Are you leading — or just managing the noise?
As someone who’s built businesses, mentored startups, and navigated transitions across four decades, I’ve discovered a timeless truth:
Leadership isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what truly matters.
In a world of endless pings, meetings, dashboards, and decisions, it’s dangerously easy to confuse busyness with impact. That’s why I swear by one principle:
The 80:20 Rule — also known as the Pareto Principle — which reminds us:
20% of your actions create 80% of your results.
“Sometimes, success is not about what you add, but what you subtract.”
— Page 45, Achieving Success by Failing More
Let’s explore how to apply this to leadership, career transitions, and your legacy.
You can spend hours sweeping leaves and watering plants randomly.
But real growth? That comes from 20% of the effort — choosing the right seeds, enriching the soil, and watering with intention.
Leadership is no different. The trick is not to do everything at once.
The trick is to do the few things that matter most — really well.
When I led a warehousing business unit in Reliance Logistics, we were a flurry of activity. Every team had a new idea to catalyse our growth. We were expanding into new towns and cities, but growth wasn’t exponential.
Then we asked, ‘What’s our 20%?’
We discovered our growth came from two areas:
Our real growth came from just two things:
• A scalable distribution network
• Stronger relationships with top (cargo owners) transportation clients
We trimmed the rest. Within eighteen months, we went from busy to breakthrough — building a $20 million revenue engine. Two decades ago, in a logistics services business, that was remarkable.
Focus creates clarity. Clarity fuels growth.
Audit your current priorities. Most of them don’t deserve your attention.
Tool: Use the Impact vs. Effort Matrix
Prioritise High Impact Low Effort tasks. Drop distractions.
In the early days of Maritime World Services and the Maritime Nation India trade show, I wore every hat.
Founder. Editor. Host. Moderator. Advisory Head (M&A).
We delivered two great shows. But I was drained.
The satisfaction? Nowhere close to what I found in mentoring startups and investing in founders.
So I gave it up — even though it was working.
Even success can become a distraction.
Let go of the good to chase the great.
Tool: Try the Start–Stop–Continue framework.
What will you stop, start, and continue to align with your highest contribution?
When I left the corporate world to dive into startups, it felt like being dropped into the deep end of opportunity — so many doors. There is so little clarity.
I was inundated with invitations to Pitch Days, Jury Panels, and Meet-the-Founder events, and I couldn’t find time to read and reflect on the underlying trends.
I didn’t want to become a “conference junkie” chasing exposure over insight.
So, I stepped back, reflected, and focused on quality over quantity.
I returned to the 80:20 Rule:
1. Focus on deep founder relationships
2. Choose selective due diligence
3. Offer strategic, not operational, mentorship
Everything else was noise.
Transitions magnify distractions.
Choose 2–3 goals. Map only the actions that move you forward.
Tool: Try the Transition Priority List.
Match your actions to your goals. Discard the rest.
Let me tell you about another Raj. A brilliant startup founder I mentored.
He wrote code, packed products, picked snacks, and still tried to fundraise.
He was proud of “owning everything.”
Until it almost broke him — and his business.
Doing it all isn’t leadership. It’s control.
Amplify your unique value. Delegate the rest.
Tool: Use the Delegation Decision Tree:
1. Can I eliminate this?
2. Can I automate it?
3. Can I delegate it?
4. If not — does it belong to my top 20%?
In my book, I share:
“My failures have been spectacular — and so have my successes.”
Early in my career, I missed a highly sought-after overseas posting during the initial screening process. It crushed me.
However, that Failure prompted me to deepen my aerospace logistics experience by working in an aircraft and helicopter overhaul factory, which ultimately became my superpower during my subsequent assignment overseas.
Failure edits your life better than success.
Subtraction is not quitting. It’s growth.
Tool: Keep a “Failure Reflection Journal”
After every setback, write down:
1. What did I learn?
2. What will I stop doing?
At APM Terminals, one business unit leader resisted a pricing shift. Instead of convincing him, I asked:
“Which of your business segments drives close to 80% of your profit?”
He saw it. He changed — no pushing needed.
People don’t resist change. They resist confusion.
Help your team uncover their 20%.
Tool: Run a Reverse Brainstorm:
1. Ask your team: “What are we doing that doesn’t matter anymore?”
The answers will change your direction.
📣 What You Can Do This Week
1. Audit your calendar. Circle the meetings that drove real outcomes.
2. Write your “Stop 3.” Choose three tasks to drop.
3. Protect your “Three Rocks.” Set your week’s top 3 priorities — and defend them.
4. Coach your team. Teach them the 80:20 Rule.
Busyness is not a badge. Focus is.
The best leaders don’t do more.
They do what matters — better.
Whether you’re leading a startup, pivoting your portfolio, or transitioning careers, the 80:20 Rule is your secret weapon.
Don’t aim to do it all.
Aim to do the few things that will matter ten years from now.
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Over four decades, I’ve built and scaled ventures across logistics, infrastructure, consulting, and investing. Today, I work with leaders, founders, and enterprises in transition — helping them unlock clarity, build impact, and shift from busyness to real value.
If you’re navigating a shift and looking for an experienced sounding board, I’d love to connect.