The other day, my wife shared something with me.
She said, “Sometimes I feel paralyzed with uncertainty.”

“The challenge looks too big. The goal feels too far away.”

The image that came to me instantly was my morning walks.
In summer, mornings are clear and bright. The horizon is visible. The path is obvious.
But in autumn and winter, mornings are cold, foggy, and damp. The horizon disappears. The road ahead is hidden.

And yet—I keep walking.

Why? Because I don’t need to see the whole horizon to move forward.
I only need to see my next step.

“That’s where The 5% Horizon Rule comes from.”

When I walk in the fog, maybe 5% of the time I look into the distance.
The other 95% I focus on what’s right in front of me:

• The next step.

• The small hurdles.

• Even the dog crap on the sidewalk.

It clicked: this is the mistake many of us make when faced with uncertainty.
We stare at the distant horizon so much that we forget to watch where we’re stepping. We trip, we fall, and eventually… we give up. That’a what I did numerous times in my past.

Leaders do this all the time.
Some keep their eyes fixed only on the long-term vision. The company’s “big goal.” The horizon.
But when they ignore the steps in front of them—people, culture, conversations, decisions—they stumble.

I know a CEO of a €100M business who works exactly like this.
He runs everything himself, obsessed with the far vision. He trusts no one, controls everything, and forces his managers to depend on him.
The result? No alignment. No safety. Managers are terrified of making mistakes. Fluctuation is at record highs. And he barely sleeps.

Because when you look at the horizon 100% of the time, you’re not leading—you’re stumbling in the fog.

The best leaders apply The 5% Horizon Rule.

• 5% of the time: look far, set direction, adjust the compass.

• 95% of the time: focus on the step in front of you, the people beside you, the actions that build trust and momentum.

That’s how you make it through the fog.

Deep reflections for Leaders

• Where are you staring so far into the distance that you’re missing what’s right under your feet?

• If you reduced your “horizon time” to just 5%, what would suddenly come into focus?

• What’s the next step you’ve been ignoring because your eyes are fixed too far ahead?

Love,
Laszlo