The Foundational Underpinnings for ExOs

Rather than armies of people or large physical plants, Exponential Organizations are built upon information technologies that take what was once physical and dematerialize it into apps, transforming bulky and expensive hardware into cheap and nimble digital, on-demand information flows. The transformation of music from cassettes and CDs to iTunes® and Spotify® is an obvious example. Three aspects of this transformation are completely unique to this era:

1. A dozen accelerating technologies. Today, more than a dozen technologies operate on patterns originally described in Moore’s Law: doubling computational price/performance every 18 months. Ray Kurzweil calls this the Law of Accelerating Returns (LOAR), which posits that any technology that is information-based will see doubling patterns. Before now, perhaps one or two technologies accelerated simultaneously. Never before have we seen so many technologies accelerating at the same time. 

2. Technology convergence. While each technology grows exponentially, the convergence of two, three, or four of these technologies is truly re-inventing industries and transforming business models. For example, we are using deep-learning AI, robotics, and genome sequencing to analyze cancer trials. The multiplier effects of several doubling technologies are staggering.

3. Cost collapse. Throughout human history, advanced technologies have typically cost more. But today, for the first time, advanced technologies are demonetizing at an incredible rate. Solar energy is cheap, sensors are cheap, many online AI tools (GPT4, DALL-E 2) are free, and most Blockchain technologies are open source! 

The torrid pace of today’s technological innovation and product development is unprecedented. And it’s only the beginning. We are seeing industry after industry—from glamorous fields such as space to mature industries like food processing and agriculture—light up and launch into exponential innovations. For example, drones are being used with infrared sensors to scan fields for infestation. The launch of GPT4 (and its many follow-ons) will transform dozens of industries.

The notion of “Exponential Organizations” is relatively new. At just under a decade old, it has already radically restructured and continues to restructure forward-thinking companies—from global giants to aggressive new startups—around the world. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated technological and workplace shifts have dramatically accelerated the ExO paradigm.

As we will show in this book, Exponential success stories are quickly mounting. The data is streaming in. It suggests that if you haven’t learned about Exponential Organization theory, you’d better learn quickly. If you’re thinking about implementing it, you’d better get started. And if you’ve been forward-thinking enough to begin, you need to bring yourself up to date on the field’s latest discoveries and innovations.

Wherever you are in the process, this book is designed to help you take the first step—and then the next step. The word “exponential” signifies not just a theory but also a warning: the business world is beginning to move so quickly and so purposefully that if you’re not already changing your business model and thinking differently (and way bigger), you are going to be fatally left behind.