The Rise and Fall of Organizations – Istanbul

Many people think that organizations follow a natural life cycle of growth and decline. While yesterday’s stars falter, new shooting stars rocket into the sky.

No success lasts forever. Ask Kodak, ask Nokia, ask SAS. How many management books have tried to find the formula for success in rapid growth, or solve the riddle of how to avoid failure? In the narrow strait between Asia and Europe lies a city that has brought this very thing to life for centuries. Empires have come and gone, but the city has never lost its importance: Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul. The place is a hub for continents, religions and trade. Many claim it is Europe’s most important city.

So to find answers to what promotes growth and prevents decline, we combine Istanbul’s history with modern theories and examples of the same question. And here it is far more than management theories that are interesting.

Just look at the themes:

Is conquest really the basis of all growth?
The motivation and powerful rhetoric of conquest
Was Schumpeter right – must old giants fall into creative destruction?
Misunderstood evolutionary theory – eat or be eaten vs live and let live
Change-hungry death traps – when every trend should be followed
The suffocating embrace of bureaucracy
Competitive differentiator – what is the real source of our success?

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