Latest news with #GORETEX
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
The invisible architects: How can ingredient brands scale?
It's the story as old as (industrial) time. In the design/innovation world, not every great result will carry its maker's name. There are some notable exceptions. Corning is the widely known supplier of ultradurable glass (Gorilla Glass) used in iPhones, for example. And GORE-TEX is known for premium outdoor gears' breathable waterproof membrane, a material of choice. But behind most every iconic solution there are scores of silent partners like our own, Chang Robotics, whose involvement may never be known. Herein lies the problem: How can you gain recognition, build authority, and attract new business while honoring strict NDAs or white-label relationships? I know this challenge keenly. We provide scores of organizations with game-changing automation. But how will the next set of Fortune 500 CEOs considering new automation or reshoring know they should talk to us? We are far from alone. In 2022, there were some 239,000 U.S. manufacturing organizations — engineering firms, product designers, and R&D labs. All but 4,177 have fewer than 500 employees. We comprise the legions whose design and production touches most products we experience, but whose names are seldom part of the story. Here are five ways to share the news about our achievements to allow us to scale: 1. Tell the story without naming names One of the most effective strategies is to frame your achievements by category, not by client. Rather than revealing client names we describe the following: The type of client: e.g., 'a Fortune 100 healthcare device manufacturer' or 'a leading North American foods and packaging provider.' The challenge solved: e.g., 'We accelerated time-to-market by 42% for a new diagnostic platform.' The impact achieved: e.g., 'We are eliminating the use of PFAs (forever chemicals) in food packaging.' We can maintain confidentiality while still showcasing credible and impactful stories. In some cases, we can show the world a physical product in final development before any branding is attached. Sometimes after time passes and development cycles are complete, customers may be willing to officially or unofficially acknowledge a partner's role. Or they may allow the client to use them as a confidential reference, or name them as client if you don't disclose confidential details of your work. Any of these moves, especially in aggregate, can speed your ability to gain the authority you deserve. 2. Own your domain expertise through thought leadership Even when you can't name who you're working with, you can be very clear about what you do and why it matters. Take every possible opportunity to publish thought leadership reports that explore: Emerging trends in your field Lessons learned from anonymous project work Predictions about where your segment is headed Provide this information in as specific and meaningful detail as possible. We do this frequently through white papers and research reports about the industries and development categories we touch. This strategy positions your brand as a go-to expert without violating confidential ground. Some of your clients or prospective clients may even be willing to participate in the white paper projects as sources. 3. Create your own use cases When you can't speak about the solutions you've built for others, consider building your own. Create demo products, concept videos, or 'hypothetical' use cases that mirror real-world applications aligned with industries you're targeting. Or—taken to full fruition—underwrite and support portfolio firms of your own. We've stepped into this arena, creating the Chang Robotics Fund, which has already invested in eight companies. It is allowing us to scale in several significant ways: 1) We can be fully visible for our roles in each portfolio company. 2) We can display the results of our technical prowess. 3) Perhaps most valuable for us, some results are based on IP from our core employees. This provides them the opportunity to participate as equity owners in their projects while also enjoying the security of their employee positions. To a large degree, this is a model where everyone wins. 4. Gain visibility through the right channels In your effort to gain authority in your sector, focus on information channels that reward expertise over promotional content such as: Contribute to leading business and trade publications or speak at industry events. My participation in the Fast Company Innovation Council is an example of this. Use platforms like LinkedIn, X, and even TikTok to share expertise and insights (not sales pitches) aligned with the vertical markets you serve. I cannot emphasize the value of these efforts enough, as they comprise some of our most successful achievements in driving new business in 2025-2026. These environments elevate your voice among peers and prospects without needing to self-promote or name-drop. 5. Partner with clients for joint wins When your clients can publicly acknowledge your role, even as a footnote, be ready to draft joint case studies, share in award applications, and coauthor technical papers or conference presentations. This is more difficult when clients are publicly traded organizations. But many clients (and particularly major university clients and partners) are open to win-win mutual visibility. This is especially true in technical fields where peer credibility counts, and the academic research can be helpful for your own organization as well.
Forbes
13-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Benefits Of Messy Hierarchies: Inspiration From Flat Organizations
Flat-inspired organizations are inherently a bit messy, but they allow for agility, efficiency, and adaptability to both expected and unexpected change. When I took over as CEO at Rayburn Electric Cooperative in 2017, we faced numerous major projects with hard deadlines. I realized pretty quickly that if we wanted the company to succeed, I couldn't be involved in every decision everyone made. It was less about delegating and more about rethinking the purpose and role of authority. For me, the practical first step was to make sure the people getting work done had the authority to do their jobs well without having to navigate unnecessary bureaucratic approval chains. This meant giving people the freedom to make decisions in their area, the ability to purchase supplies and resources they needed, and the trust that they would use that freedom responsibly. What emerged was a permanent cultural shift. Rayburn intentionally deviated from the traditional, pyramid-shaped hierarchy structure that we always see in our industry toward what I call a 'flat organization mindset.' The concept of flat organizations surfaced in the 1960s when management theorist W.L. Gore founded his company, GORE-TEX, with a radically new structure: no titles, no bosses, and a commitment to direct communication between all employees. By the 1980s and 90s, companies continued to experiment with different hierarchies, hoping they would foster creativity and improve innovation cycles. The video game company Valve Corporation is perhaps the most famous example of a truly flat organization, where employees choose their own projects and have no formal managers or titles—a system they've maintained with their motto 'Boss-free since 1996.' Less austere are 'holocratic systems,' which are highly structured systems with specific rules and formalized processes. These organizations eliminate traditional management roles but replace them with a constitution-like governance system where authority is distributed through self-governing 'circles' focused on specific functions. And then there are 'flatarchies,' a blend of all the above for a dynamic structure that shifts between the structure of traditional hierarchy and the flexibility of flatness as needed. Companies like Spotify and Airbnb have embraced this model to help them be adaptive while still maintaining necessary organization. At Rayburn, we've created a hybrid structure‚ not because we couldn't decide which model to follow, but because we intentionally chose elements that work for our specific needs. We're less concerned with fitting neatly into a textbook definition and more focused on empowering our people to make the best decisions quickly. I have a natural aversion to formality, so our employees don't need to consult an organizational chart to know what to do. In my book Status Quo is Not Company Policy: Empowering Innovation Through Adaptive Leadership, my coauthor interviewed our Engineering Manager, who described his experience prior to coming to Rayburn. For something as simple as a 30-minute software problem, it could take weeks of wasted hours of bureaucracy to work up and down a chain of command. This is not an uncommon phenomenon in corporate America. In contrast, a short time ago, one of our linemen identified a need for side-by-side off-road vehicles to drastically improve efficiency in the field. He didn't draft a formal requisition that would languish for months awaiting approvals. He just called our CFO directly after spotting the previous year's models on sale, got a verbal authorization, and made the purchase. This kind of agility is next to impossible in traditional hierarchies. I recognize that this isn't as clean and simple as most people prefer, and there is often anxiety about the chaos that can happen without a clear line of authority. But flat doesn't mean leaderless. At Rayburn, we try to always make sure leadership is distributed where it's needed, when it's needed, with even the newest employee's ideas being as valued as those from senior positions. We accept that our unique structure can't be neatly defined. Flat-inspired organizations are inherently a bit messy, but they allow for agility, efficiency, and adaptability to both expected and unexpected change. You have to trust your team to make decisions, speak up, and lead from wherever they sit. In our business, you can't afford bureaucracy. The electric grid doesn't wait on a chain of command.
