Many founders remember the first customers. Fewer remember the moment, a little later, when the same company began to creak: meetings multiplied, roles blurred, and the habits that had carried the team no longer fit. Dr. Axel Jockwer, an expert and practitioner of company growth, has spent more than 25 years around that moment, and his book Growth Pain gives it a map.¹
The idea is easy to like. Success brings change, change brings friction, and friction is a normal companion of growth. Jockwer's promise is that we can see it coming, name it and ease it.²
"There are patterns that repeat, regardless of industry and country."AXEL JOCKWER, 2026⁴
A Map for Growing Pains
At the heart of the book sits the Growth Pain Matrix, which Jockwer first presented in 2015. It assigns typical problems to six organization sizes, usually defined by headcount, across seven management fields. The companion Growth Fix Matrix works like a recipe book: for each pain it offers approaches that may help.²
The book brings both matrices together and walks through the phases of growth, up to the grown company. Jockwer writes to his readers with the informal German "Du", which gives the pages the feel of a conversation with an experienced mentor. One chapter title says it plainly: growth pain is human.⁸
The Book at a Glance
Growth Pain Matrix: first presented in 2015²
6 organization sizes, 7 management fields²
208 pages, Verlag Herder, April 2026¹
Language: German
The Man Behind the Matrix
The matrix grew out of experience, and Jockwer's résumé reads like a growth story in itself. He led marketing at Küchler Sport, then spent 2005 to 2012 as marketing chief at HolidayCheck while the start-up grew into what his website calls the largest German travel portal.⁷ A professorship at EBC Hochschule followed, then a role as managing director at BLACKROLL, and later the co-founding of BOTTIMMO, a marketing platform for real estate brokers.³ Today he advises start-ups and established companies through phases of fast growth.
He knows the pain from the inside. He recalls joining a young company at seven people and leaving it at 350, and at some point along the way, he says, it was no longer the same world.⁴
People in the Middle
What speaks to us most at The Times of Talent is how often the pains are about people. Jockwer observes that strong specialists tend to be promoted into leadership almost automatically.⁴ New leaders, he notes elsewhere, often need time and room to grow into the role.⁵ Size, he adds, is only part of the story: what matters is whether structures, communication and leadership keep pace with the company.⁴
Talent Takeaway
- Name the stage. A short look at where our organization stands today helps us choose the right conversation.
- Prepare new leaders early. A strong specialist stepping into leadership deserves a good conversation about what changes.
- Celebrate those who help others grow. Those of us who develop others make growth lighter for everyone around us.
Soon in English
For now, the book is available in German. Given that Jockwer is certainly right in his belief that the patterns repeat across industries and countries, there is good news for readers around the world: the English edition is ready and will be out soon. We will let our readers know when it is available in English.
Until then, his essay "Growth Pain: why success always also equals a little soreness" gives English readers a first look at the matrix.⁶
Our Take
An insightful, highly practical map for the moment when success starts to feel heavy. It offers a clear matrix, a thoughtful look at the people side of growth, and the welcome reassurance that growth pain belongs to the journey of many companies.
German edition
¹ Jockwer, A. (2026). Growth Pain: Wie Unternehmen schmerzfrei wachsen. Verlag Herder. 208 pages (print length per the Amazon listing). Get the book
² Jockwer, A. (n.d.). Growth Pain: Wachstumsschmerzen. jockwer.com. https://www.jockwer.com/wachstum-1/
³ Premium Leaders Club. (n.d.). Dr. Axel Jockwer. https://www.premium-leaders.club/experten/dr-axel-jockwer/
⁴ Jockwer, A. (2026). Unternehmen scheitern nicht am Wachstum, sondern daran, Wachstum zu organisieren [Press release]. Presseportal. Quotation translated from the German. https://www.presseportal.de/pm/183191/6336602
⁵ Jockwer, A. (2016, December 8). Growth Pain: Warum Erfolg immer auch ein bisschen weh tut. VIR Experten Talk. https://v-i-r.de/2016/12/08/growth-pain-warum-erfolg-immer-auch-ein-bisschen-weh-tut/
⁶ Jockwer, A. (2017, June). Growth Pain: Why success always also equals a little soreness. Medium. https://medium.com/@axeljockwer/growth-pain-why-success-always-also-equals-a-little-soreness-7fe9ea8e32cb
⁷ Jockwer, A. (n.d.). Dr. Axel Jockwer: Workshops, Webinare, Vorträge. jockwer.com. https://www.jockwer.com/
⁸ Verlag Herder. (2026). Growth Pain [Leseprobe]. https://vlbdemo.shopc.nws.luka.de/provider/vlb/978/3/4/9783451037856/9783451037856_leseprobe_01.pdf