Preamble – The Case for Becoming

The exponential pace of today’s world is rendering traditional management obsolete. Management today is technology, not a human skill. What we need now is Anticipatory Leadership—the capacity to sense-and-shape unfolding futures instead of reacting to them after the fact.

The average S&P 500 company’s lifespan has collapsed from 61 years in 1958 to under 18 today, and forecasts warn that 75 percent may vanish by 2027. Over two decades of studying AI, exponential technologies, and business transformation, I have watched disruptive giants thrive while legacy firms scramble to survive.

From these lessons I propose the Triangular Alchemy of Modern Business—a conceptual model with three pillars—Forge, Efficiency, and Investment—for how future organizations must be (re)built.

Triangular Alchemy fuels what I call the Becoming Organization, a dynamic enterprise that rejects finite goals in favor of iterative, adaptive ambitions, thriving in an infinite game of relentless change. Embracing uncertainty, it treats crises as catalysts for creation, fostering a culture of exploration and long-term thinking.

Rooted in adaptive success, Triangular Alchemy empowers leaders to build resilient, growth-driven organizations through dynamic tension and, above all, Anticipatory Leadership.

Key Points

• The Triangular Alchemy, with its three pillars—Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), and Investment (Scale)—helps organizations adapt to rapid change by fostering continuous learning and innovation.
• At the centers lies Anticipatory Leadership, equipping leaders to navigate future trends and ensure organizational resilience.
• Unlike traditional models, Triangular Alchemy offers a holistic framework, mirroring the success of modern tech companies while guiding all organizations toward scalable, adaptive growth.

TRIANGULAR ALCHEMY

Crafting the Becoming Organization

 

The exponential pace of today’s world is rendering traditional management obsolete. Management today is technology, not a human skill. What we need now is Anticipatory Leadership—the capacity to sense-and-shape unfolding futures instead of reacting to them after the fact.

The average S&P 500 company’s lifespan has collapsed from 61 years in 1958 to under 18 today, and forecasts warn that 75 percent may vanish by 2027. Over two decades of studying AI, exponential technologies, and business transformation, I have watched disruptive giants thrive while legacy firms scramble to survive.

From these lessons I propose the Triangular Alchemy of Modern Business—a conceptual model with three pillars—Forge, Efficiency, and Investment—for how future organizations must be (re)built.

Triangular Alchemy fuels what I call the Becoming Organization, a dynamic enterprise that rejects finite goals in favor of iterative, adaptive ambitions, thriving in an infinite game of relentless change. Embracing uncertainty, it treats crises as catalysts for creation, fostering a culture of exploration and long-term thinking.

Rooted in adaptive success, Triangular Alchemy empowers leaders to build resilient, growth-driven organizations through dynamic tension and, above all, Anticipatory Leadership.

Anticipatory Leadership as a Cornerstone

Anticipatory leadership is the cornerstone of the Becoming Organization, empowering leaders to orchestrate Triangular Alchemy. Far beyond executing today’s business, it demands mapping exponential technological advances—AI, quantum computing, biotechnology—to shifts in human behavior, societal needs, and regulatory landscapes. Leaders proactively steer the organization, navigating the fog of disruption to preempt threats and seize opportunities before they crystallize, while management is moved to technology – an optimization and stabilization game

This paradigm drives all pillars: Forge (Activate) thrives on leaders’ foresight to spark client-driven experiments; Efficiency (Optimize) leverages their vision to redefine sustainability as profitability; Investment (Scale) relies on their instinct to bet on transformative ventures. By resolving dynamic tension, anticipatory leaders ensure no pillar dominates, maintaining adaptive balance for perpetual evolution.

Rooted in reinforcement learning loops, anticipatory leadership grows through continuous feedback—experiments, market signals, project outcomes—building a mental map of trends. This foresight becomes the organization’s compass, transforming uncertainty into opportunity. In a world where technological shifts outpace traditional planning, anticipatory leadership is non-negotiable. It is the core root of Becoming Organizations, enabling leaders to redefine industries and secure enduring prosperity. 

