The Progress Economy

The progress economy comes from the personal experiences and challenges I faced starting-up and running innovation for a global account.

Depending on how you measure, I was successful (growing innovation pipeline from 0 to 29 items); and I failed (we didn’t impact the needle much).

I wanted to know why.

The glimmer came in the closing moments of an MBA I undertook to hunt for answers. In my final project I was nudged towards service contracts..from there I fell into service-dominant logic..and eventually the realisation that we hunt value, but that’s hard to define and action. Years of research and thinking and I now believe we hunt progress and those that can help us – value is a perception of progress comparisons.

It is progress we need to focus on.

What I the progress economy?

The Progress Economy is a strategic framework that redefines value creation, innovation, and customer behaviour around a single unifying principle: progress. Rather than focusing on products, services, or transactions, it views economic and business activity through the lens of helping Progress Seekers make meaningful progress in their lives.

At its core, the Progress Economy makes several key shifts:

1. From Value to Progress:
   It reframes “value” not as something delivered or exchanged, but as the outcome of progress experienced by the Seeker. Value is subjective, emergent, and context-dependent – determined only when a Seeker makes meaningful progress.
2. From Customers to Progress Seekers:
   Instead of treating people as consumers or users, the Progress Economy treats them as individuals or organizations actively pursuing progress. Their goals, constraints, and contexts define the basis for engagement.
3. From Offers to Progress-Making Activities:
   Businesses aren’t just offering solutions—they are Progress Helpers. Their role is to support, enable, or accelerate the Seeker’s progress through tailored activities, capabilities, and interactions.
4. From Transactions to Relationships of Co-Creation:
   Value emerges not in the moment of exchange, but over time, as the Seeker and Helper interact, adapt, and evolve toward the Seeker’s desired state of progress.

In this model, progress becomes the true unit of economic activity, and success is measured by how effectively a business enables meaningful, perceivable, and sustainable progress for its Seekers. The Progress Economy provides a lens to rethink growth, innovation, sales, and even organisational purpose – aligning them around the real source of value: the progress people and organisations are trying to make.

The progress economy is a work “in discovery”. So, please check back regularly to see the latest updates.