Reflecting on Growth

Are growth and survival always such good ideas?

It's common for people to assume that growth is something essential to every career and organization. I wonder if that's really the case. It's easy to make simplistic statements like “You're either growing or dying”, but isn’t that logical nonsense, based on seeing inanimate objects like organizations as animals? Even animals reach a state of maturity when they no longer grow. And is death always worse than the alternative?

When you think about it more clearly, why shouldn’t organizations die? They have a time when they grow, flourish and fit their environments; then that time is over and they should make way for something else. Prolonging them as they are today by huge infusions of cash isn’t going to change that.

Careers too. Many people find that something is exciting and new for a time, then successful and enjoyable (but essentially stable) for a period, then begins to show signs of aging and incipient failure. Isn’t it best to recognize this, let it go and move on to something different? Why should clinging to a job you now dislike be praiseworthy?

If we want to be realistic about our world (and few people do, much preferring comforting fantasies), we ought to admit that everything—organizations, careers, products, ideas—has a natural life span: some long and some very short. Understanding this natural duration, and where we are within it, is the essential basis for sensible choices.

During the growth period, you may need to make exceptional investments of time or resources to aid that growth. Once established, you need to focus instead on keeping going during a period of maturity. And when it’s time to let go and allow things to pass away to make room for the new, you need to change your actions accordingly.

What I see all the time are futile attempts either to prolong the growth period indefinitely or prevent even the most merciful death. The period of maturity—the period when you should expect to enjoy the benefits from all the effort made during growth—is ignored. Maybe people think it’s too dull.

The fashion today is not just to live for ever, but to be young for ever. If ever there was a departure from reality, that it is. Trying to pretend our institutions, organizations and careers will always be young and vibrant is hopeless. Wouldn't it be better to embrace change instead and let whatever’s time is over die with dignity?

(forwarded to me)