---
id: "quote-single-model-ceiling"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶14"]
tags: ["strategy", "diversification"]
related: ["claim-single-model-is-ceiling", "concept-business-model-portfolio", "contrarian-single-model-liability"]
speaker: "Donna Henrike Bohrer, Karolin Frankenberger and Joakim Wincent"
speakers: ["Donna Henrike Bohrer", "Karolin Frankenberger", "Joakim Wincent"]
quote: "A single business model is no longer an asset. It is a ceiling on potential."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-tier2-09-customer-workarounds"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/what-customer-workarounds-can-reveal-about-your-business-model"
sourceTitle: "What Customer Workarounds Can Reveal About Your Business Model"
---
# "A single business model is ... a ceiling on potential"

> "A single business model is no longer an asset. It is a ceiling on potential."
>
> — [[entity-donna-henrike-bohrer|Donna Henrike Bohrer]], [[entity-karolin-frankenberger|Karolin Frankenberger]] and [[entity-joakim-wincent|Joakim Wincent]] (¶14)

The headline for [[claim-single-model-is-ceiling]] and [[contrarian-single-model-liability]], motivating the [[concept-business-model-portfolio]]. Critics counter that portfolios add real organizational cost (see [[counter-portfolio-complexity]]).

**Related:** [[claim-single-model-is-ceiling]] · [[concept-business-model-portfolio]] · [[quote-right-number-of-models]]