Exponential Organizations: MTPs and Staff-on-Demand

(In my first article on Exponential Organizations (ExO) I introduced Salim Ismail’s book of the same name and the 11 attributes of an ExO.)

What is a Massive Transformational Purpose (MTP)?

MTPs are both inspirational and aspirational. They capture the imagination and emotion of a higher, organizing purpose. Do you recognize these MTPs?

• Organize the World’s Information
• The World’s Catalog of Ideas
• To be the Pulse of the Planet
• To be the Earth’s most Customer-Centric Company

(Google, Pinterest, Twitter, and Amazon).

To have a massive transformative purpose is to think big!

Not Just for Technology Companies!

Magellan Health’s MTP is: Leading humanity to healthy, vibrant lives!

The first time I heard the new MTP, it felt arrogant. We’re leading humanity? Really? Humanity?

While that seems audacious, that was precisely the point! How does that open up new ways of thinking? As a long-time employee, I was conditioned to think in a much more limited way. We served health plans, companies, and government entities. But, most of those contracts were limited to the United States. And, marketing directly to the needs of individuals was out of the question. By thinking “humanity” — now we could envision much larger.

And, for a company that had focused on mental health and substance abuse, could we find more ways to lead people to healthier lives? More “vibrant”?

As Salim Ismail illustrates with his Apple example, a compelling vision fuels revolutionary growth!

Steve Jobs referred to Apple as “A computer for the rest of us.” While Tim Cook articulated: “At Apple, we believe technology should lift humanity and enrich people’s lives in all the ways, people want to experience it.”

The strong “why” inspires both Apple employees and customers. Apple customers are passionate evangelists!

Compare these MTPs to other mission statements:

· To be the leader in every market we serve, to the benefit of our customers and our shareholders.

· Profitable growth through superior customer service, innovation, quality, and commitment.

Do those missions stir your excitement? Inspire you to innovate?

An audacious, inspiring MTP ignites a community to form around the purpose.

Moreover, not only does a great MTP attract more customers, but it also motivates and attracts top talent!

Don’t have an MTP yet? Check out Singularity University’s “how to” in this article.

So, you have an MTP that is both inspirational and aspirational. Now what?

Staff-on-Demand

Most people who read Exponential Organizations immediately become concerned about their jobs. Salim makes a case for external resourcing to obtain fresh perspectives, agility, and new skills.

Companies should question old ways of thinking. And they should encourage fresh perspectives. However, most individuals have developed thinking habits that reflect the company culture. It is tough to “think outside the box” when you’ve been confined to that box for a while!

And, continually changing technology demands new talent with new skills.

But, while contractors can help a company ramp up or down reasonably quickly, external resources shouldn’t be the only focus.

Recruiting talent is time-consuming, expensive, and risky. Developing your existing team provides maximum flexibility. And the business learning curve is zero.

I read an article recently that illustrated this perfectly. Fidji Simo, VP of Product at Facebook, had a team of 10 people working on the Facebook Live feature. When she realized this needed to be her priority, she moved 90 team members to the project.

Fidji prioritized, made the tough call and focused her resources. But, what allowed her to “staff on demand” with internal resources was having employees with the skills to contribute to that project.

At Magellan, our new CTO accurately recognized that we would not have the ability to attract the same talent as Google or Facebook. And, he also identified that the skills we needed were scarce in the marketplace.

So, what did he do? He published an entry-level curriculum for all of IT. After widespread adoption of the base plan, he expanded it to include intermediate and advanced guidelines.

His plan included articles, books, and online training through such sites as Coursera, Udemy, and KhanAcademy.

In addition, he brought in experts with new skills that could mentor employees who had done the class work. Because he also knew that books and online courses would only get you part of the way.

What the new CTO got right was that he gave specific direction to employees — a plan to develop together towards the same goal.

What he got wrong was that he insisted every employee do their learning on their “own time” and that each employee “invest in themselves.”

A great idea, in theory

How does a full-time employee working over 50 hours a week to meet the needs of the business do that? Those same employees that already were challenged to balance their hectic, stressful work schedule with their home lives?

The CTO’s expectations were unrealistic for a workforce already stretched to the breaking point.

Have you ever calculated the number of hours you have in a day after work, commuting, eating, bathing, exercise, and sleep? Now add in time with family, oil changes, doctor’s appointments, cooking, shopping, cleaning, etc.

How well do you learn when you are exhausted?

How innovative and open-minded do you feel when you are overwhelmed?

Managers: invest in your team. Provide both development direction and, more importantly, time.

Follow me for the next installment of my Exponential Organizations series!