It is considered whether $ L\,{=}\,\limsup_{n\to\infty} n \snormo{T^{n+1}-T^n}\,\lt\,\infty$ implies that the operator $T$ is power-bounded. It is shown that this is so if $L\lt1/e$, but it does not necessarily hold if $L\,{=}\,1/e$. As part of the methods, a result of Esterle is improved, showing that if $\sigma(T)\,{=}\,\{1\}$ and $T\,{\ne}\,I$, then $\liminf_{n\to\infty} n \snormo{T^{n+1}-T^n} \ge 1/e$. The constant $1/e$ is sharp. Finally, a way to create many generalizations of Esterle's result is described, and also many conditions are given on an operator which imply that its norm is equal to its spectral radius.
