The ExO Sprint: How to change your job without changing your job during the Great Resignation

This is the story of how an amazing team helped a millennial achieve her dream in working for causes she cared about without quitting or being let go, thanks to the ExO Sprint.

What makes companies? The financials? Revenue? Profit? Their products? The annual Christmas party?

Companies are companies, of course. But the people make up a company. From the well-paid CEO scouting for his (yes, that’s on purpose) next CFO on a golf course somewhere in the French Riviera, to the line worker in Penang getting arthritis to process 8,000 products an hour to keep up with the production schedules for 20 consecutive years. The people make up the company.

From this contorted perspective, could you tell that I’m a millennial? You probably could have guessed Gen Z too. But no, I’m one of the millennials getting ready to make up 75% of the work force by 2025. ?

Until then, millennials have already and will have been called many things: Entitled. Lazy. Narcissistic.

Maybe. Some of us. A little. Sometimes.

That is of course due to a few characteristics of my generation. Millennials are notorious for challenging hierarchical structures in the workplace which can come across as entitled. They prioritize work-life balance and have less issue denying to work beyond reasonable limits compared to previous generations. To some, that’s lazy. Millennials are also the first generation that grew up immersed in a digital world and have been equipped to navigate it, there’s a certain level of confidence that comes with built-in adaptability. Could easily go over a little stuck-up. And it’s not just me, it’s Forbes, it’s Fortune, it’s Deloitte saying that.

You might be thinking, how exactly is she going to tie that into this ExO thing? Well…

Entitled, lazy or narcissistic, millennials are also called the giveback generation. A torch they carry together with Gen Z. You could say all those dollars not going to owning a home in a “very affordable” housing market is still finding a meaningful place. So it’s not a surprise that more than 50% of millennials choose cause-focused careers, whether it’s the job itself serving a cause they care about or working a regular job at a company that clearly “cares” about similar causes.

And that’s where I, the ExO Sprint and my mind blowing team come into play.

I am the millennial Forbes talks about, to a certain extent. I’ve always cared about sustainability in my own ways. A failed 7-month adventure into a vegan diet, a recycling advocate that still isn’t fully sure about which bin to put the beer caps, or a hypocrite that takes the train to work because it’s more sustainable while taking I don’t know how many planes per year because I like eating different things in different places in different clothes.

Nonetheless, the thought of changing my job to work in a way that has a more direct impact on improving some of the biggest issues our planet is dealing with when it comes to sustainability, has been on my mind since a little before the pandemic. Did I have the guts to quit and do it? No. Did I think about it constantly? In case my management is reading, of course not… Did I ever think I’d be able to do that without changing my job, while all my friends were hopping from one company to another during the so-called great resignation? Absolutely not. Come the ExO Sprint…

The ExO Sprint is a 10-week program that I initially somewhat unwillingly took part in that concluded last month. The program aims to teach organizations and individuals to facilitate a behavior change to be able to continuously innovate (sometimes at the cost of self-destruction) and bring true value to the market short term and/or long term. Through various concepts like deep diving into exponential technologies, design thinking, purpose launchpad, myself and a very diverse group of talented individuals worked on a platform that connects individuals and NGOs with those who are in desperate need of carbon offsetting, for the ultimate goal of healing various ecosystems, starting with the ocean. If that sparks your interest, me and my team ‘All over the place’ are all ears and only a message away. ??

A sense of purpose is a common thing to aspire having for any individual, even more so for millennials apparently. While providing purpose is a growing trend among employers, especially large corporations, having a clear understanding of an organizations true purpose and having employees relate to it is a difficult task. Equipping the same employees with the tools that enable them to challenge the status quo of the company and their job, to ultimately create something that is of value to themselves and to a profitable organization, now that’s a unique capability. And that’s exactly how the ExO Sprint helped me to bring an add-on to my job.

All without the hassle and stress of going through a hiring process, trying to negotiate a relevant salary as a young female professional and getting accustomed to a new organization, team or job. I now have been given the chance to follow this idea (that I care about deeply) through, with the team that came up with it, somewhat on our own terms – while keeping a steady salary and job security (so far).

Reading this, I’m sure it’s clear that I care. It might not be up to the standards of many others but I’d like to think that I care. I care about sustainability, I care about my job and to my surprise, I cared about the ExO Sprint and the marvellous team it allowed me to work with. A true team, coming from various principles of R&D, product management, customer experience and communications, but without any of the boundaries people from different principles usually bring into the conversation. That's key.

Everyone talks about diversity in the workplace, and we as a team have seen and quite heftily displayed the value it can bring when you’re talking about innovation at an established organization that is very used to doing things the way they’ve been done. That lesson and the amazing/tough times we spent together in those 10 weeks is a gift that stays with me and my team. The project we created and will keep working on stays within my job. When it comes to what stays with the company, what they got out of 21 individuals taking part in the ExO program is that mind shift. To be more open, to fail fast, to fail graciously and to get up to keep going just as well. To put the customer in the dead center of absolutely everything and keeping communication with them at all times. To challenge yourself, your ideas and your path non-stop. It’s difficult to break a habit. In my opinion, it’s even more difficult to build one. And that’s exactly what stays with the company.

All in all, millennials be damned. Trainings, exercises, programs or whatever it may be, tools like the ExO sprint are crucial in preparing the workplace for the next generations. If millennials are any indication of how much change is required for a company to survive or thrive over the next decades, I can’t imagine Gen Z’s to-do list. ?

And to all innovators, innovators-to-be or anyone looking for a new professional challenge: It’s always the people, start with them.?