Breakpoint Book

Why Does Growth Stagnate for Companies? For One Thing, It’s Natural

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1.2_p21_network_growthThere are countless examples of companies whose life cycles can be represented by the adjoining graph. There is the period of rapid growth, after which the company hits a peak, then settles into a plateau or state of equilibrium. At this point, shareholders start to get worried, share prices go down, and everyone begins to speculate about the future of the company.

The following article explains why this process is natural, and almost essential for a long life cycle of any company. These periodic slowdowns are inevitable, though management can and should strive to make decisions that slow down the decline and reverse it quickly. In order to make these decisions, it is crucial to understand the forces responsible for slowing down these seemingly unstoppable companies.

Read more in this article by Ron Ashkenas: Why Successful Companies Stop Growing

How vulnerable is the internet? Do we really need a plan B?

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internet crashNobody really knows what the Internet is right now because it is different than what it was an hour ago. Its constantly changing and constantly re-configuring. The problem with that is that the Internet has expanded far beyond what it was originally meant to be in a very short span. What would the consequence of a break down be? Do we have an effective plan B to tackle this when it happens?

It is only a matter of time when the current system collapses. The internet’s vulnerability is a natural consequence of the level of dependency that the world has on it for its operation. The following TED talk features Danny Hillis talking about this, the need for an alternative system, and more.

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