Book

Escaping the Growth Curse

The Path to Stronger Corporate Strategy

Yves Doz and Keeley Wilson

Berrett-Koehler, 2024
First Edition: 2024

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Large companies listed on the investment markets face steady pressure to deliver growth. Investors punish companies that don’t keep expanding, yet organizations that deliver what the market demands in terms of continual growth may kill themselves in the process. This is because mature companies eventually plateau – at least for a time – and managing a company on the plateau requires different skills and strategies than managing for growth. INSEAD professor Yves Doz and management expert Keeley Wilson explain that common strategies for delivering constant growth may be fatal. That is why they give a new name to the usual corporate drive to keep getting bigger: “the growth curse.”

Summary

Established companies’ growth usually stalls.

The growth trajectory of well-established companies almost inevitably plateaus, contrary to investors’ hopes and expectations. Therein lies the “growth curse.” Investment managers insist on growth; boards of directors, CEOs, and corporate managers strive to meet those expectations. However, when growth proves unachievable, companies often try to provide something that looks like growth, flying in the face of what’s really happening. A few companies win this risky game, but many more lose.

Strategically coming to understand that growth is not limitless requires a new way of thinking and a fresh focus on the future built on strategies that ensure long-term prosperity, even during a plateau period.

In theory, boards try to recognize what lies ahead, but, in fact, they usually provide mere oversight as they rubber-stamp their executives’ strategies. Instead, the boards of mature companies should exercise strategic governance amid measured progress as part of their primary role: representing the corporation’s stakeholders.

Short-term growth is often...

About the Authors

Yves Doz is the Solvay Chaired Professor of Technological Innovation and Strategic Management Emeritus at INSEAD. Keeley Wilson is a senior researcher at INSEAD focusing on global innovation and management processes.