectly applicable for a B2B company.
Peter Diamandis, entrepreneur and one of the co-founders of SU, has devised the 6D model that can be applied to the exponential growth of a company, even within B2B.
- Digitization: Daily processes such as acquisitions, the purchasing area, supply and supplier management can be digitized. In this way, the company’s staff can spend less time on operational tasks and focus on strategic issues.
- Deception: This is when exponential growth resembles linear growth since progress is slow, and the results are not encouraging. However, the leader’s job is to show resistance and certainty that the innovation being carried out is the option that will open new paths and turn the business into an exponential company.
- Disruption: For Diamandis, disruptive technology creates a new market and alters the existing one. However, the original technological threat is always there, however insignificant. For example, in purchasing, most companies are already adopting technologies that allow them to keep pace with exponential growth and change the way they do business in the future.
- Demonetization consists of making a product or service something very cheap or even free. By doing this, savings are generated that ultimately potential profit customers.
- Dematerialization: It is the stage in which it determines which tool no longer has value for the business and can be replaced.
- Democratization: Everyone must be present or have access to innovation. “Democratization is the end of our exponential chain reaction, the logical result of demonetization and dematerialization. This is what happens when physical objects are converted into bits and inserted into a digital platform, at such high volumes that their price approaches zero”, explains Diamandis. To reach a customer or supplier in the supply scenario, you must have access to companies through different platforms.
As expected, the B2B model will be increasingly marked by globalization and digitization, so the opportunities to adopt an exponential transformation within organizations, regardless of their size, will be greater.
Beyond globalization and digitization, another aspect that will determine the behavior of the B2B market is the presence of millennials in the purchasing decisions of companies, a stratum of the population with a strong technological orientation. The White Paper prepared by DHL Express maintains that 73% of purchase decisions come from millennials, a group accustomed to ecommerce in the B2C channel, which translates into high expectations when joining the B2B channel.
In other words, companies that want to have exponential growth in the future not only have to define their purpose to start transforming their business from within, but they must also adapt to changes in purchasing habits – in many cases, accelerated by the pandemic. -, which aim to provide decision-makers with experiences closer to B2C ecommerce