Why do some people build wealth faster and more effectively than others? This question usually provokes two answers: “they were lucky” or “they had a better start.” In his new book, Dr Grzegorz M. Malinowski from the Department of Economics at Kozminski University proposes a third perspective. What makes the difference is not so much the starting point, but the understanding and consistent activation of mechanisms that drive growth on their own. Importantly, the author argues that these mechanisms are not limited to money alone.
Accumulation for the Consistent
The strength of the book The Key to Accumulation. How to Set the Snowball in Motion in Finance, Career and Business lies in its demystification of the concept of accumulation. Dr Malinowski presents it as a broad phenomenon that encompasses financial capital, knowledge, skills, reputation, relationships, and even advantages that emerge within organisations and markets. As a result, the reader is offered not only a story about interest rates, but also an explanation of how the world works in practice: why small advantages, repeated over time, become large, and why a lack of patience costs more than we usually notice in the short term.
The most interesting moments come when the author moves beyond the intuitive advice to “save and invest.” He describes mechanisms that function like invisible engines of growth: the snowball effect, feedback loops, and ratchets. The last of these may sound technical, but the idea is simple and deeply business-oriented. It refers to solutions that help preserve achieved progress and prevent a return to the starting point. In finance, this can take the form of automated saving. In personal development, it may be the habit of systematic learning. In organisations, it involves processes that turn a one-off success into a repeatable standard.
In practical terms, the book is therefore about designing a system, not about one-off bursts of effort. Accumulation rarely looks spectacular at the beginning. At first, it is almost invisible, then stable, and only later does it become impressive. This is the moment when many people confuse effect with cause. They see the pace of growth, but not the preceding years of consistent action.
For those who want to build something durable
Dr Malinowski’s book will be particularly useful for people who want to build something lasting: wealth, a company, an expert career, a collection, or even a personal brand. It speaks to anyone who has ever felt that they are doing a lot, while the outcome remains “disproportionately small.” The author helps to organise thinking by distinguishing between actions that deliver a one-off result and those that activate cumulative growth.
It is also worth highlighting the book’s interdisciplinary approach. While firmly rooted in finance and economics, the analysis freely draws on biology, anthropology, and sociology. As a result, accumulation ceases to be merely a mathematical model and becomes a phenomenon that can be recognised in the world and consciously put to use.
