better growth

I'm thinking about better growth. partly because I am so, so bored of listening to everyone go on about growth. no growth. slow growth. point zero zero zero one percent growth. less growth. who knows growth. the thing is there just is not alot of growth left in the western world. we've already bought it, made it, owned it. we are as fat as ever. the closets are as full as ever. we're as rich as we'll ever be. AND by constantly trying to grow despite this people & businesses are making silly & strategically flawed decisions that are ending in tears.

perfectly good companies. perfectly good jobs. perfectly good people. all doomed by our addiction to more, bigger, growth. and as we all know.

(the stock markets are going to have to find something else to wake up for everyday. and high time they did if you ask me. how about sustainably produced profits year on year as a starting point?)

but leaving that rather serious issue aside briefly, what about the strategic possibilities for people and companies that didn't focus on growth. focus on customers. focus on education. focus on passion. focus on design. focus on international development. research. trees. people who like psychedelic folk music. and focus on doing that well, sustainably, evolutionarily.

nothing, absolutely nothing grows forever. but mammals, many insects and most birds survived whilst the dinosaurs went extinct.

of the 117,000 jobs created in the US last month 105,000 were created by companies of less than 500 employees and 50% of those jobs were actually from companies with less than 50 staff. Lots of small, diverse companies create a wide variety of value for a wide variety of stakeholders. many on a long term basis. making small investments that count for employees, customers, shareholders and the planet.

lets celebrate that. praise that. support that. invest in that.
that is our future.