I think “scale” is one of those concepts that has been repeated so often it has become a mantra. We accept it as something somehow so virtuous and obvious we no longer think about it.
Scale as a Religion
People make good livings by billing themselves as “scale up experts” and “growth coaches” based on the mantra.
Politicians worship GDP figures as though perpetual growth is a virtue. Quantity has become a badge of status, whether it’s money we cannot possibly spend, or the number of likes we get on social media. It ties to a “greed is good” mentality, even though we wouldn’t describe it that way in polite society.
It started sensibly enough, based on the “theory of the firm” by Ronald Coase, itself part of the movement that gave rise to the practice of scientific management. It was a major breakthrough, and transformed economic performance in the second half of the twentieth century.
It was however a creature of its time. The conditions that made it powerful h…
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