Businesses increasingly realize that significant growth opportunities are unlikely to come from incremental change. Instead they must address the challenges of novel product and service innovation, entering unfamiliar geographical and product markets, and confronting new rivals.

When the organization ventures into such untried territory, managing for growth becomes an exercise in dealing with uncertainty. Corporations must make decisions about their growth plans while facing high levels of unpredictability:  Will our business be commoditized or not? What unanticipated technologies could disrupt our plans? Will an unexpected competitor enter our market? How quickly will our existing products mature in the market?