Publications
Studies, playbooks, reports, articles, and practical frameworks from the Institute for Real Growth.
Playbook
The Aspirational Role of Business
The fourth Zoom session of the IRG and Oxford program asks what purpose is for, and what it takes to make it guide decisions rather than decorate them.
Article
The Age of Solitude: Why People Are Choosing to Be Alone
Time spent alone rose sharply between 2010 and 2023, and researchers find the shift is largely voluntary. This essay argues that brands helped remove the friction that used
Framework
Roots and Heritage: Grounding a Growth Story in Where the Company Came From
The opening development session of the IRG100 program argues that a company's origins are a source of advantage, and asks leaders to reconnect with them before they reimagine
Playbook
Why Transformations Fail, and Kotter’s Eight Steps
The sixth Zoom session of the IRG and Oxford program works through the human reasons transformation efforts fail and the change process participants are asked to use.
Playbook
The CMO and the CSO: A Partnership That Almost Nobody Has Working
A playbook on why marketing and sustainability leaders struggle to work together, built on 20 chief sustainability officer interviews, and what the two roles should do about it.
Report
The C in CEO Stands for Culture
A case study of Microsoft under Satya Nadella, from the rigid company he inherited to a growth mindset built on listening, empathy, and partnerships with former rivals.
Framework
Foster Interdependency: Organizing Across Functions, Industries and Government
The seventh session of the IRG program with the Oxford Future of Marketing Initiative covers systemic change, and how much more connected the leading organizations are internally and
Study
AI Efficiency Is Table Stakes: What 253 Growth Leaders Say Comes Next
The 2025 Humanized Growth in the Era of AI study, on where AI is expected to build advantage, how it creates value for four stakeholder groups, and what
Report
The Board’s Roadmap for Humanized Growth
The Impact Study read for corporate boards: what to demand of the CEO, how to govern differently, and who needs to be in the room.