The Advantage of 85%

---

My Encounter with V. Kumaresan

We are a society obsessed with technical qualifications and academic credentials. But what if we invert the entire formula for professional success? What if 85% of your value comes from the skills your degree never taught you?

The modern professional world runs on a clear and widely accepted premise: hard skills are the foundation of a successful career. We invest years and fortunes in academic degrees and technical certifications, believing them to be the primary currency of the marketplace. The story of Velu Kumaresan, an English literature graduate who rose to become a "techno-commercial expert" in the food industry, is a direct refutation of this model. His career is a case study in a different, counterintuitive formula for success, a principle he stood for from the beginning: academics account for only 15% of your career trajectory. The other 85% is determined by something else entirely.

The 15%

Velu does not argue that technical knowledge is useless. He is clear that "academics count only once you enter a career". It is the entry ticket. However, its relative importance diminishes rapidly after that point. The 15% is the what, while the 85% is the how. His journey, he states, is the primary evidence. Lacking a technical background, he systematically closed his knowledge gap through a relentless, self-driven pursuit of information. He spent "extra hours" after work, using his relationships with colleagues to learn the company’s system and the intricate operational details of every single department, from purchasing to production. This underlines his thesis: the technical "15%" is acquirable through discipline and a “passion to learn”. The other skills are more foundational.

The Five Levers

He argues that the true engine of his career is the mastery of soft skills. He identifies five core competencies: "the ability to connect, ability to communicate, ability to network, ability to influence, and the ability to lead". These are not "nice-to-haves" but the primary strategic levers for navigating complex human systems and achieving results. He saw this principle validated at the highest level of a multinational corporation. His former chairman at PepsiCo successfully managed 26 factories, not because he was an engineer, but because he was a master of a single, critical soft skill: good listening.

This is the core of the 85% advantage. In a world of complex, interconnected systems, the person who can effectively engage with other humans will be able to persuade, lead, and build trust. This person will always have an advantage over someone who only possesses technical knowledge. Velu’s career is a testament to this principle. He repeatedly reached the “pinnacle” in different fields because he understood that every business problem is, at its core, a people problem.

Velu’s story directly challenges our modern model of professional development. It suggests that we are over-investing in the 15% while systematically undervaluing the rest. It forces a critical question upon any ambitious professional: Are you spending your time honing the skills that get you the job, or the ones that will allow you to succeed in it?

What can we take from his approach?

Questions for Audience

1. Velu's '85/15' model challenges our education system's intense focus on academics. What is one tangible change universities could make to their curriculum to better equip students with the essential 85% soft skills?

2. If we accept that soft skills are the key differentiator, what is one practical step you can take in your current job this month to consciously 'learn in the margins' and develop one of the five key soft skills?