There’s no sugarcoating it: leading a business is tough right now. Recent policy and cost changes – including the latest Budget measures – have added fresh pressure: higher labour costs through the National Living Wage increase, rising business rates and limited relief on energy tariffs. All of this lands at a moment when consumer confidence is already fragile.

Yet amid this double whammy, it’s striking that the businesses coping best aren’t necessarily the biggest or best resourced. They’re the ones experimenting. Testing new operating models. Exploring different ways to reach customers. Developing propositions that meet people where they are.

So why isn’t everyone doing the same?

Choose ambition over efficiency

In reality, most firms never make it past survival mode. Their energy is absorbed by today’s problems, leaving little room to explore what might come next.

But there’s a deeper issue at play, one that eclipses the daily battles. Too many organisations no longer have a clear view of what growth actually means.

The transactional nature of business still dominates thinking. It shapes a familiar narrative: more customers mean more profit, which equals more growth. This blinkered focus on scaling transactions, driven by relentless efficiency, keeps the corporate machine moving.

But small thinking only ever delivers short-term gains. Over time, it drains energy, erodes morale and leaves cultures running on empty. Big thinking is what creates sustained, long-term growth.

Once you shift your focus, it becomes clear: there are better ways to grow.

Recognise the new language of growth

Instead of charging headlong towards profit-driven growth, businesses need to work backwards from ambition.

What do you actually want to be known for? What outcomes matter most?

For some, that might mean building diverse and resilient revenue streams. For others, creating a positive employee culture, or adding meaningful value for customers and communities. Growth doesn’t have to mean just one thing.

Duolingo is a powerful example. The company has always prioritised positive impact over maximising short-term returns. Its core product remains free, enabling millions of learners, particularly in low-income countries, to learn a language and open up work and education opportunities.

Despite fewer than 10% of users paying for a subscription, Duolingo’s market capitalisation reached $14.25bn by March 2025. It’s clear proof that challenging traditional, transactional views of growth isn’t something businesses should fear.

Embrace human-centred innovation

With the UK’s growth forecast downgraded following the Budget, the year ahead is likely to be another demanding one.

Leadership in these conditions requires clarity of vision, and an unwavering focus on people.

When teams are empowered to understand customer needs and develop solutions around them, growth becomes repeatable. Technology plays an important role, of course, but it should amplify human capability, not replace it.

In a world where algorithms can write copy, generate code and analyse data at speed, real competitive advantage comes from human edge: empathy, creativity, emotional intelligence, ethical judgement and the ability to inspire. These are qualities AI can’t replicate.

Ignoring this balance in the rush to automate carries serious risks. Systems that degrade customer experience (long waits, complex chatbots, inaccessible processes) frustrate users, exclude vulnerable groups and destroy trust. It’s no coincidence that UK customer satisfaction is at its lowest since 2010.

More perceptive businesses understand that people still crave human interaction. Nationwide has committed to keeping all branches open until 2030, bucking sector trends and forcing their rivals to backtrack previous cut backs.

Similarly, Starbucks continues to invest in in-store experiences, keeping baristas and store teams central to customer interactions by designing stores (and even cocktail bars) to encourage connection and community.

These organisations treat people as people, not just resources. They balance productivity with wellbeing, and reinvest efficiency gains into innovation that genuinely improves lives.

Innovate with growth in mind

Growth demands courage and flexibility.

Not every experiment will succeed, but every one offers insight. Clinging to outdated models invites stagnation. Learning and exploration give teams the confidence to chart new paths forward.

Toys R Us is a cautionary tale. Once dominant across UK high streets it failed to adapt and was overtaken by competitors willing to think differently, ultimately leading to its closure in 2018. Now, it’s making a significant comeback through partnerships with WHSmith, opening shop-in-shop sections that blend nostalgic classics with modern toys and focus on in-store experience.

Similarly, in the early 2020s, Western Union failed to adapt to consumer behaviour and lost ground to competitors such as Wise and PayPal by relying on physical locations while customers moved online.

Others have shown what’s possible. MedX recognised its clinical diagnosis tool, Ada, wasn’t gaining traction with healthcare professionals. With clinicians overstretched, the business pivoted to a consumer-facing healthcare app. Downloads surged to 13 million within months.

When innovation is embedded across the organisation, grounded in real human needs, a different kind of growth emerges. One that moves beyond relentless revenue chasing and towards something more resilient, more meaningful and more valuable for everyone.

Jenny Burns is CEO at Magnetic