Exponential Growth doesn’t stay Exponential Forever. Ride it While it Lasts.

I was recently forwarded a presentation on the power of exponential growth and business disruption.  Every other slide told the story of how exponential growth was the new normal and how it needed to be harnessed.  The problem is that eventually exponential growth collapses or has no additional value or becomes focused on a niche instead of the mainstream.  Exponential isn’t forever.

But exponential can last a century as well – it’s just that you may not realize the trend for the first 50 years of the cycle.  Harness it while you can but don’t expect to ride it forever.  The same business rules as always still apply.