The 20% That Changes Everything

Most CEOs I meet are stuck in the same trap. They’re working harder than ever, chasing growth, adding more every year. Yet somehow, they’re still buried in the business. It’s exhausting, and it never seems to be enough.?

I had a CEO tell me once, “We just need to increase revenue by 20% this year.” When I asked how, he listed off a dozen small initiatives – new service offerings, a price tweak here, a sales process adjustment there. Every one of them sounded logical, but none of them made a big enough impact to break their plateau. It’s classic 2x thinking.

2x growth is incremental. It’s doing more – keeping 80% of what you already do and adding 20% on top. It’s how most businesses operate. It feels achievable. Safe. Manageable. But it’s also why most companies never break through to the next level.

The Real Barrier to Business Growth

10x thinking flips the entire equation. Instead of keeping 80% and adding more, you strip away the 80% that doesn’t drive results and go all in on the 20% that does (Source: 10x Is Easier Than 2x, 2023). That shift is simple in theory, but it’s where most CEOs get stuck. Letting go of what’s comfortable isn’t easy.

I’ve worked with leaders who knew exactly what was slowing them down – unprofitable services, legacy clients that drained resources, side projects that distracted from their core business. But when it came time to cut them, they hesitated:

This is where businesses stall. Not because they don’t know what’s holding them back, but because they don’t have the discipline to let go of it.?

The Courage to Think Bigger

One of my clients had a vision to be known nationally in their industry. When he shared that goal with his peer group, they laughed – no one in their space had ever done it before. It would have been easy to retreat, to set a more “reasonable” target. But he didn’t. This was his BHAG, his Big Hairy Audacious Goal.?

At the time, his company was a strong regional player, but they had their hands in too many things. They saw diversification as the path to growth, adding more and more to the business. When we started working together, we took a hard look at what was actually driving results – and what wasn’t. We then began eliminating entire business lines.

The CEO had to make tough calls, letting go of offerings that had been part of the company for years. Some team members dug in their heels.

The CEO held the line. They focused on what they were truly great at, and the results followed. They became the go-to experts in their space. Today, they’re doing business nationally and expanding into new markets.

Not by doing more, but by cutting what wasn’t working.

When we made the cuts, revenue didn’t go up right away. In fact, it dipped.?

That’s where a lot of leaders panic. They see that initial drop and second-guess everything, forgetting that revenue is a vanity number. What matters is that profitability increased. Cash flow improved.?

I’ve seen this play out repeatedly where companies that chase top-line revenue, adding services, taking on more clients, thinking that growth means “more.” Behind the scenes, they’re stretched too thin, barely making a profit. They’re stuck in the cycle of working harder just to keep up.

The ones who break out of that trap are the ones willing to focus.?

What is Your 20%?

Marshall Goldsmith says, “What got you here won’t get you there.” Dan Sullivan and Dr. Ben Hardy take it further: “What got you here won’t get you there – but it can keep you here.”

The same principle applies to leadership. Most CEOs try to add when they want to grow – more initiatives, more projects, more responsibilities. But the real question isn’t, What more can I take on? It’s, What can I strip away? What can I delegate? Who can I hire?

What’s the 80% that’s keeping you busy but not actually pushing the business forward? What’s eating up time, energy, and resources without delivering real impact? In 10x thinking, the goal is to free yourself up for the work that truly moves the business forward. The work that only you, as the CEO, can do. That’s the difference between those who scale their companies and those who stay stuck in the CEO Doom Loop.

The hardest and most valuable question you can ask yourself is:

What’s the 80% I need to let go of?

Because if you want to scale, you don’t need to do more. You need to do less – better.

That’s the 20% that changes everything.

We support CEOs and leadership teams identify and execute on their 20%. If you’d like our guidance, let us know.