OU on the BBC: The Bottom Line - Growing, growing, gone

Evan Davis is joined in the studio by three top guests to talk about organic growth and information technology disasters.

Business owners have two main ways to make their companies bigger. One way is to expand incrementally, bit by bit, over time. The other much faster way is to buy up your competitors. In this edition of the programme, the panel weighs up the merits of organic growth versus growing by acquisition. When does it make sense to go slow and steady, and when do bosses decide to go on a buying spree to expand?

Also up for debate - IT disasters. We have become so reliant on information technology that it causes serious problems when, for whatever reason, the computers cease to work. Our guests tell their horror stories and offer some solutions for tackling IT projects.

Evan's guests are Luke Johnson, chairman of Risk Capital Partners; Vincent de Rivaz, chief executive of EDF Energy; and Jacqueline de Rojas, UK and Ireland vice president of McAfee.

First broadcast: Saturday 21 Feb 2009 on BBC News

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