---
id: "quote-growth-is-oxygen"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶73"]
tags: ["growth", "corporate-strategy"]
related: ["claim-growth-is-oxygen"]
speaker: "Indra Nooyi"
speakers: ["Indra Nooyi"]
quote: "Growth is oxygen for companies. We have to grow. If you want to retain the best and the brightest, if you want to remain vibrant, you have to grow."
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/10/innovating-at-the-core-and-for-the-future"
source_title: "Innovating at the Core—and for the Future"
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-cl-91-innovating-core-and-future"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/10/innovating-at-the-core-and-for-the-future"
sourceTitle: "Innovating at the Core—and for the Future"
---
# Growth is oxygen

> "Growth is oxygen for companies. We have to grow. If you want to retain the best and the brightest, if you want to remain vibrant, you have to grow."
> — **Indra Nooyi** ([[entity-indra-nooyi]])

The verbatim source of [[claim-growth-is-oxygen]] and the emotional core of why Nooyi rejected the 'cash cow' path in favor of portfolio transformation.