Introducing the Triangular Alchemy

Triangular Alchemy offers a foundational framework for building Becoming Organizations. It rests on three interdependent pillars—Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), and Investment (Scale)—not as siloed departments but as interconnected sub-companies the organization plays simultaneously. These pillars create dynamic tension, fostering a self-reinforcing loop of learning and innovation that keeps the organization in a state of continuous adaptation.

Forge (Activate)

This pillar is the organization’s growth engine and external learning interface, distinct from traditional R&D labs or isolated “innovation centers.” Forging means activating ideas and learning by incubating from customers, users, and markets. Externally, the organization treats clients, partners, and frontline teams as innovation labs, co-creating solutions in real contexts. For example, rather than confining new ideas to a research department, a Becoming Organization might embed small teams with key customers to pilot experimental products and services, turning client engagements into two-way learning: the company activates new offerings while gaining insights into emerging needs. Imagine a beverage company helping local restaurants grow their businesses while collaborating with end customers to forge trend-driven products.

On the internal side, forging encourages ideas to grow naturally, free from forced programs or off-the-shelf training. Google’s “20% time” policy exemplifies this, allowing employees to pursue passion projects that led to products like AdSense and Gmail. In a Becoming Organization, teams are empowered to forge bold ideas through rapid prototyping or market validation, bypassing theoretical research for real-world impact.

Efficiency (Optimize)

The Efficiency pillar focuses on delivering core business value better, faster, and cheaper. It’s about operational excellence, but in Triangular Alchemy, it redefines innovation as productivity gains—doing more with less through streamlined processes, technology, and waste elimination. This approach to optimization goes beyond routine management, such as incorporating Lean, Six Sigma, or automation initiatives to boost quality and efficiency.

Amazon’s logistics exemplify this, with its Supply Chain Optimization Technologies (SCOT) team using AI and analytics to cut costs and speed deliveries (Amazon Science: Solving some of the largest, most complex operations problems). Google’s DeepMind AI, reducing data center cooling costs by up to 40%, shows how efficiency innovations lower expenses and environmental impact (DeepMind: DeepMind AI Reduces Google Data Centre Cooling Bill by 40%).

By reframing sustainability as a profit center within Efficiency—where hyper-efficient resource use drives ecological and economic gains—organizations achieve synergy, not ideology.

Investment (Scale)

The Investment pillar deploys capital for future growth, like a venture capitalist, not a traditional budget owner. It prioritizes scalable, high-upside initiatives over incremental core improvements and innovation. Funds are allocated to exploratory ventures—startups, internal spin-outs, or moonshot projects—that could become tomorrow’s growth engines. This departs from standard practice where capital expenditure often goes to known, low-risk projects within the core business.

Amazon’s acquisitions (e.g., Whole Foods for grocery market entry) and investments in Rivian (electric vehicles) position it for future markets (CB Insights: Amazon Strategy Teardown). Google’s venture arm, GV invests in startups across various sectors, from life sciences to enterprise software, while its moonshot factory, X, works on ambitious projects like Waymo (self-driving cars) and Wing (delivery drones), exemplifying big bets on future technologies. In Becoming Organizations, such investments fuel scalable growth and long-term resilience, while building assets to navigate downturns or enable strategic exits.

Dynamic Tension / Reinforcement Learning Loops

Triangular Alchemy thrives not on static balance but on dynamic tension among its three pillars: Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), and Investment (Scale). Each pillar competes for resources and attention by design, creating a productive paradox. Efficiency, which values stability, clashes with Forge, which drives experimentation, while both contend with Investment, which channels capital into the unknown. Becoming Organizations nurture these tensions, cycling through them to spark creativity and learning, as research on organizational paradoxes suggests.

Dynamic equilibrium means shifting focus among pillars over time. In an economic downturn, Efficiency might lead—cutting costs and boosting resilience—without halting Forge or Investment. When new technologies or markets emerge, Forge and Investment surge, fueling growth despite short-term inefficiencies. Leaders adjust this balance deliberately, sustaining adaptive tension for long-term resilience.

