The Growth Delusion

Why Business Needs a New Metaphor

Growth-at-all-costs is the biggest, most widespread, and deeply embedded mental barrier between businesses and true, sustainable success.

We’ve been sold a belief system that isn’t grounded in reality. It’s supernatural thinking—not Earth-bound, but some kind of economic, quasi-religious magic that has rebranded itself as a worthy pursuit.

But in nature, when something grows at all costs:

• On land or in the sea? It’s an invasive species.

• In our bodies? It’s cancer.

• In the economy? It’s a monopoly.

• In our minds? It’s obsession, compulsion, mania—detachment from reality, sociopathy in waiting.

Proponents of unchecked growth will look at this list and just see competition in action. They’ll argue that:

• Stronger species dominate.

• Cells replicate too fast sometimes—no big deal.

• Better business leaders own the game.

• Obsession and mania energize the base, cull the non-believers, and separate those willing to do the work-at-all-costs from the weak.

And sure—people can pursue greatness, work hard, and get rewarded. Most don’t see the world as a binary of good vs. bad. I get that. But hear me out: this isn’t about scaring people away from business. It’s about seeing the playing field for what it really is.

So let’s touch some existential grass.

The Reality of Business Survival

The numbers don’t lie.

• Of the original Fortune 500 companies in 1955, only 52 remained by 2021. That’s a 90% failure rate.

• Every year, 30,000 CPG products are launched. 25,500 don’t make it to year two.

• Restaurants? 80% are gone within five years.

• Influencers? Only 0.68% make $1M after three years of work.

• Twitch streamers? Not even 1% crack seven figures.

• Small businesses? 50% make it to year five—but the failure rate only climbs from there.

I’m not here to bring us down—I’m here to bring us up to reality. Success isn’t just about grinding harder. It’s not about sheer willpower and dogged determinism. The numbers eventually catch up to anyone who believes survival is just a matter of force.

Because business isn’t a skyscraper.

It’s a forest.

The Wisdom of Trees

I’m a poet at heart. I understand things through metaphors. And as I drove through my neighborhood, staring at trees, I started asking:

Why don’t trees just keep growing taller? The answer is important, maybe revelatory.

A tree reaches a fixed height, more or less, dictated by its species. But it doesn’t stop growing. Instead, it widens its trunk, strengthens its branches, and deepens its roots.

Take the mountain ash:

• As a sapling, it shoots up 7-10 feet per year.

• By age 90, that pace slows to just 1.5 feet per year.

• By 150, height growth stops entirely—but the tree can live another century.

Nature has a ceiling. Not as a flaw, but as a feature. Resources, nutrients, threats, and caretakers all create an ecosystem of balance that defines what’s possible.

Growth doesn’t end—it shifts.

Instead of reaching endlessly upward, a tree grows sideways. It thickens. It stabilizes. It provides shelter. It thrives within its natural constraints.

The Business Ecosystem: From Expansion to Endurance

We are told to build skyscrapers in our minds. To will success into existence.

But the data tells us otherwise. The vast majority of businesses don’t scale infinitely. They grow until they hit their natural height—the market conditions, the industry dynamics, the resources available.

And then what?

The ones that survive pivot from height to girth. They don’t just grow taller—they grow wider, deeper, stronger.

A thriving forest isn’t a monoculture of endlessly stretching titans—it’s a dynamic system where trees reach their natural height, then stabilize, root deeper, and make room for the next generation.

The strongest trees don’t outgrow the forest. They support it. They stabilize the soil. They create shelter.

Businesses, like trees, cannot chase vertical infinity without consequence—eventually, the wind topples the unsustainable.

But those who embrace ceilings, who shift from expansion to endurance, become something greater than just big.

They become lasting.

They become resilient.

They build a landscape where many can thrive, not just the tallest.

Rethinking Growth: The Real Goal

What if the ultimate goal of business isn’t more—but strength?

What if instead of chasing limitless expansion, we pursued depth, resilience, and sustainability?

Because the numbers are clear: skyscraper thinking doesn’t work. But forests?

Forests endure.