In the excerpt, the author addresses the challenge of adapting the Exponential Organization (ExO) model to legacy organizations. The first step in this process is updating leadership to understand that the world has fundamentally transformed. Organizations must recognize that failing to adapt to these changes poses an existential threat. Education is a critical component in this process.
The second suggestion is for legacy organizations to partner, invest, or acquire ExOs to learn from their disruptive practices. Applying some of the characteristics internally can lead to a 10x deployment capability. However, the disruption must be done at the edge of the organization pointing outward, or else it can trigger an immune system response.
The final suggestion is to emulate Apple’s approach of forming small teams to disrupt other industries. Apple’s core value add is its organizational capability to disrupt industries, and other organizations must follow this model to remain competitive. Evidence shows that organizations that can adapt and be flexible outperform those that do not. This is reflected in stock market performance, with organizations in the top 10 most flexible and adaptable outperforming the S&P by more than three times.