Rajat Saigal’s journey into formal moderation began twelve years ago in South Africa, leading a panel on Customer Data Innovation just as “Big Data” was entering the cultural lexicon. As a long-standing Partner at Deloitte, Rajat has operated at the intersection of professional services and executive inquiry, witnessing firsthand how rapidly technology has accelerated. He believes that the professional hazard of a consultant, the urge to solve everything immediately, must be suppressed during moderation to allow for genuine peer learning. For Rajat, leadership in 2026 is about maintaining mental flexibility and ensuring that every capital investment translates into tangible shareholder value.
How has the innovation cycle evolved over the last decade?
Rajat discusses the transition from the excitement of the early 2010s to the grounded realism required today.
“Twelve years ago, everyone was caught up in the Hype Cycle. When Big Data first arrived, people bought into the hype without fully understanding how it would change the world. Today, as everyone has seen a few of these cycles play out, there is a much greater sense of realism. Conversations are now more grounded in business value and the practical application of technology. Furthermore, the volatility of the geopolitical and economic environments makes today’s discussions feel much more urgent and real than they did a decade ago. We are no longer just talking about what could happen; we are talking about what is happening.”
Why should leaders return to the “Balanced Scorecard” for AI?
Addressing the massive capital spending in the US, Rajat highlights the need to measure ROI across four specific organisational pillars.
“As AI becomes more real, the focus will shift towards the future of work. I believe AI might displace 20% to 30% of the workforce, but the real game is about re-skilling. Organisations must find a balancing act between leveraging these rapid changes and maintaining shareholder value. I often go back to the age-old Balanced Scorecard. You have to ask: what is the financial impact, the customer impact, the process impact, and the people impact? The Return on Equity (ROE) needs to play out eventually, and you can only ensure that by measuring success across all four of those pillars simultaneously.”
How do you balance the voices of introverts, ambiverts, and extroverts?
Rajat shares his preparation techniques for ensuring that an executive lunch results in more than just networking.
“People aren’t spending two or three hours at a lunch just for the food; they are there to network, engage, and grow. My goal is to keep the discussion inclusive. Naturally, one or two extroverts might try to run away with the conversation, so I prepare specific questions to direct at different individuals. By balancing the voices of the introverts, ambiverts, and extroverts, we create a meaningful space where everyone contributes. I research attendees and their industries thoroughly because the topic must resonate with me; there has to be an opportunity for me to learn while I moderate.”
Why is the Chatham House Rule honesty a surprise to outsiders?
Reflecting on the transparency of senior leaders, Rajat discusses the value of shared challenges over performed success.
“I am consistently surprised by their willingness to be honest. Once the Chatham House Rule is invoked, ensuring that nothing said in the room is attributed to an individual, senior leaders take the opportunity to share their challenges openly. They don’t just talk about what they are doing well; they seek advice from their peers on what they can learn and gain from the broader collective. This practice of moderating forces a certain level of growth and mental flexibility, even if it pushes you out of your comfort zone by discussing topics outside your core domain.”
What is the difference between “why” and “so what”?
In a final thought on leadership inquiry, Rajat challenges leaders to define the ultimate value of their actions.
“I will never stop asking ‘Why?’. You must have total conviction in why you are doing something. However, I also pair that with ‘So what?’. While ‘Why’ gives you the reason, ‘So what’ tells you the value. It forces you to define the benefit, the impact, and the ultimate result of your actions. In professional services, we are trained to solve everything immediately, but moderation is the opposite: it is an opportunity to sit back, ask these right questions, and only contribute where it is truly relevant to the business outcome.”
Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network
Across Rajat’s insights on the “Balanced Scorecard,” the 2026 workforce shift, and the “so what” factor, one pattern is clear: these challenges aren’t solved in isolation. They require a peer-level perspective and the kind of high-trust dialogue that transcends the professional hazard of individual solution-seeking.
His vision of the truth-seeking moderator reflects a broader reality: today’s partners and executives cannot rely on the hype cycle alone to drive growth. The most effective leaders, especially those navigating the volatile intersection of AI and shareholder value, actively seek out peer dialogue as a strategic necessity to define the benefit.
At The Ortus Club, we host curated executive roundtables that bring together senior leaders facing these exact challenges. Step away from the hype and engage in the kind of open, high-value conversations that answer the hard questions of the new technological landscape.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the “Balanced Scorecard” in a modern context?
A: It is a strategic management framework used to track and manage an organisation’s performance across four perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Processes, and Learning and Growth (People).
Q: Why is the “so what” question important for AI?
A: Because while many organisations have a “why” (e.g., to keep up with competitors), “so what” forces them to identify the specific ROI, productivity gain, or customer value that the AI investment will actually deliver.
Q: What is the Chatham House Rule?
A: It is a rule used at meetings to encourage openness and the sharing of information. It allows participants to use the information received but forbids revealing the speaker’s identity or affiliation.
Q: How will AI impact the 2026 workforce?
A: Rajat Saigal predicts a displacement of 20–30% of certain roles, shifting the organisational priority toward re-skilling current employees and integrating the next generation of graduates into AI-enabled workflows.
Q: How does moderation contribute to mental flexibility?
A: By forcing a leader to listen and facilitate discussions outside their core expertise, moderation broadens their perspective, connects them with new industry trends, and encourages them to learn from peer experiences.
