There's a famous story about Warren Buffet giving his pilot, Mike Flint, a life-changing piece of advice.
The "rule" goes like this: Write down 25 things you want to achieve. Circle your top five. Ignore the other 20—completely.
It’s called the 25/5 rule, and it’s been repeated so often that it feels like gospel.
Here’s the twist: In 2013, when author Alex Banayan asked
Buffet about it directly at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting,
Buffet laughed and said he had never said such a thing. So much for the
legend, right?
But here’s the thing: Just because Buffet never said it, doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly useful.
THE ENTREPRENEUR’S DILEMMA
If you’re like most type-A entrepreneurs (with a healthy dose of ADHD thrown in), you’re probably:
- Chasing every shiny new idea
- Saying "yes" far too often
- Holding on to tasks you should have delegated months ago
I get it. I’ve been there. "It’s my client, my brand and nobody does it better than me." Sound familiar? That mindset is exactly what keeps us stuck.
The truth is two simple levers—focus and delegation—can transform how you run your business. More results. More freedom. More time for what only you can do best. Here’s how to start today.
1. REDEFINE YOUR PRIORITIES
Forget the never-ending "to do" list. At the start of every quarter, list everything you’d like to accomplish. Then choose just three priorities—the ones that will truly move your business forward.
The rest? Park them. Capture new "urgent opportunities" in a holding list for the next quarter. By then, many won’t feel so urgent. The right ones can move into your top three later.
It sounds almost too simple—but it’s exactly how you avoid running in circles and start making real progress.
2. MAKE A "STOP DOING" LIST
Everyone has a to-do list. Few people have a stop-doing list.
Here’s how to create one: For two weeks, track everything you do from morning to night. Then sort each task into three buckets: do, delegate, stop. You’ll notice patterns fast.
For me, the wake-up call was social media reels. I’d watch every funny link my daughters sent me, then the algorithm kept me hooked. Thirty minutes later, I was still scrolling. Once I tracked it, it went straight to the "stop" column.
Ask yourself: What else can you eliminate altogether? Cutting low-value tasks often matters more than adding productivity hacks.
3. DELEGATE RELENTLESSLY
Now look at your "delegate" column.
When I started my first company, delegation was harder. There were no freelancer platforms, no global talent pools, no AI tools. Today, the only obstacle to delegating is you.
Founders who insist on doing everything themselves cap their growth. The breakthrough comes when you ask, for every task, "Could someone else do this?"
That’s the moment your business starts scaling. That’s when you free yourself to focus on high-value work. And that’s when the value of your company begins to rise.
THE REAL TAKEAWAY
Warren Buffet may never have said the 25/5 rule—but it doesn’t matter. The principle stands: clarity beats busyness.
Choose fewer priorities. Stop doing what doesn’t serve you. Delegate everything you can.
Do that consistently, and you won’t just look busy—you’ll actually move your business forward.
