The 70% Rule: Why Doing Less Makes You a Better CEO with Jim Schleckser [#132]

Being indispensable is bad for business.  If every decision runs through you, the company eventually runs out of your time. Meanwhile, the decisions that could get it growing again compete for whatever attention you have left. Jim Schleckser of The CEO Project, author of Great CEOs Are Lazy, joins Cindi Baldi to explain why effective CEOs make room to do less. In Jim’s framework, the flat stretches between periods of growth signal a constraint: something in the business model, talent, or systems that needs attention. The challenge is identifying a problem you can actually address, rather than stopping at a limitation affecting everyone (like tariffs), and recognizing when your own involvement is part of it. You’ll learn Jim’s three-D model—defer, delegate, don’t do—for clearing lower-impact work; his 70% rule for handing over responsibility; and how experience, risk, and reversibility should shape the oversight you provide. Cindi and Jim also discuss why always being present can weaken an organization, and how the group mind can help leaders work through problems they don’t have to solve alone. *\*Jim has his own podcast! Tune in to the The CEO Project Podcast* here. What you’ll learn about business growth, constraints, and CEO bandwidth: - You’re working 70 hours. What happens when the business doubles? How the CEO’s bandwidth becomes the company’s growth limit. - Busy fixing everything except what matters? How to find the main constraint holding your business back, and identify what you can actually change. - Waiting until someone can do it as well as you? Jim’s 70% delegation rule and three Ds—defer, delegate, don’t do—help you decide what to take off your plate. - Does the business need an Architect, Coach, or Engineer? How to recognize which leadership role the problem calls for. - What if the best idea isn’t yours? Why CEO peer groups can reveal solutions you wouldn’t reach alone. - Your presence may be weakening your team. How being involved in every decision keeps employees from developing their own judgment. Watch This Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZsJxq6XdV38 About Jim Schleckser: Jim Schleckser has spent more than 30 years as a CEO and operating executive, including serving as president of Spirent Communications and on boards across multiple industries. He founded the CEO Project to give mid-market CEOs a confidential peer group and coaching platform for better big-bet decisions. He is the author of the book Great CEOs are lazy, and host of the CEO Project podcast. Connect with Jim: The CEO Project Peer Groups | The CEO Project Podcast | Book: Great CEOs Are Lazy |  Linkedin *The Uncertainty Playbook: 14 Strategies for Work Success in a Chaotic World:* → Get your copy here*.*  Get Science-Backed Insights and Exclusive Perks Straight to Your Inbox: → Sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE chapter of *The Uncertainty Playbook*. Want to Go Deeper? Check Out Our Recommended Reading: - Surowiecki, James. *The Wisdom of Crowds*, Vintage, Aug. 2005, https://link.amazon/B0iVR7T2M - Oncken, William and Donald Wass. “Management Time: Who’s Got The Monkey?”, *Harvard Business Review*, Nov. 1999, https://store.hbr.org/product/management-time-who-s-got-the-monkey/99609 Join Our Community & Follow Us:  \- Youtube Channel  \- LinkedIn \- Instagram -Facebook -TikTok - Website