📌 Rule No. 16 —Time Is Your Most Precious Asset.

Rule No. 16 summary:

Time is the only resource you can’t earn back. Money can be recovered. Opportunities can be replaced. But once time is gone, it’s gone.

This rule reminds executives that how they spend their time is how they lead. Protecting it, structuring it, and aligning it with your highest priorities is not optional — it’s foundational.

Those who fail to guard their time are not running their business. Their business is running them.

You can recover from a bad hire. You can bounce back from a financial setback. But wasted time? That’s gone forever. For executives, time isn’t just a resource — it’s the battlefield. Every minute spent in low-value activity is a minute stolen from strategy, leadership, or growth. This rule is a wake-up call: if you’re not treating time as your most precious asset, don’t be surprised when your business treats you like a glorified firefighter.

If you’ve fought battles that became lessons — this is where we collect them.

Name
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Select the Rule that resonates with you:
Prefer to speak instead of type? Record a short video insight (up to 5min.). After pressing record, wait 3–4 seconds before speaking to allow the camera to begin. You’ll be able to preview your video before submitting. A face and voice behind the lesson helps bring the Rule to life for other leaders.
Share your insight, a lesson learned or a turning point in your business or your leadership style.
Describe a situation where this principle helped, failed, or changed the direction of a decision in your business.
What did this experience teach you about leadership, decision-making, or running a business?
Was there a concept, passage, or idea that stuck with you or shaped how you think about this Rule?
If another executive were wrestling with this principle, what would you tell them?
Have an additional insight on this topic? Share any further lessons, observations, or experiences that may help other business leaders think differently about this fundamental business Rule.

The insight you share might be the turning point someone else is waiting for.

Name
We will never add you to a mailing list, without your direct permission. We will never sell, share, or monetize your information.
Select the Rule that resonates with you:
Prefer to speak instead of type? Record a short video insight (up to 5min.). After pressing record, wait 3–4 seconds before speaking to allow the camera to begin. You’ll be able to preview your video before submitting. A face and voice behind the lesson helps bring the Rule to life for other leaders.
Share your insight, a lesson learned or a turning point in your business or your leadership style.
Describe a situation where this principle helped, failed, or changed the direction of a decision in your business.
What did this experience teach you about leadership, decision-making, or running a business?
Was there a concept, passage, or idea that stuck with you or shaped how you think about this Rule?
If another executive were wrestling with this principle, what would you tell them?
Have an additional insight on this topic? Share any further lessons, observations, or experiences that may help other business leaders think differently about this fundamental business Rule.

Write this down…
 Money lost can be recovered. Time spent poorly is gone forever.

📚 Recommended Reading

The Time Trap

by Alec Mackenzie

“If you don’t control your time, someone else will.”— Alec Mackenzie, The Time Trap

April 6, 2026 🛠️WE ARE STILL BUILDING THIS RULE. CHECK BACK

THIS RULE HELPS YOU WITH 🧭

  • Identifying and eliminating time-wasting habits and distractions
  • Setting boundaries to focus on high-value leadership work
  • Delegating effectively to stay in your lane as a decision-maker
  • Designing your schedule around impact, not activity
  • Regaining control when you’re overwhelmed or reactive

Where am I spending time that others could handle — even if they won’t do it exactly like me?


Example: You spend two hours every week reviewing your team’s PowerPoint decks instead of setting strategic direction. That’s not leadership — that’s control.

Which meetings or recurring commitments deliver no real return — and need to be cut or reshaped?


Example: You’ve been in a weekly cross-department meeting for years “just to stay in the loop.” But your presence adds no value, and your time could be used to mentor a high-potential leader instead.

Do I default to solving problems because it’s faster — or because I haven’t built the discipline to say no?


Example: A team member texts you a problem at 9 PM. You fix it. Again. You think you’re being responsive. You’re actually building dependence and burning time.

Am I protecting blocks of time for deep thinking and priority work — or letting urgency drive my day?


Example: Your calendar is full, but none of it is strategic. You haven’t had uninterrupted time to map next quarter’s growth plan. Instead, you’re reacting to everyone else’s fire drills.

We all say time is our most precious asset — but most calendars tell a different story. As leaders, we often cling to habits, meetings, or tasks that feel productive but aren’t. Some are legacy obligations. Others are about control. But all of them come at a cost. Today, let’s push past surface-level efficiency talk and name the real time traps.

What’s one recurring commitment or activity in your calendar that you know deep down is a poor use of your time — but you keep doing it anyway?


What would it take to eliminate it or delegate it, starting this month?

 This Rule isn’t finished—and it never will be. Business changes, leaders learn, and our Members keep sharpening the edges with real stories and hard-won lessons. What you see here is today’s version. Tomorrow’s will be better, clearer, and backed by more lived experience.

Thank you for being here and bringing your perspective—add your insight, share a story, or challenge what’s written. Together, we keep these Rules alive and relevant.