---
id: "quote-prioritize-growth-struggle"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["\\\"§ So Long", "Cheap Capital\\\""]
tags: ["business-strategy", "value-creation"]
related: ["concept-value-based-management", "claim-growth-over-returns-fails"]
speaker: "Michael Mankins and Matthew Crupi"
speakers: ["Michael Mankins", "Matthew Crupi"]
quote: "Companies that continue to prioritize growth over the quality of returns will struggle to create value. Those that allocate capital rigorously, invest selectively, and maintain a clear linkage between strategy and economics will be better positioned to outperform."
sources: ["reskilling"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-reskilling"
originDay: 10
articleStem: "hbr-sig-49-ai-squeezing-middle-managers"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/ai-is-squeezing-middle-managers"
sourceTitle: "AI Is Squeezing Middle Managers"
---
# Prioritizing Growth Will Struggle

> "Companies that continue to prioritize growth over the quality of returns will struggle to create value. Those that allocate capital rigorously, invest selectively, and maintain a clear linkage between strategy and economics will be better positioned to outperform."
> — [[entity-michael-mankins|Michael Mankins]] & [[entity-matthew-crupi|Matthew Crupi]]

**Context.** The stark warning from Bain & Company researchers about the obsolescence of growth-at-all-costs strategies in a capital-constrained world. Anchors [[claim-growth-over-returns-fails]] and [[concept-value-based-management]]; enacted via [[framework-capital-allocation-constrained-world]].

Related: [[concept-value-based-management]] · [[claim-growth-over-returns-fails]] · [[framework-capital-allocation-constrained-world]]