Exponential Organizations 2.0: The New Playbook for 10x Growth and Impact

by Salim Ismail, Ray Kurzweil (Foreword), Peter H. Diamandis

The Playbook for 10X Growth and Impact

In a world of accelerating technologies, three visionary pioneers—Salim Ismail, Peter H. Diamandis, MD, and Michael S. Malone—bring you a playbook to ride on top of the exponential curve. This is a compelling sequel to Exponential Organizations, which quickly became one of the most successful business books globally, being used by leaders, organizations, and even countries to create transformation across nearly every industry and geography.



Exponential Organizations 2.0 outlines the 11 ExO Attributes—the shared DNA of the most dynamic and forward-thinking organizations in the world today—providing a comprehensive guide and the critical tools required to transform your business into an exponential powerhouse.



Explode your growth by harnessing the ExO attributes,

a Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP)5 External Staff on Demand, Community & Crowd, AI & Algorithms, Leveraged Assets, Engagement (SCALE)5 Internal Interfaces, Dashboards, Experimentation, Autonomy, Social (IDEAS)

The proof lies in the numbers. Over the past seven years, the top 10 most ExO-friendly companies in the Fortune 100 outstripped their less adaptable Fortune 100 counterparts in every key

40x Higher shareholder returns2.6x Better revenue growth6.8x Higher profitability11.7x Better return on assets turnover

Unlock the keys to 10x Growth and Impact with practical advice, case studies, and powerful tools designed to help you dissect your business, identify potential growth areas, and maximize impact. Don't just imagine the future; create it. With Exponential Organizations 2.0 as your guide, transform your business into a force for unparalleled growth and global impact.



The future belongs to those who can innovate at warp speed. Will you be among them?

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Science, Entrepreneurship

443 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2023

Reviews

[Kai Sczesny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely inspiring and visionary.

[William Yip · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were many typos throughout the book as well as missing text. The authors gave a simplistic reason for why Blackberry and Kodak and praised PayPal's work model when the founders' relationships frayed over time. The repetition increased in the second half. That said, the authors are correct that technology especially AI will dramatically transform the business landscape and that people are not good at thinking exponentially. They offered a good framework to prepare and even flourish with the changes that are coming; their advice is to leverage and share assets and use temp workers and later to keep costs low, attract the community and crowd through gamification, have dashboards that provide live data, hire people who are self-starters and open to experimenting and give them autonomy. I like the idea of the massive transformative purpose; it does seem like a good way to provide guidance and direction.

[L. Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Open ExO is relevant to CPA firms and their best clients. (I will explain in more detail about best clients later.) At BCI we have integrated much of the ExO framework into our consulting practice and Circles (BCI communities) over the past 8 years. This year, I decided to get serious and became certified as an ExO consultant. These attributes align with BCI’s leadership, talent, technology, process, and growth pillars. Let me assure you that becoming an ExO requires a Unique Ability Team. One individual does not have all the skills. That is true at BCI and your CPA firm. It is a team sport!

As CPA firms navigate an increasingly complex and competitive landscape, the need for scalable, efficient, and innovative approaches to growth has never been clearer. Enter the concept of the Exponential Organization (ExO) — a framework developed to help businesses achieve tenfold growth by leveraging modern technology and strategic principles. For CPA firms, adopting ExO attributes isn’t just a way to boost profits; it’s a pathway to attract top-tier talent and engage clients looking for forward-thinking solutions.

The ExO framework comprises 11 key elements designed to create a sustainable, high-growth environment. While each attribute is unique, they collectively build a powerful, adaptable infrastructure that can position CPA firms and their best clients for long-term success. Over the past 8 years, I presented the concept to numerous firms and immediately the resistance came from within firms about how they didn’t want to be 10 x, and they could not find the talent. This is part of the firm immune system that resists change.

Change the question and the ExO framework immediately becomes relevant. How do firms add 10x value to their best clients? Many firms focus too little on their top 20% of clients (who produce 80% of their revenue) and spend too much time on the other 80%. Focus on the top 20% and transformation utilizing the ExO framework serves as an inspirational and guiding roadmap. The good news is that most firms only need to focus on 3 or 4 of the attributes to transform, while startups need to focus on all the attributes.