This interplay powers reinforcement learning loops. For instance, Forge activates ideas through client experiments, uncovering a novel product. Investment scales it with capital, perhaps as a new unit or partnership. Efficiency streamlines the operation, enhancing profitability and potentially yielding technologies that improve other areas. Meanwhile, Forge ignites the next cycle, leveraging enhanced capabilities to explore new opportunities. This continuous knowledge flow between exploration and operations creates a learning flywheel, ensuring the Becoming Organization evolves perpetually in the infinite game.

Comparison with Traditional Frameworks

Triangular Alchemy differs significantly from popular management frameworks like Agile, SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework), OKRs (Objectives & Key Results), Lean, and traditional hierarchies. While these offer valuable tools, they focus on specific performance aspects and assume static structures. The table below highlights how Triangular Alchemy stands apart:

Framework	Focus	Comparison with Triangular Alchemy
Agile/SAFe	Iterative, adaptive work execution	Focuses on project delivery within existing strategies; Triangular Alchemy guides enterprise-wide allocation across Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), and Investment (Scale).
OKRs	Goal-setting and alignment	Cascades objectives for alignment; this model balances pillars dynamically, prioritizing capital allocation for scalability.
Lean	Waste reduction, efficiency	Informs the Efficiency pillar; lacks guidance on exploration or investment, unlike Triangular Alchemy’s holistic scope.
Traditional Hierarchies	Top-down governance	This model formalizes ambidextrous structures, with tailored governance for each pillar, unlike one-size-fits-all approaches.

Existing frameworks optimize single dimensions—Agile for speed, OKRs for alignment, Lean for efficiency—while Triangular Alchemy serves as an overarching operating system, balancing pillars through structure and culture. A Becoming Organization integrates Agile methods, OKRs, or Lean within this framework, leveraging their strengths while addressing enterprise-level reconfiguration for perpetual evolution.

Organizational Design Implications

Implementing Triangular Alchemy to build a Becoming Organization requires reimagining enterprise structure and governance. It demands tangible shifts in organizational design, beyond a mindset change:

Structural Separation with Connection
Firms might create dedicated structures for each pillar—Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), Investment (Scale)—while ensuring tight integration. For instance, a Forge Studio (cross-functional teams that rotate on exploratory projects, possibly under a Chief Growth Officer) could spark ideas. An Efficiency Office, led by the COO, might drive continuous improvement. A Venture Investment Board, chaired by the CFO or Chief Strategy Officer, could oversee new bets. Unlike silos, these units are interconnected, with people and ideas flowing freely between pillars.

Governance and Decision-Making
A new governance system manages productive tension deliberately. A senior executive committee—COO championing Efficiency, head of Product/Marketing championing Forge, CFO/Chief Strategy championing Investment—could meet regularly to align and reallocate resources. Formalized as an Ambidexterity Council, this board reviews metrics across pillars, ensuring no single pillar dominates (e.g., Efficiency cutting budgets excessively or Forge pursuing too many ideas at operations’ expense).

Cultural Integration
The organization must equally celebrate operational excellence and bold experimentation. This balance requires a culture that values both a well-oiled machine and a playground for ideas. Leadership should communicate a vision uniting these priorities, reinforced through rewards. For example, top performers might include a team that boosted customer satisfaction and another that piloted an innovative service, even if it fell short.

Talent and Skills
Triangular Alchemy demands versatile leaders and teams with high tolerance for ambiguity. Staff must navigate contradictory pillar demands or appreciate opposing perspectives. This requires training: for example, teaching efficiency-focused managers design thinking and agile methods to collaborate with Forge teams, and equipping innovators with financial acumen and process skills to integrate ideas into operations. Such development fosters ambidexterity, enabling the Becoming Organization to thrive in perpetual evolution.

