16/07/2026
A few years ago, if you'd asked me how I defined success, my answer would probably have included growth, achievement and financial performance.
Today, after years of working with business owners, serving on boards and helping organisations navigate sustainability and change, I find myself asking different questions.
What are we trying to achieve?
Who benefits?
And at what point is enough actually enough?
One of the things I've become increasingly interested in is why change can be so difficult, even when the evidence is compelling. In my experience, it rarely comes down to a lack of information. More often, it comes down to what people feel they might have to give up. A familiar way of working. A long-held belief. A definition of success that has served them well for decades.
That applies just as much to businesses as it does to individuals.
Some of the most interesting conversations I'm having with leaders right now aren't about growing faster. They're about building resilient organisations, creating long-term value and finding ways to succeed without assuming that more is always better.
I don't see these as sustainability questions.
I see them as leadership questions.
And I suspect they will become increasingly important as leaders navigate a future shaped by climate change, resource constraints and changing stakeholder expectations.
I'm curious whether your own definition of success has changed over the course of your career.
