Our inaugural “this week’s video to watch” is a meaty one in length at just over 46 minutes and was recommended to me by a new friend here in Seattle.  The speaker, Salim Ismail, teaches viewers all about Exponential Organizations, which is also the name of his book. In his words “Exponential Organizations lays the framework for organizations to adapt and thrive in a world of abundance by diving into new organizational structures that leverage exponential technologies and a shifting global business mindset.”


This talk introduces viewers to the model of exponential organizations, specifically these components:

  • M.T.P. – the massive, transformative purpose of an exponential organization (ExO)
  • S.C.A.L.E. – external attributes of an ExO
  • I.D.E.A.S. – internal attributes of an ExO
  • ExO implications
  • Advice to large companies
  • the ExO sprint

Ismail uses an edge vs. center mental model to posit how organizations should approach innovation to avoid the corporate immune system from deploying antibodies to kill new, unrecognizable ventures and when/if they should ever be brought back into the fold. Despite the potential for this language to be inflammatory (no pun intended), Ismail cautions that stable parts of a corporation are just doing what they know and what has made them successful.

I think this video is thought-provoking and challenges us to ponder what will really make companies successful in the 21st century. Enjoy!