Throughout his storied career, Aswath Damodaran has searched for the universal key to demystify corporate finance and valuation. Now, at last, he offers the groundbreaking answer to readers everywhere.

It turns out there is a corporate lifecycle very much like our own -- with unique stages of growth and decline. And just as we must learn to act our age, so too must companies.

By better understanding how corporations age and the characteristics of each stage of their lifecycle, we can unlock the secrets behind any businesses behavior and optimize our management and investment decisions accordingly.

In Aswath Damodaran's The Corporate Life Cycle, readers will learn--

• What markers tell where a company falls on its corporate lifecycle, and crucial insights for managers as they navigate the different stages
• Why the shape and timing of life cycles varies across different industries
• When transition points pose special challenges to companies--and strategies to conquer them
• How differences in investment philosophies, in particular the divide between growth and value investing, should lead investors towards companies at different lifecycle stages