Growth. How big is big? How much is enough?

By G.A. “Andy” Marken

Growth—too much, too fast, too soon—can be a direct cause of failure. The problem is, no one wants to stand still. It’s not “The American Way”. Each of us starts a company with one objective: to grow...to gain greater stature and increase profits. And why not? We’re constantly bombarded with “bigger is better”.

Look at the business pages of your newspaper. You never see an item on a company that’s growing slowly or maintaining status quo. But financial editors aren’t to blame for covering the growth of companies, growth of stocks, and growth of industries. People want to be associated with the winners. And when they invest, they want their companies to grow in sales, profits and market value.

As a result, the desire to grow becomes almost compulsive. And it’s true that most of the time, when a business stops growing, it begins to wither and die. Unfortunately for many management groups, growth for the sake of growth has become the all-consuming objective. Nearly every other consideration takes a back seat to this golden grail.

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