What is Growth?

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash‍ ‍

Or perhaps the better question is: how do we define growth?

It’s a word that gets used constantly in business. Founders want it. Investors expect it. Teams are measured by it. But rarely do we pause to ask what it actually means.

After recently finishing Shoe Dog, Phil Knight’s memoir about building Nike, it was evident how clear his definition of growth was. Knight had a bold ambition: create better shoes for athletes and reach as many of them as possible. The market was vast, and so the path forward required scale. Growth meant expansion. More customers, more markets, more production. Bigger was necessary because the mission demanded it.

Reading it alongside Company of One by Paul Jarvis offered a compelling contrast. Jarvis argues that growth is not a universal mandate. Entrepreneurs can decide what growth looks like for them. It doesn’t always have to mean more. Sometimes it means better. More focused. More profitable. More intentional.

Two very different philosophies but both valid.

In our work with creative brands, the conversation often begins with a simple statement: “We want to grow.” But when we delve deeper into that, it quickly becomes clear that growth rarely has a single definition.

For some, it does mean scale like entering new markets, increasing revenue, building a larger team. For others, growth means refining their positioning so the right customers find them more easily. It means increasing margins rather than volume. It means building better systems so the business feels stable instead of reactive. It means regaining creative control.

That’s where clarity becomes essential.

Before strategy, before expansion plans, before marketing investment, we focus on understanding the landscape. Where is the business today? What is working? What is draining energy? What does the data actually say? More importantly, what does the founder want?

Because growth without clarity creates noise. It adds complexity before strengthening foundations.

Creative brands in particular often default to adding more when faced with challenges, for example, more content, more campaigns, more products, more hires. Yet often the real opportunity lies in subtraction. Sharper positioning. Clearer communication. Simpler offers. Better processes.

Growth can be refinement.

It can be the discipline to focus on what truly differentiates the brand. It can be building internal capability so problems are solved creatively rather than reactively. It can be designing a business that supports ambition without overwhelming the people behind it.

Nike needed scale to fulfil its mission. That was the right growth strategy for that vision.

But not every brand needs to become global to be successful. Some are building highly specialised, deeply impactful businesses that are deliberately structured to remain lean. 

And that distinction matters.