Shared Progress Bets (SPBs) are a powerful way for organizations to align and take action during times of accelerated change and disruption. Rather than offering bullet points, let me illustrate the value of SPBs through an example story:

Imagine Malo Company, a longstanding manufacturing enterprise, is facing disruption from new competitors. Their traditional models are under threat, and they need to rapidly adapt and innovate across the organization—from sales to production to culture.

Initially, divisions react in silos and work to optimize their own results without collaboration. But the leadership realizes this is a recipe for failure. They need to get everyone working towards shared progress.

So the CEO launches a Shared Progress Stock Exchange. Every team is given "tokens" to place bets on future scenarios—such as developing new digital business models or partnerships with emerging startups. Groups make commitments called Shared Progress Bets (SPBs) to achieve defined outcomes that advance shared goals.

Now imagine Daniel the Developer, who leads an engineering team. With his 10 tokens, he bets on two scenarios he believes can positively impact engineering. His "deals" represent commitments over 6-12 months to achieve progress indicators related to those scenarios.

Over time, Daniel's team takes actions aligned to their bets. They run experiments, gain insights, build capabilities. During regular company-wide forums, they share updates and lessons learned. Other groups provide feedback on how they can expand partnerships. New possibilities for collaboration and growth emerge.

The key is these bets act as a forcing function for change. They mobilize people around defining, achieving, and measuring outcomes that address strategic threats and opportunities. This builds shared understanding, across silos, of how to drive mutual success during disruption. Short-term plays and long-term visions are balanced. Everyone feels empowered to innovate towards their vision of the future.

In this way, Shared Progress Bets create focus, alignment, and urgency but also openness to emergence. They turn accelerated disruption from a threat into a catalyst for shared progress. That is why SPBs are such a vital framework for any company navigating complexity today.