On the latest episode of Scaling Clean, I sat down with a leader who built his career in oil and gas with companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton. Akshay Sagar is now the CEO of the world’s largest solar O&M provider, NovaSource Power, managing more than 30 GW of solar and storage projects worldwide.

I love Akshay’s advice about focusing on people and not being intimidated when people around you bring great ideas.

Here are three big takeaways from our conversation:

🔹 Great leadership starts with people, not assets.

Akshay says every organization is made up of two things: “people and steel,” and steel can always be replaced. The true differentiator is talent. Surround yourself with people more talented than you are, invest in them, and never be intimidated by their ideas.

🔹 Turnarounds demand culture, creativity, and accountability.

Having managed three major corporate turnarounds, Akshay insists that workplace culture outweighs strategy. Success comes from setting shared values - ownership, discipline, urgency, accountability, and austerity - and adapting your business structure to fit the moment rather than copying someone else’s model.

🔹 Focus is a superpower.

Instead of chasing every new opportunity, focus on what your business does best. Expanding too far can pull attention away from your core strengths. Most of us think we can do it all, but lasting success often comes from going deeper, not wider. Identify the distractions, and have the discipline to say no.