One concept from Harvard’s Sustainable Business Strategy course that’s stuck with me is the S-Curve of innovation. At first glance, it’s just a graph. But in reality, it maps how entire industries evolve — and why companies either adapt or get left behind.
What is the S-Curve?
The S-Curve shows how businesses progress through:
Experimentation: where new ideas are tested, often without immediate returns.
Takeoff: when those ideas scale fast, often with major financial upside.
Maturity: when growth slows, innovation plateaus, and disruption becomes inevitable.
We’ve seen this before: Blockbuster during the streaming revolution. Taxi companies during the Uber boom. And now, many traditional industries are facing the threat of climate change.
Why this matters now
One of the central lessons from the course is that climate change accelerates disruption. Industries built on assumptions that natural and social capital are “free” will face massive adjustments. As those costs become “real”, through regulations, scarcity, or social pressure, mature companies will either jump to a new curve or fade into irrelevance.
What does it mean to “jump the curve”?
It means choosing experimentation when you could stay comfortable. It means investing in a long-term sustainable model before short-term pressures force your hand. And it means aligning your business strategy with environmental and social value, not just financial return.
Companies that recognize these shifts early can build new models that are resilient, regenerative, and still profitable.
Final thought
The S-Curve isn’t just a concept; it’s a mirror. What stage is your company in? Are you optimizing the old way of doing things, or imagining what comes next?
— Morena
This article expands on smart investment concepts from The LIFE Programme: Where Climate Action Meets Smart Investment.
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