What do you think, is bigger better?

It certainly seems that many people think so. Most business leaders that I have consulted with indicate that their objective is to grow their business – to make it bigger. The implied understanding is that if it is bigger, then it is better.

Our culture seems to have bought into this philosophy as well: bigger houses, bigger trucks, bigger boats, bigger offices, bigger bank accounts, bigger TVs, bigger muscles, and other bigger body parts.

I believe that’s a fallacy though.

A number of years ago my former company was ranked by Profit Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada. Over the course of 5 years we experienced growth of somewhere around 800%. We were certainly far bigger than we were 5 years earlier, but were we better?

I remember sitting down with my accountant. He looked at my numbers and said, “Well, you are bigger, but you’re not necessarily better.” We were still profitable, but not as profitable as we were before. He also asked me how I was enjoying the business – was I enjoying it more or less than before?

When I first started out my objective was definitely bigger, but after experiencing some significant growth and that particular insight from my accountant, I began to realize the fallacy of my belief. I finally realized a critical truth that I think all leaders could certainly benefit from:

“Bigger isn’t necessarily better, only better is better.”

I think a preferable goal to being “bigger”, is being “better”. If we are better, we could certainly become bigger, but if we become bigger we are not necessarily better.

The trick is defining “better” and then measuring it. It is far easier to define bigger and measure that. Bigger means more revenue, more staff, more square footage, more profit, etc. – all of which can easily be measured.

How do you define “better” though?

That is something that only you can do for you. Increased profit margins? Higher customer satisfaction? Less customer complaints? Happier staff? More efficient and effective staff? On budget? On time? Less staff turnover? More time working on the business than in it? A real sense of community amongst your team?

How about feeling overwhelmed less often? More time with family? More laughter? Less anger? Greater harmony and synergy within your leadership team? How about having a leadership team of people you trust? Launching a new creative venture each quarter?

The point is, becoming “better” can be defined in myriad ways.

I would encourage you to pause, stop, rest, and step off the treadmill of “bigger is better” for a moment and think through what “better” looks like for you and your team. That would be a very interesting ideation session on a Friday afternoon over some beverages and munchies with your team:

“What does becoming better look like for this team? What does becoming better look like for you and your position?”

I would go into the session having first thought through things for yourself, but don’t tell your team what you think – let them speak first. And, ensure that you let them know in advance what the agenda is for your session, and the questions you will be working through so the “slow cookers” have time to think through the questions and they can contribute along with the “microwave” thinkers.

This simple shift in thinking can profoundly affect your organization and your life. Setting your objective to become better will force you to define and work through your values, and then intentionally work toward accomplishing them in a fashion that you can actually measure. Becoming bigger is certainly easier, but becoming better will make you a far more wealthy person – and you can define what “wealthy” looks like for you. It might not have anything to do with money.

No, bigger is not better, only better is better.