The Growth Paradox
Is our obsession with growth holding businesses back?
As I’ve been navigating my way through the wild business landscape of 2025, I've been reflecting on a fundamental question: Is our obsession with growth actually holding businesses back?
In conversations with business founders and leaders this year, I've noticed a recurring theme: the relentless pursuit of growth in an increasingly uncertain economic landscape. Many businesses are still looking at growth as the solution to their challenges, but in reality demand is shrinking in many sectors, while employment costs and expectations are soaring.
This observation cuts to the heart of a tension so many businesses are facing. Living in a capitalist society has conditioned us to view growth as the ultimate indicator of success – yet pursuing growth for growth's sake is leading to unsustainable practices and causing burnout, which will ultimately, of course, diminish returns.
A Shift in Perspective
So, what to do? If we can’t keep gunning for growth, where do we go next? The answer is simple, yet seemingly almost impossible for most business owners to get their heads around. Focus on creating better businesses, rather than bigger ones.
Some of the most successful businesses right now aren’t fussed about growth. They’re figuring out what they need to do to provide more value, now and in the future. This perspective shifts the conversation from expansion to enhancement, from scale to substance.
The Productivity Imperative
If we want to redirect our focus from growth to value, we need to talk about productivity – doing more with what you already have. In today’s world, productivity isn't about working harder but working smarter. It’s about:
Creating clear strategies, expectations and agreements with individuals and teams to create accountability
Measuring performance not in averages but in value delivered to individual clients
Investing in tools and technologies that automate mundane tasks and free up human talent
This approach to productivity can be transformative. By creating radical clarity and looking at what you can automate and strip out, you allow humans to concentrate on adding the value that only they can add.
The Way Forward: Better, Not Just Bigger
So what does this mean for business leaders today? Here are a few things worth considering:
1. Keep your existing clients happy. It sounds obvious, and it’s how I’ve always done business, but measuring and improving your performance for each specific client is far more effective that measuring new business wins or social media engagements
2. Create clear agreements (not just expectations). This works on two levels: setting agreements with individuals and teams establishes accountability, and creating crystal clear scopes of work with clients ensures that everyone is on the same page from the get go and no one has false hopes.
3. Invest in your brand strategy and operations. Is head count really a marker of success anymore? Rather than adding more people, focus on reviewing your brand strategy and optimising your operations. Then decide whether you need more people to get the job done.
4. Value wisdom over knowledge – AI is game changing for so many organisations, but it doesn’t have wisdom. Never forget that experience and judgement is much more valuable than raw information.
I've been particularly interested in the concept of "Donut Economics" – an economic model focused not on endless growth but on ensuring nobody falls through the hole in the middle while respecting planetary boundaries. This model suggests that better indeed leads to growth, but it's a different kind of growth – one that's sustainable and creates value for all stakeholders.
Riding Out Uncertainty
As we navigate uncertain economic times in 2025, perhaps the question isn't how do we grow? but rather how do we create more value?
By focusing on being better rather than just bigger, we might just find ourselves building businesses that not only weather current challenges, but emerge stronger and more resilient on the other side.
My big, controversial opinion for this month is that only once businesses get over their obsession with growth can they make real progress. This isn't about abandoning ambition – it's about redefining what success looks like in a world where resources are finite, and human wellbeing matters more than ever.