Good Morning Reader
It has been four weeks since I last wrote a newsletter.
Why? Because I took a break.
Not just a small pause, but multiple holidays across three continents.
Time with friends. Time with family. Time with my wonderful wife.
And in that space, one phrase kept surfacing in my spirit, one I am taking with me into the rest of 2025: less is more.
We live in a culture that shouts the opposite.
More meetings.
More metrics.
More doing.
More chasing.
But more does not always mean better.
A farmer can scatter seed across acres, but only a fraction of the land, about 20%, is fertile enough to produce the harvest. The rest looks busy but produces nothing.
It is not the quantity of land that matters. It is the quality of the soil.
That is why less is more is not just a catchy phrase, it is a principle of wisdom.
Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy write in 10x is Better than 2x that true transformation comes not from doing more, but from focusing relentlessly on the 20% that creates extraordinary results. The difficulty? It requires courage. Because focusing on the 20% means abandoning the 80%, the work that feels safe, familiar and even validating, but is ultimately unfruitful.
And that is where so many leaders get stuck.
I cannot tell you how many executives I work with, across industries, who wrestle with the same tension: How do I ensure I am not spread too thin?
They feel the need to be present in every meeting.
Every decision.
Every conversation.
But the truth is, less of you is needed everywhere, and more of you is required in the right places.
And this is where our 3U formula comes alive.
The first step, Unlearn, is the most uncomfortable. Because before you can focus, you have to let go. You have to unlearn the myths that have been drilled into you:
That presence equals impact.
That saying yes proves your value.
That busyness is the same as importance.
None of these are true. They are habits of fear disguised as productivity.
When you unlearn them, you create space. And in that space, you begin to unlock the clarity of where your presence truly multiplies results, where your voice actually shifts the room, where your time has disproportionate impact.
From there, you Unleash, not more activity, but more power. More precision. More freedom to lead, rather than chase.
Because the leaders who do not learn to unlearn will forever confuse motion with progress.
And I am not just writing this to you. I am writing it to myself.
Personally, I want to have more conversations and do more work with executives and scale-up founders who are navigating change and complexity. I want to moderate more panels, lead more fireside chats, and speak on more stages. I want to complete my book and release it into the world in 2026.
I have never shared those goals publicly before, but part of “less is more” is about clarity. It is about naming what you do want to do, and having the courage to say it out loud.
When you share it, others can not only hold you accountable but also open doors you never imagined. If you can help or make an introduction, please email me. But more importantly, take this as a reminder to be clear and intentional about your own “less is more.”
So let me ask you directly:
- Where in your life are you confusing motion with progress?
- What activities are keeping you busy but not fruitful?
- If you focused only on the 20% that genuinely matters, what would you need to let go of?
Quantity will always tempt you.
But quality is what sustains you.
The courage to choose less is a rare quality.
But it is also the path to more.
Because less is not about lack.
Less, done with intention, is abundance.