We are all born to grow. This idea, which we might classify as obvious, nevertheless has an implicit counterpart that is far harder to perceive and accept: we are all born with a growth “program,” carrying an innate project that we will only fulfill if we do everything in our power to expand according to our maximum potential.
Despite everything we say and feel about the beauty of babies and children, deep down we know that what enchants us about them is not their smallness, but watching them grow before our eyes and under our guidance. We may occasionally gloss “small is beautiful” as a precept of common sense and prudent coexistence with ambition, but we are certainly unwilling to consider dwarfism an aesthetic norm.
Consequently, in the world of human organizations—especially businesses—the logical development matrix in a globally competitive market points toward growth goals aimed at relevance and vitality. This enthusiasm engages stakeholders and guarantees clients superior capability and maximum utility.
A company’s growth program is not entirely linear; it depends heavily on the scale of its home market, its level of sophistication, and the regulatory framework of the sector. It is also deeply influenced by the supranational competitive context. The forces of the future are driven by international agreements or disputes, media agenda-setting, and the desires of individuals who increasingly recognize themselves as the ultimate arbiters of value.
Looking at the world from Europe, we see abrasive competition within the Eurozone and an undeniable shift toward greater transparency in the global economic game, alongside the rise of new power centers in America and Asia. In this framework, European continental relevance in structural sectors is clearly challenged, placing immense risk on enterprises anchored in small or uncompetitive markets that lack the conditions to leverage organic growth.
Crossing these general difficulties with the innate growth program of any enterprise brings us close to Darwin’s principles of evolution: only those organizations that successfully adapt their structures and core capabilities to their environment will survive, translating success into a consistent strategic doctrine.
In globalized sectors, institutional survival depends heavily on achieving critical mass. Scale matters across financing costs, customer volume, turnover, talent concentration, and marketing efficiency. Crucially, scale provides minimum stability within maximum instability, offering the competitive advantage of self-governance and predictable internal variables.
Growth is the ultimate strategy because it is the most natural idea we can hold about ourselves. Wanting to grow means daring to claim a larger stature along with all its inherent challenges, struggles, and risks. Ask your children if they want to stay tiny forever, and you will see how they are hardwired to claim more of the world.
Paulo Fidalgo
CEO of Marketividade
