Better, not bigger, is the only goal that creates a lasting business

The biggest myth in business is that size equals success. More sales, more people, more offices. Instead of freedom, owners end up with stress, complexity, and less control.

I know, because I’ve been there. Years ago my company was named one of the fastest-growing in Australia. It looked like success, but inside the business was stretched thin and I had less freedom than ever. Growth had created new risks and pressures without making the business stronger. That lesson has stayed with me ever since.

The problem with bigger

Bigger sounds impressive, but it rarely delivers what matters most. Often it comes from ego: the belief that if we reach a certain revenue milestone or headcount, then we will finally be respected. The reality is different. Bigger businesses often spread themselves thin, chasing deals that do not fit or taking on debt that creates fragility.

As Jim Collins warns in How the Mighty Fail, the “undisciplined pursuit of more” is a recipe for decline. Growth pursued without patience or discipline may make a business bigger, but it rarely makes it better.

And the data supports it. Economist Dr. Gary Kunkle found that fast growth actually increases business mortality, particularly when it is fuelled by debt or supply running ahead of demand. In other words, chasing size at any cost shortens the life of your company.

Why Owner Led Companies are different

Corporations and start-ups live under constant external accountability. Boards, shareholders, and investors set the objectives. If a CEO misses, they are replaced. That discipline, however harsh, creates focus.

Owner Led Companies are different. With no board to report to, owners are accountable only to themselves. That freedom is motivating, but it is also dangerous. Without discipline, it is easy to drift from one idea to the next, chasing revenue in the hope it will cover up problems. I have seen too many owners become impulsive risk-takers, trapped by the very freedom they craved.

The case for better 

So what does better look like? Better is about building a business that supports your life, not consumes it. A better business:

• Inspires employees and customers.
• Earns loyalty and trust.
• Focuses on being the best at something, not just doing more.
• Builds financial resilience.
• Energises rather than drains its owner.

When you focus on better, growth often follows anyway — but it is growth built on loyalty and strength.

This is the core message of my book Bigger isn’t better, Better is Better. Bigger may turn heads, but only better creates a business that endures. And when you focus on better, you set yourself up not only for a stronger company but also for a better life by design. By this I mean intentionally shaping your business so it gives you the health, wealth, relationships, and freedom you want.

Measuring better

The simplest way I have found to measure progress is through what I call the 15-15-15 model. Every year, aim to achieve:

• More than 15% annual revenue growth.
• Less than 15% annual employee attrition.
• More than 15% profit.

Each measure matters, but they also depend on one another. If you grow revenue but do not make profit, it is not sustainable. If you are profitable but burning through staff, performance erodes. If you have loyal people and profits but no growth, the business cannot compound. Keep all three in the green and you build strength year after year.

What makes this so powerful is that the effects are compounding. Just like money invested with discipline grows faster over time, businesses that consistently achieve 15-15-15 compound into something far greater than the sum of their parts. You not only survive the setbacks that wipe out less disciplined firms, you build momentum that creates lasting advantage.

The mindset shift

Reaching this point requires a change in how you lead. Owners must evolve from being impulsive risk-takers to what I call strategic executors: leaders who combine discipline and patience. Strategic executors resist the lure of quick wins and focus on compounding resilience.

It isn’t easy. Freedom without accountability makes it tempting to chase the next shiny opportunity. But real freedom comes from structure: a clear strategy, an operating system, and the discipline to stay the course.

Better builds lasting freedom

In the end, the question is not whether you can make your business bigger. The real question is whether you can make it better. Bigger might feel rewarding in the short term, but better is the only goal that compounds into freedom, wealth, and a life you actually want to live.

That is the shift I made in my own journey. It is the shift I encourage every owner to make: a business that gives you the power to design the life you want, and the strength to keep it.

Written by Brad Giles. Have you read?
Richest Countries. World’s Richest People (Billionaires).
Global Financial Centres Index. World’s Richest Royals.