“Wales doesn’t have a productivity problem because its businesses aren’t trying hard enough. It has a productivity problem because we’ve spent a generation measuring the wrong thing.” True?

For years, economic success in Wales has been framed by many through a simple lens: how many jobs have we created, and how many have we sustained? That focus is understandable. Jobs matter. Employment matters. Social justice matters. But somewhere along the way, have we allowed those priorities to crowd out a more fundamental question?

Are we actually creating value?

Jobs alone do not equal productivity, and if we continue to conflate the two, we will continue to get the same results? i.e. high effort, modest outcomes, and a persistent gap with the rest of the UK.

I see this question being grappled with every day working with SMEs across Wales. These are not businesses lacking ambition or capability. They are businesses operating rationally within the system we’ve created for them. Over the past few years, through Brexit, a pandemic and ongoing economic uncertainty, most have shifted into survival mode. They are focused on maintaining what they have, keeping staff employed, keeping wages paid and keeping the lights on.

In that context, productivity becomes a secondary concern. That isn’t because it isn’t important, but because it isn’t immediate.

And yet, the irony is this: the very policies designed to support these businesses are reinforcing that behaviour. When success is measured by jobs created or sustained, we incentivise stability over growth, and activity over impact. Do we therefore reward businesses for standing still?

Is that might be politically convenient, but it is economically limiting thing to do?

Should we be more honest about the trade-offs. Improving productivity often means doing more with less. It can mean fewer jobs in the short term as businesses become more efficient. That’s an uncomfortable reality, particularly in a country where economic inactivity and regional inequality remain real challenges.

But avoiding that conversation doesn’t solve the problem. It simply delays it.

The alternative is to accept a permanent position below the productivity curve; to decide, implicitly or explicitly, that “good enough” for Wales is a lower baseline than elsewhere. Is that the right political choice?

If we are serious about changing this trajectory, how do we redefine success?

Let’s start with moving beyond just counting job numbers and start measuring their value. We should be asking what the output per worker really is, what the quality of those jobs looks like, and what long-term return we are generating from the investment being made.

That doesn’t mean abandoning our commitment to employment or social inclusion – quite the opposite. A more productive economy is ultimately a more sustainable one, capable of paying higher wages, generating greater tax revenues, and supporting better public services.

We just need to revise our point of focus.

At the moment, there is a risk that all of us try to do everything. Every sector is a priority. Every outcome matters. And as a result, nothing truly moves the dial.

If everything is a priority, nothing is.

We need to be more deliberate. That means making choices about where we invest, what we measure, and what we are prepared to trade off. It means having the confidence to back sectors where Wales can genuinely compete, and the discipline to align skills, infrastructure, and policy behind those choices.

It also means changing the narrative.

Too often, the story we tell about Wales is one of limitation, of challenges, of gaps, of things we lack. But productivity is not just an economic concept; it is a reflection of ambition. If we continue to define ourselves by what we are not, we will struggle to become what we could be.

There is another way to frame this.

Productivity is not about abstract metrics or economic theory. It is about taking personal responsibility for the contribution we can make every day to better ourselves and those around us. It is about every business, every organisation, and every individual asking a simple question: how can I create more value with what I have?

That is not a policy lever. That is a mindset.

Government has a role to play, absolutely, in setting direction, aligning incentives, and creating the conditions for growth. But ultimately, productivity will not be solved by institutions alone. It will be driven by the decisions people make every day in their businesses and their workplaces.

We need to be confident that we are incentivising the right decisions for the right reasons, and assessing them with the right measures of success.