When Hari Ravichandran first took out ads in Wired for his personal web-hosting business way back in 1997, he thought he was going to grow his brand like any other California-based tech company.
It took some time to get up and running with it, but eventually he was able to grow his firm the old-fashioned organic way.
That’s why many in the business world were surprised when the founder of Jump Ventures and Aura came out strongly in favor of more modern asynchronous and inorganic work patterns that leverage newer the power of newer paradigms.
Conventional growth models have largely been based around Silicon Valley’s infamous startup culture. With the financial collapse of tech-focused banking organizations and fewer investors willing to throw money at risky ideas, growth patterns are drastically changing.
According to Mr. Ravichandran, that could actually create new opportunities for entrepreneurs who know how to work asynchronously.
Building a Business the Inorganic Way
Aura is an excellent example of a company that continues to grow in a market that would otherwise be hostile to the interests of many businesses.
It’s dedicated to providing digital security services to consumers in a simple fashion. Around two out of every three Internet companies are expecting their cybersecurity budgets to grow over the next few quarters, which makes this a good example of an industry where things are quickly becoming too complicated.
By providing a simpler more succinct service, Aura has been able to grow in ways that a computer security company usually wouldn’t.
Rather than focusing on offering a wide array of options that enable sales representatives to upsell potential clients on extraneous subscription plans, Aura has elected to focus on doing one thing extremely well.
That’s helped them to retain a better-than-average number of customers, which in turn makes talent acquisition a breeze.
An overall increase in the number of people working from home is driving this kind of growth according to Hari Ravichandran.
He told interviewers from Forbes that businesses with streamlined agile infrastructures have been able to adapt to the challenges of a remote workplace faster than large top-heavy legacy firms.
That’s given companies like Aura the chance to succeed in market spaces dominated by much more established brands that were built up the organic way.
Why Asynchronous Work is So Flexible
Managers can look at asynchronous work as self-serve task completion. They simply make out a list of things they need done in a given period of time and send this over to their staffers, who complete it whenever they get the chance.
Conventional business planners would probably balk at this kind of personnel management, but Mr. Ravichandran feels that it actually offers leaders a chance to work toward achieving goals while giving their staff the chance to excel without feeling pressured.
Staffers who don’t feel like they’re trying to meet some artificial requirement are naturally going to do a better job, especially if they enjoy the kind of work they do.
Higher levels of employee morale can dramatically reduce turnover rates, which means that less time and money is wasted onboarding new employees hired to replace those that leave an unsatisfying job.
On top of improved retention rates, companies with higher morale will often enjoy a greater degree of employee engagement. That’s perhaps the number one area where companies can see big gains just by making a few simple changes.
Restructuring the Modern Workday
Good internal communication is the primary reason that Aura has been able to grow so quickly. While it might sound like Mr. Ravichandran has advocated getting rid of all meetings, he’s actually suggested that they should be restructured much like the rest of the workday.
Asynchronous workdays don’t have to be bound to a conventional 9-to-5 timetable. As long as staffers get the work done on time, they can normally be left to their own devices.
That’s why Aura has focused heavily on preparatory work. Mr. Ravichandran says that he always makes sure to circulate documents beforehand so that everyone goes into a virtual meeting space with all the tools they need to succeed.
Brainstorming sessions in an asynchronous workplace might end up resembling so-called barcamp-style unconferences, but that’s not to say that they’re disorganized.
Just like the meetings that once typified the open-source code hacker scene, flexible online gatherings strive to make sharing ideas easy.
Managers who put these ideas into practice will be among those most likely to succeed in spaces where only the world’s largest firms once dared to compete.
