Recently I sat in a doctor’s waiting room.
Waiting to talk to a skin specialist about a few blemishes.
And there was a bit of a delay.
So I sat back, closed my eyes in the warm early afternoon sunshine, and chilled.
If you’re part of the hustle culture you might be wondering why I didn’t check my emails. Or read a business book. Or do some planning. Or…
Nope. I just daydreamed. And wondered if I’d fall asleep.
But then I became conscious of something – my folded arms.
They were resting on my ample stomach. And that got me thinking…
Of the 80:20 rule. Or, as it’s sometimes called, the Pareto Principle.
It states that we get a majority of the results from a minority of the causes.
If I want to improve my health, the single best thing I can do is to address the weight issue. That will have a disproportionate benefit.
And so it is in business.
Get rid of the worst 20% of your clients and you’ll get rid of 80% of the grief clients cause you.
Give extra attention to the 20% of your clients who give you 80% of your profit.
The numbers won’t be exactly 20 & 80.
Neither do they need to add up to 100.
But the principle remains the same. And can be applied to all areas of your business and life.
All challenges are not the same. All clients are not the same.
Identify where you can best apply your limited resources. For example, who are your best clients? If you don’t know, find out. If you do know, make sure you don’t treat them the same as the rest.
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