Does Slow Growth Equal Slow Death?

Joel Spolsky article at Inc.com

If real life is anything like the Civilization series by Sid Meier, I would argue - "Yes!" This one quote from a Civ4 strategy guide sums it up best:
And in this, you’ll see a hint of what’s necessary to win on higher difficulties: more aggression.

Back to Joel Spolsky:
I have always believed that there is a natural, organic rate at which a business should grow, and that if we expanded too fast, the wheels would come flying off.

Uh-oh. Are we actually losing our market leadership position because we're careful?

It's entirely possible. Think of it this way: If you're growing at 50 percent a year, and your competitor is growing at 100 percent a year, it takes only eight years before your competitor is 10 times bigger than you. And when it's 10 times bigger than you, it can buy 10 times as much advertising and do 10 times as many projects and have meetings with 10 times as many customers. And you begin to disappear.