The Transformational Journey

Transitioning to a Becoming Organization requires a tailored approach, as no culture, structure, industry, or human component is identical. Still, initial practical recommendations and steps for enterprises to adopt Triangular Alchemy can be outlined:

1. Establish a Clear Vision and Case for Change
   Leadership must articulate why traditional models fail (e.g., too slow, internally focused) and how Triangular Alchemy drives perpetual growth. Storytelling—contrasting the finite game (short-term, single-pillar focus) with the infinite game (dynamic three-pillar cycle)—builds understanding and buy-in across the organization.
2. Start with Pilot Projects in Each Pillar
   Instead of immediate restructuring, launch pilot initiatives. For Forge (Activate), test a client-driven project or an internal “20% time” prototype challenge. For Efficiency (Optimize), implement an AI-driven automation or a continuous improvement blitz in one division. For Investment (Scale), establish a small corporate venture fund or incubator to back a startup or internal idea.
3. Create Dedicated Teams or Units
   Form a lightweight Forge team, externally focused (e.g., within sales or product), with KPIs tied to new business from experiments. Empower an Operational Excellence team to drive Efficiency gains, expanding existing PMO or Lean roles to innovate in efficiency. Set up an Investment committee to evaluate and fund ventures, even with a modest initial budget.
4. Implement New Governance Rhythm
   Schedule regular pillar reviews: a monthly Forge Review to demo projects, a quarterly Venture Board to assess funding proposals, and a monthly Efficiency Kaizen report-out to share improvements. A bi-annual strategy reset aligns all pillars, enabling leaders to rebalance priorities dynamically.
5. Adjust Resource Allocation and Budgeting
   Earmark budgets for each pillar, such as 70% for Efficiency (core operations), 20% for Forge (new initiatives), and 10% for Investment (big bets), inspired by the 70–20–10 innovation rule. Ratios vary, but funding must protect exploratory and venture work.
6. Evolve Metrics and Incentives
   Develop a scorecard with pillar-specific metrics, like “number of experiments run” for Forge or “partnerships formed” for Investment, alongside Efficiency’s sales or cost metrics. Integrate these into performance reviews and bonuses to signal their equal importance.
7. Develop People and Shift Culture
   Train staff in pillar-relevant skills: design thinking and lean startup for Forge, venture investing for Investment, and process optimization for Efficiency. Teach managers to embrace productive tension, accepting resource shifts for the greater good. A rotation program, with high-potentials spending 3–6 months per pillar, builds versatile, ambidextrous talent.
8. Continuously Refine the Model
   Treat Triangular Alchemy’s implementation as iterative. Gather team feedback: Is the Forge team accessing core customer data? Are governance bottlenecks emerging? Use retrospectives to adjust, such as adding a CTO to the Venture Board for technical insight, ensuring the Becoming Organization evolves perpetually.

Thriving in Perpetuity: The Enduring Advantage

Triangular Alchemy, with its pillars of Forge (Activate), Efficiency (Optimize), and Investment (Scale), paired with anticipatory leadership, offers a blueprint for Becoming Organizations to remain adaptable, innovative, and growth-driven. By establishing these interconnected pillars, enterprises exploit the present while exploring the future, harnessing adaptive the power of dynamic equilibrium through reinforcement learning loops. This model challenges traditional assumptions, prioritizing ongoing learning over static plans, technological capital over manual labor, and collaborative networks over isolated assets. It equips Becoming Organizations to play the infinite game, evolving through change rather than peaking and declining in a finite play.

This shift requires embracing complexity, developing new skills, and accepting short-term trade-offs. It demands moving beyond familiar frameworks and redefining success metrics. Yet, the reward is an anti-fragile organization that thrives amid disruption, growing stronger through reinvention. Companies mastering Triangular Alchemy outpace peers, reshape industries, and create prosperity for posterity—ad infinitum. I strongly believe every organization will (and must) adapt to this organizational structure in order to unleash the potential of the interplay of exponential technologies, leadership and the people. The question for leaders isn’t whether to act, but whether they can afford not to. The infinite game awaits. Is your organization prepared?