Defining Growth

Every time I write, I struggle with formulating my hypotheses as they have not been put through rigorous testing protocols established by science. They are based on my experience, observations, books I have read, and conversations I have had. The only thing keeping me going is that I tend to delve into philosophy, which guides science rather than the other way around. Also, I intend to research every single one of these hypotheses in the next phase of my career when I become a professor. So some of what I write might not stand the test of time, but it is fun to write, and hopefully fun to read.

I wrote the word, Growth, highlighted it, right clicked and selected Look Up "Growth" (I am on a Mac). The following is the output of that action — 'The process of increasing in size'. The example used to describe the word was based on nature: 'The upward growth of plants'.

It is however only half of the equation. Things grow to a certain extent and then they wither away (or are killed), giving way to something new to grow. An everlasting growth is probably impossible and chasing it is a sure-shot way of ending up in treacherous waters.

In the tech industry 'growth' is probably the most commonly used word, beating 'strategy' by a sliver. We even have the term 'Growth hack' that we use frequently! And hire people with the word 'Growth' in their job title. Given its ubiquitous usage , it is paramount that we get it's definition right, but it seems that we haven't spent the time to define it properly from first principles and anchor it to the mission.

We hear the word growth and our minds go directly to some form of revenue or user increase. No one ever stops to question if that is what it should mean and if that is the kind of growth we need.

Let us take the example of probably one of the most common growth metrics GDP (Also based on money). Countries, economists, policy makers are obsessed with defining growth as GDP. It is touted as the one thing, which if it goes up leads to everyone being better off — aka growth! The world was in the grips of a pandemic and way too much of airtime was given to the impact on GDP!

Because GDP is defined as the value added/created through the production of goods and services in a country during a certain period, and it is the definition of growth, everyone obsesses with the production of more things and marketing to sell said things. Do we as a society need these things, that is rarely questioned. Rat race on steroids!

Instead of focusing on the overall health and well-being of ALL individuals, GDP abstracts out a contrived definition of Growth. It leaves behind the important and real definition of growth — health, happiness, and reducing the suffering of people. Worst of all, GDP can be grown at the expense of a group of people. As long as the overall GDP is going up, we turn a blind eye to the fact that the chosen path is actually making matters worse for some people. All of this gets hidden behind a simplified GDP number. Yuval Noah Harari said, the people who suffered and paid the cost of Growth are often no longer here to voice their pain.

There is often an argument that we need a simple definition of growth so that it is easy to understand and communicate. Measuring happiness, suffering and even health is not easy especially when compared to GDP. Reality is nuanced and complex. It is a hard thing, but as Dumbledore said , "The choice is between what is right and what is easy."

Another objection is based on the premise that a lot of the technology that makes human life better is a byproduct of the R&D that goes into making things to sell to grow a company , or sometimes even weapons that end lives. But should we be okay with that fact? Should we be okay with that fact that instead of directly working on the problems that could improve the quality of life for everyone, it is a byproduct of misguided growth? Such a significant number of the brightest minds in the world are working on selling us more sugar water, another pair of jeans and _______ fill in the blank with the last thing you bought. In a study at Yale, primary school children watched a cartoon that contained either food advertising or advertising for other products and received a snack while watching. Children consumed 45% more food when exposed to food advertising. Let me repeat that number for dramatic effect 45%! That is something we as a society should look at changing.

So how do we escape the growth trap?

I hypothesize that we can make this world a significantly better place by simply reworking our definition of growth.

1. Define growth from the mission's perspective. Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. What if they defined growth as how much of the world's information they've organized and made accessible and useful in terms of terabytes broken down by categories and the number of people who can access said information? I have never seen this aspect emphasized in any of its quarterly or annual shareholder presentations. Google currently uses metrics like earnings per share, daily active users (DAUs), revenue, and EBITA as their definition of growth!
2. Considering the other half of the growth equation—the decline or cessation of things. The growth of A often comes at the expense of B. What is that B? And what is thing C that will grow at the cost of A? For example, the growth of a sugary drink will come at the cost of public health. The growth of an addictive, doom-scrolling enhancing feature will come at the cost of people's mental health.

It is easier said than done and revenue growth is critical to support any mission. People will likely, and Wall Street for sure will call anyone who tries to define and track growth this way crazy! This is where I would like to share the quote from Apple's 'Think Different' commercial from 1997: 'The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do'. So don't let it hold you back. And Harvard Business School agrees 'How One Person Can Change the Conscience of an Organization - HBR'