Build, Borrow, or Buy

Introduction

Two Funerals and a Wedding

There is something broken in the way many businesses obtain the resources they need to grow. Most companies are very good at identifying what those new resources are, and nearly all of them take that challenge seriously. And yet we have seen company after company—even highly regarded ones—get into trouble as they grow, because they paid much less attention to the right way to obtain resources than to the task of identifying them. Companies have underestimated the importance of making a well-considered decision about the right pathways to growth: whether to build, borrow, or buy. As a result, they go about choosing carelessly, without discipline, diligence, or guiding principles. Very often, in fact, they ...