Charles Handy: The Second Curve

When you know where you should go, it is too late to go there; if you always keep your original path, you will miss the road to the future.

Charles Handy makes an analogy as his road to Davy's Bar. Turn right and go up the hill when there is half a mile to the Davy's Bar. However, when he realized he was on the wrong way, he arrived at Davy's Bar already.

The growth curve is usually in an "S" shape, and we call it S-curve or sigmoid curve. To keep the overall growth rate high, you have to develop your second S-curve before it is too late to invest your time and resources.

Intel's CPU, Netflix's video streaming, Nintendo's gaming, Microsoft's cloud are all excellent examples of the second-curve-driving businesses.

How to find and catch the second curve takes vision and execution. You have to input more information and continuously sort them to identify the best opportunities. And then, once a chance identified, you need a reliable team to fight the battle and figure out whether it really works.

What makes you succeed may not make you succeed again. There is always a limit to growth. The second curve theory helps us reflect on why and how to embrace the change and live a more thriving life.