The ExO model isn’t just about growth for growth’s sake. It’s about building a firm that can thrive in a rapidly changing environment, delivering exceptional value to clients and creating a work environment where talent can flourish. CPA firms that embrace ExO attributes position themselves as agile, innovative, and resilient, equipped to drive profit growth while remaining attractive to both clients and employees.

In conclusion, ExO attributes offer CPA firms a roadmap for transformation.
By adopting a Massive Transformative Purpose, leveraging assets smartly, embracing staff on demand, and fostering an environment of experimentation and autonomy, CPA firms can enhance profitability, attract top talent, and create enduring client relationships. In a world where change is constant, the ExO model provides a blueprint for sustainable success and a competitive edge in the evolving professional services landscape.

[Zoë Routh · Rating 5 out of 5]

roadmap to the future organisation

This book delivered a ton of useful and inspiring content: a map of current trends, the step by step process to build an organisation that is fit for the future using intersecting technologies, the essential components of MINDSET that will make it all work. It even has a great expose of DAOs and blockchain - the more befuddling of emerging tech.

Highly recommended for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to nudge the world forward in positive and meaningful ways.

[Writers Block · Rating 4 out of 5]

Applaud them for thinking different. Takeaway is you must network, you must find talent, you cannot do extraordinary things if you don't take your crazy idea, then go even further. Is it practical? No. At least you'll know how ambitious people are to achieve growth. What is practical are the organizational applications. I've been using their checklist to put the right people into the right roles

[Travis White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books out there on showing you how to 10x your efforts in business. I love the blend of practical real-world examples, coupled with case studies, and tools that can be implemented in any setting (from solo entrepreneurs to large corporations. I am looking forward to the transformation this book brings me.

[Kevin Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great follow on from the original book. It is written as a playbook and so gives you more of a blueprint to follow. This book is so important to read to understand how your organization can not only leverage new technologies but also to motivate and inspire your teams, customers and the community you are building.

[VINCENT S DAGATI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abundance is the way to go

I liked the content and inspiration this book provides. I am planning to share this book as soon as it is available on paperback with the new progressive President of Guatemala. Until then I am giving him the previous version. Let us make Guatemala an example of the abundance these ideas can bring to a country.

[Verónica Gutiérrez Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Best practical advice, case studies and powerful tools to apply in any type of organization. In times where accelerating technologies form a huge part of our everyday lives, the ExO model is the best approach to transform existing organizations into more dynamic and forward-thinking exponential organizations.

[Elena Mishchenkova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Goodreads friends has recommended the authors and I'm so glad he did. That's how I started – or rather, fell into reading – this book. And it was such a perfect timing. The title says it all and if you pursue your Massive Transformative Objective and keep the Moonshooting Mindset we will surely meet in the Exponential Future. Bring it on!

[Desiree]

It was fine.

It was a good collection of ideas, but it spends more time celebrating case studies of heavy hitters and overexplaining the necessity of purpose. Both are useful, but also attainable elsewhere. I wanted a new perspective and it didn't deliver.

[Tuukka Oksanen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of quotes and references; not much innately valuable content.

If you’ve read less than 5 business books in your life, there’s probably valuable information. Otherwise I would skip this one.

[MR DANIEL FOREMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous follow up to the original. I bookmarked several pages, happy that I am working on 7 of the top 10 big trends impacting the World. Feeling energized and inspired.

[Hamed Ersi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even Better than Previous Version!

[Titia Sjenitzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting concept on how to set up a new organisation or company that can make a difference.

[Sebastiano Bea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this one did not age very well. I happen to have read this at the same time as Blitzscaling and the two books do complement each other, given they clearly show the trend of how VC and Silicon Valley startup thinking has evolved.
This books comes some years after Blitzscaling though is already falling behind on some topics such as metaverse and crypto. Overall the message is clear that the companies of the future won't need as many employees, and that for software businesses the scale cycle will become shorter and shorter. It provides also fairly specific and in detail frameworks and "checkboxes" to apply to your organization, though I'd say some are outdated and not applicable beyond 2023.

One note on the style, there's a lot of repetition and it is structured more like a textbook than a non fiction business book. Not the easiest to read