Growth That Creates and Protects Value

In “A Growth Strategy that Creates and Protects Value,” Harvard Business Review authors David A. Hofmann and John J. Sumanth argue that innovation should not be treated only as new products, new markets, or breakthrough R&D. Their broader message for business leaders: sustainable growth requires teams to pursue new value while also protecting the value already embedded in operations, customer relationships, capabilities, and core responsibilities. The article was published by HBR on April 1, 2024.

Executive Summary

The central idea is simple but powerful: leaders need an “offense and defense” approach to growth. Creating value means encouraging experimentation, innovation, and smart risk-taking. Protecting value means preserving what already works, reducing avoidable risk, and defending the organization’s strengths. HBR frames this as a dual leadership mindset that should exist at every level of the organization, not just among senior executives or innovation teams.

For business leaders, the article is a reminder that growth strategies often fail when they overemphasize novelty while underinvesting in reliability, discipline, and resilience. The best leaders help their teams ask two questions at once: “What new value can we create?” and “What existing value must we protect?”

Major Takeaways

1. Innovation is broader than invention.
Innovation is not limited to new products or market expansion. It can also come from improving processes, reducing waste, strengthening execution, and finding new ways to preserve value already created.

2. Growth needs both experimentation and stewardship.
A company that only experiments may create unnecessary risk. A company that only protects the status quo may stagnate. Leaders need both mindsets operating together.

3. Value protection is a growth activity.
Protecting customer trust, operational quality, brand equity, institutional knowledge, and core capabilities is not “maintenance work.” It is part of strategic growth.

4. Leaders must make the dual mindset visible.
Teams follow what leaders measure, reward, and discuss. If leaders only celebrate launches, revenue wins, or bold bets, employees may overlook quieter but essential value-protection work.

5. Growth becomes more durable when it is continuous.
The article connects with HBR’s broader growth theme: companies need repeatable systems, not one-off wins. HBR’s related work on consistent growth argues that sustained performers build an integrated growth engine rather than chase short-term tactics.

Talking Points for Business Leaders

Use this article to spark leadership discussion around questions like:

“How are we balancing innovation with risk management?”
“Where are we creating new value, and where might we be unintentionally eroding existing value?”
“Do our incentives reward both growth and stewardship?”
“Are frontline managers empowered to identify value-creation opportunities?”
“What parts of our business are worth protecting because they create trust, differentiation, or resilience?”

Reflection Questions

1. Where is your organization over-indexed: creating new value or protecting existing value?
2. Which assets, relationships, or capabilities are most critical to protect?
3. What forms of innovation are being overlooked because they are not tied to new products or markets?
4. Do your performance metrics recognize risk reduction, quality improvement, and operational resilience?
5. How can leaders make “protecting value” feel strategic rather than defensive?

Potential Action Items

Start by mapping your major business activities into two categories: value creation and value protection. Then identify gaps, tensions, and opportunities between the two. For example, a new customer acquisition push may create revenue but strain service quality; a compliance improvement may protect reputation while also improving customer confidence.

Next, update leadership routines. Add two recurring questions to business reviews: “What value did we create?” and “What value did we protect?” Finally, align incentives so teams are recognized not only for launching new initiatives but also for strengthening the systems, relationships, and capabilities that make growth sustainable.

Recommended Similar Articles

“Create a System to Grow Consistently” — Paul Blase and Paul Leinwand, HBR
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“A New Approach to Strategic Innovation” — Haijian Si, Christoph Loch, and Stelios Kavadias, HBR
Helpful for connecting innovation projects more directly to strategic goals.

“4 Pillars of Innovation Every Organization Needs” — Stephen Wunker, HBR
A practical companion piece on how leaders can create mechanisms that help the right ideas advance.

“How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?” — HBR
Relevant for leadership teams debating whether their growth ambitions match their operational capacity.