In his book Amp it Up, Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman describes what’s necessary for organizational hypergrowth: “What you need on day one is to ratchet up expectations, energy, urgency, and intensity.” The strategies for business or organizational growth happen behind the scenes, and everyone else sees the end product of revenue or better results. The effort and focus required to significantly grow a business goes well beyond simple platitudes. Here are the five strategies for hypergrowth according to Slootman:
- Increase Standards: Creating hypergrowth in an organization means raising the standards to a whole new level. Slootman is relentless about raising the standards early in the process and amping them up as the process progresses. Highly-effective leaders never settle for something that is average, okay, or decent. They’re always searching for ways to strive for excellence. How quickly and efficiently do you raise your standards?
- Create Alignment: Growth as a business requires very clear alignment of everyone in the organization. Every person must be working in the same direction. In order to grow, the people in the organization must align with the culture of the company. As the company grows, the culture alignment is even more critical. People who feel connected to the larger purpose and vision get results. How clear is the alignment of the people and the culture?
- Intentional Focus: In order for significant growth to occur in 2-3 years, the leader must develop a hyperfocus on what matters most. Most people in organizations are spread way too thin and doing way too much. Slootman suggests asking employees if you could do only one thing this year, what would you focus on? Much of creating focus means what to stop doing, so you can do more of what makes a larger impact. How intentional do you create focus for the organization?
- Move Faster: Organizations who are struggling or need improvement have often moved at a very slow pace. In order to turn it around, it’s critical to move at 5x the speed. The leader sets and sustains the pace of work for the organization. These leaders take every interaction and moment to focus on moving faster. The health of the company depends on moving fast and chasing excellence. How quickly do you move toward reaching the larger vision?
- Adjust Strategy: Fast growth for an organization also requires strategic action and making the right decisions. It’s impossible to grow by just showing up, moving faster, and raising the standards. Great change agents consistently think for the future and how the decisions today will impact tomorrow. Effective strategy comes with time and iteration of the process. How effectively do you use strategy to create change?
Creating change and growth requires significantly raising the standards to achieve better results. After raising the standards, highly-effective leaders move quickly with clear alignment and detailed strategy. Hypergrowth or turnaround in an organization is a unique process and skillset for leaders. By narrowing the focus, organizations can make massive changes.
What are the key characteristics of hypergrowth in organizations?