Bruce,\u00a0Great extra questions!<\/p>\n
> Phil,
\n> Concerning growth systems that killed themselves, why
\n> not just look at a few major corporations (which are in
\n> essence, growth systems) and see what happened to them?
\n> Anyone remember Montgomery Ward? Where are they now?<\/p>\n
Like most classic American businesses it grew quite large and then
\nstabilized, became a \u2018cash cow\u2019 for feeding investments in other things,
\nand by the time it\u2019s owners recognized the shape of threatening new
\ncompetition it was too stuck in old habits and couldn\u2019t adapt. It had
\nto be broken up for parts.<\/p>\n
> How about General Motors (\u201dWhat\u2019s good for General<\/em> GM is a more modern company. My sense is that it\u2019s been remaking itself > Let\u2019s go back further to the East India Company or the I\u2019m sure there are great books on each. It\u2019s always a compelling story > Look at Ford, IBM, or a host of other companies that There are a number of the giants companies that are struggling, and a > Or, perhaps look at dynasties the once ruled the earth Come and gone\u2026 It certainly is curious why each of these long stable > Will any of those suffice for your purposes? If not, Well, actually, you picked wonderful examples, but not a one that had to Phil<\/p>\n > Bruce Barnbaum<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bruce,\u00a0Great extra questions! > Phil, > Concerning growth systems that killed themselves, why > not just look at a few major corporations (which are in > essence, growth systems) and see what happened to them? > Anyone remember Montgomery Ward? Where are they now? Like most classic American businesses it grew quite large and then … Continue reading Better examples 2?<\/span>
\n> Motors is good for the USA\u201d)? How are they doing now?<\/em><\/p>\n
\nabout every 20 years, more or less successfully. Modern businesses try
\nto encourage new ventures within their own organizations, trying to
\nremain \u2018forever young\u2019. That\u2019s very hard to do when whole industries
\ncome and go ever more rapidly with continuously multiplying amounts of
\nmoney feeding into investments to replace everything doing the
\nproduction\u2026 (That\u2019s one of the weirdest one\u2019s to me! You wouldn\u2019t
\nwant to stop change, but it\u2019s worse to endlessly accelerate it.)<\/p>\n
\n> Hudson Bay Company. What\u2019s happened to them?<\/p>\n
\nof visionary people doing great things that turn out not to be so useful
\nanymore down the road. Time passes them bye.<\/p>\n
\n> made up the Dow Jones industrials just 50 years ago. Most of
\n> them are gone or in deep trouble.<\/p>\n
\nnumber that are adapting to become more versatile and creative.<\/p>\n
\n> (or some significant portion of it): Persia, Rome, Greece,
\n> Egypt, Babylonia, the Norse Vikings, the Ottoman Empire,
\n> Spain, England, China (which is the only one on the ascent
\n> again at this point), etc. They all had their day in the sun,
\n> and where are they now?<\/p>\n
\nways of living seemed to loose interest and vanish. Good modern
\nexamples of this that are just a little more dramatic, but the same
\nthing I think, are the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and the
\nsudden collapse of the NYC crimewave. In both cases it strongly appears
\nthat the social cultures turned off to their former way of life and let
\nit just fall to pieces.<\/p>\n
\n> let\u2019s all try again.<\/p>\n
\ndo with failure caused by uncontrolled growth (from growing competition,
\nyes, but not from its own growth). A couple from history would include
\nthe Biblical reference to a Tower of Babel and multiplying languages and
\nthe California gold rush disasters.<\/p>\n