Being a strategist means not being everywhere, but being at the point of maximum leverage.

Azizbek Kurbonov, city — Tashkent, IT entrepreneur, Instagram

In my career, I have worked in 10 different industries — from pharmaceuticals and communications to e-commerce and even the fishing industry.

I have worked in consulting, built departments, launched startups, and scaled sales.

I have been everywhere.
It is precisely this experience that allowed me to understand where I do not need to be.

Learning to play by the rules

At the beginning of my journey, I perceived each new industry as a challenge — and learned to adapt quickly.

I had to “fit into” any system, understand how decision-making chains work, who makes the final decisions, and what the client pays for. This required flexibility and discipline.

Over time, I realized that before rewriting the rules, you need to learn to play by them.
Without this, you will not create anything new — you will only destroy what you did not understand.

Each stage gave me a skill. But only in combination did they give me the most important thing — clarity about who I am and what my leverage is.

Not “new skills,” but a new mindset

When I fully transitioned to a strategic level — launching a state fund, starting to mentor projects, and consulting businesses — I expected that I would need new competencies. But it turned out that the issue is not about skills, but about mindset.

The old approach of “doing more” no longer works.

At a new scale, what is valued is not speed, but perspective. Not results, but systems. You do not need to be everywhere — you need to be where maximum value is created.

And this is impossible without a new environment. It is impossible to think differently while surrounded by people who think the same way you did three years ago. Therefore, I began carefully selecting the people and communities where I participate, speak, and learn.

“Doing everything myself” is a bad strategy, even with AI

Many entrepreneurs, including myself in the past, believe in the “I will do everything myself” strategy. Now, there is an added temptation: “I will automate everything using AI.” I will create 10 agents that will handle issues for me. 

But the truth is that even AI cannot replace a team, partners, or your environment. It will enhance you — but it will not make you a strategist. 

True strength lies in systems that work without your constant involvement.
And this is only possible when you give, delegate, and trust.
When you stop trying to be everywhere.

The heart must remain open

Any transformation is painful, but also an opportunity.
When I started stepping out of operations, restructuring myself, changing my pace of life and thinking — it was scary. But it was precisely my openness to new challenges that gave me the energy to move forward.

You cannot remain the same and move forward at the same time. Therefore, you need to know how to close chapters. For example, I closed two chapters in the past year: Sug‘urta Bozor and United Ventures. And with respect for myself and the past — I opened the next one.

The “Mini-Life” principle

In the book “Alternate”, Oscar Hartmann describes the “mini-life” principle — when you immerse yourself 100% in one project, one idea, one challenge.
Without distractions or scattering your focus.

I experienced this in practice. When your moment comes — you must focus. Really focus: cut off the noise, turn off the background, be here and now.

Because a strategist is not someone who knows everything.
It is someone who knows when to choose what to ignore.