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ExO Launchpad - Session 2

Preparing your team for Summer Institute 2026

Tuesday, June 23, 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (EDT)

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ExO Launchpad:
Preparing your Transformation Team for Summer Institute 

At the 2026 Summer Institute, your Transformation Team will develop a real exponential organizations (ExO) initiative for your organization — ready to test when you get home.

The ExO Launchpad is where that work begins.

In three virtual sessions, with fieldwork between them, your team will identify the high-value problems worth solving — by listening to employers, observing students, and mapping the untapped opportunities in your community. That groundwork will become the raw material your team brings to Albuquerque.

Three fieldwork opportunities to get your team ready:

  1. Find your compass: Each person on your team will draft and test their own Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) — the statement that orients what you care about. 

  2. Hear your customers: Have real conversations with the two voices that matter most for Summer Institute: employers with workforce challenges and students who want to make a living. 

  3. Observe your customer's challenge in action: Observe how employers and students actually experience the challenges they described. 

Before arriving at the Summer Institute, your team will also build a context package about your organization — its business model, programming, market dynamics, and performance - that powers your AI-assisted work in Albuquerque.

How each session works:

Each session follows a three-part rhythm: preparation, briefing, and fieldwork.

  • Prepare: A curated read/watch assignment from Exponential Organizations 2.0 and the ExO Master Class video series — building shared language before each session.

  • Brief: A 90-minute virtual session with your peers — part discussion, part briefing for the fieldwork ahead.

  • Fieldwork: An action learning assignment to complete before the next session, building the field data and insight your team carries to Albuquerque.

Until your team hears a customer describe, in their own words, their challenge and its high cost to them - your team won't make progress. But once they truly get the customer's pain, a good team is activated to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Facilitators:

  • Ann Ralston, Ralston Consulting Inc.

  • Gary Ralston, Ralston Consulting Inc.

Who's Invited:
  • AFIT member CEOs, Reps, and colleagues at your organization

We especially encourage your 2026 Summer Institute Transformation Team members to participate. 

Registration Fee:

$400 per organization (up to 30 participants per organization)

Registration: Each organization should select one designated person to complete the registration. Only one registration is required per organization.

By registering for Session 1, you will be registered for all three sessions. 

After registering, the registrant will receive the Zoom link and event details and is responsible for sharing them with their team (up to 30 participants). Details for Session 1 will be sent immediately upon registering for the event. Details for Sessions 2 & 3 will be sent closer to each event. 

 

Cancellation Policy: This is a non-refundable event.

Session 1: 
Overview, Mindset, Personal MTP

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 - 1:00 to 2:30 EDT | Zoom 

  • Before this session:

    • Read: ExO 2.0 Chapters 1-4

    • Watch: ExO Master Class Videos 1-6

  • During this session: 

    • An Introduction to Exponential Organizations: Explore the forces driving exponential change, the end of 20th-century linear organizations — and how a new kind of organization is reshaping the future. You'll also draft your personal Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) using an AI-powered MTP tool - a compass for everything that follows in the Summer Institute.

  • After this session:

    • Fieldwork: Find your compass. Each person on your team will draft their personal Massive Transformative Purpose (MTP) — the statement that orients what you care about, then test it with others.

Session 2:
Environment Scan and Customer Discovery 

Tuesday, June 23, 2026 - 1:00 to 2:30 EDT  | Zoom

  • Before this session:

    • Read: ExO 2.0 Chapters 5-9

    • Watch: ExO Master Class Videos 7-11
      (Optional bonus: Video 13 - Q&A on SCALE implementation, ~10 min)

  • During this session:

    • Explore the SCALE attributes - Staff on Demand, Community and Crowd, Algorithms, Leveraged Assets, and Engagement: SCALE attributes are building blocks that generate demand for your business model. 

    • Introduction to Customer Discovery: Too often, innovators fall in love with their solutions, then look for a problem to solve with it. In this module, we will flip that to fall in love with the Problem and the people who are challenged by it.

  • After this session:

    • Fieldwork: Hear your customers. Have real conversations with the two voices that matter most for Summer Institute: employers with workforce challenges and students who want to make a living. Listen for the gap between what your organization assumes and what these people actually describe. With their permission, record and transcribe — your team will use this data at Summer Institute.

Session 3:
Observing Customers and Preparing for Summer Institute

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 - 1:00 to 2:30 EDT | Zoom

  • Before this session:

    • Read: ExO 2.0 Chapters 10-14

    • Watch: ExO Master Class Videos 14-18
      (Optional bonus: Video 19 - Q&A on sector-specific applications, ~11 min)

  • During this session:

    • Explore the IDEAS attributes - Interfaces, Dashboards, Experimentation, Autonomy, and Social Technologies: IDEAS attributes are building blocks that help you fulfill the demand you created.

  • After this session:

    • Fieldwork: Observe your customer's challenge in-action. Observe how employers and students actually experience the challenges they described. What you hear in an interview is what people say. What you see on-site is what's really happening.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Who is eligible to participate? If your organization is an active AFIT member, everyone within your organization is eligible to participate. We especially encourage your 2026 Summer Institute team to join!

  2. How big can our teams be? Your teams can be as small or as large as you’d like. Everyone who is attending Summer Institute is expected to participate.  

  3. Do I need to buy the book? No. The online version of Exponential Organizations 2.0 is available free at openexo.com/book. The ExO Master Class video series is also provided free to all registered participants.

  4. Do I need to do both the reading and the videos? We recognize people learn in different ways, so both reading and video are presented as options. Use whichever works best for you — or both. The book includes additional material not covered in the videos.

  5. What's the time commitment? Each of the three sessions is 90 minutes on Zoom. Prework is approximately 2-3 hours to both read and watch the content. Between sessions, your team will complete fieldwork — drafting your MTP, conducting customer interviews, and observing challenges on-site. Assignments may be accomplished individually or in groups. Plan for 2-3 hours of fieldwork between each session.

  6. What happens if I miss a session? The fieldwork assignments will be posted for all participants, so you can complete them independently. That said, the missions build on each other — your Session 3 fieldwork depends on what you learn in Session 2. We strongly encourage attending all three sessions.

  7. Will the sessions be recorded? No. To foster candid conversation, sessions will not be recorded.

  8. You mentioned recording customer interviews. What do I need to know? We'll provide a brief conversation guide and permission template before Session 2.

  9. What's the value of the ExO Launchpad? Teams who complete the Launchpad sessions and fieldwork arrive at Summer Institute with shared language, a tested personal MTP, and real field data from their customers that will have a significant impact on the outcome for your organization.

  10. I'm not attending the 2026 Summer Institute. Is the ExO Launchpad still valuable? The program is focused on giving teams significant momentum before arriving at the Summer Institute. The content would equally prepare individuals and teams taking a DIY approach.

  11. What is the registration deadline? To ensure sufficient online capacity and to manage breakouts, please register your individuals and teams by May 25 at 11:59 PM (EDT).

  12. My organization is not a member of AFIT. Can I still participate? Unfortunately, no. This activity is only open to AFIT members. Learn about AFIT membership.

For More Information:

Paul Klute
Paul Klute
Technology Coordinator
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