Often this need for growth in an industry becomes their death knell if those companies try to be everything at once. The main utility company in Tucson nearly went bankrupt when they forgot they were in the power business and branched out into investing in all kinds of other things they knew nothing about.

The whole model our economy is based on assumes absolute and continual growth regardless of the long term consequences. In many ways it makes complete sense because growth is perfectly natural and to be expected as the population builds. The problem stems from the fact that unbridled population growth is bad for a region in the long run as people pack in too tightly and resources can no longer sustain the numbers.

If you can buy into the fact that something has to be done to dramatically stem population growth on the Earth, then that Oriental man's outlook on his business fits perfectly. The other option of unbridled growth seems to me to only address the near future and help to bring on the chaos that is sure to occur when the number of people in the area maxes out.

In the end it's all about compromise and moderation. There's nothing wrong with growing a company when opportunities exist if that's what floats your boat but instead of shooting for becoming Forbes Magazine man of the year, maybe it's wise to grow slowly and intelligently and, in the case of this man, there's nothing wrong with finding a point where you feel you've arrived and enjoying the view.

Art