The Business Lifecycle is worth paying close attention to. The five classic stages are:
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Launch
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Growth
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Maturity
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Decline
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Exit, Renewal, or Transformation
There’s no exact timeline for how long each stage lasts. But for many companies, maturity kicks in around years 10–15. And when it does, they face a critical choice:
Innovate or die.
Inertia and the status quo are not strategies for survival. Especially not in today’s environment.
It’s not so much about skipping the decline stage – it’s about preempting it.
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Netflix could’ve ridden DVDs into the grave.
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Amazon could’ve stayed the world’s largest bookstore.
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Toyota could’ve ignored EVs completely.
Instead, they cannibalized their own products before someone else did – and reinvented themselves into the next lifecycle.
The lesson? Innovate before you need to.
Because once decline sets in, it might already be too late. Prevention is the best strategy.
So whatever you’re building or have already built – remember:
Technology, disruption, and competition are always right behind you.
Make innovation part of your culture before it becomes part of your emergency plan.
Poll Results: The results are in from last week’s survey:
It’s official – our upcoming Exit Ready Sprint is happening August 29th, 9a-12p PST. Sign-up here. Stop guessing how this story ends – put yourself in the control seat, maximize valuation and exit on your terms for that final payday.
Song of the week…
Tim Martinez
“The Inside Man”
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Grab my latest book “Do Good Work” – Minor Shifts, Major Impact (buy here)
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Optimize before the Exit – FREE on-demand training (click here).
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