The 80-20 Rule

By Stewart Gandolf and Lonnie Hirsch

Life isn't fair - and neither is business.

Healthcare practice = business

Business = competition

Competition = winners & losers

Winners vs. Losers

Losers dramatically outnumber winners (the 80-20 Rule…again)!

Pareto Principle (aka The 80-20 Rule)

For many phenomena, 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes.

In1906, Italian economist and avid gardener Vilfredo Pareto established that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. While gardening he later observed that 20% of the peapods in his garden yielded 80% of the peas that were harvested. And thus was born a theory that has stood the test of time and scrutiny.

Management thinker Joseph Juran adopted the idea and in 1937 introduced "The Pareto Principle", expanded the observations to the assumption that most of the results in any situation are determined by a small number of causes.

The 80-20 Rule in Action

» 80% of decisions come from 20% of meeting time
» 80% of your measurable results will come from 20% of the items on your daily "to-do" list
» 80% of a manager's interruptions come from the same 20% of the employees
» 80% of sales will come from 20% of the sales force
» 80% of customer complaints are about the same 20% of employees, products, services or processes
» 80% of results from an advertising campaign will come from 20% of the ads
» 80% of the business in any industry or segment is controlled by 20% of the businesses in that industry or segment

Note: The 80-20 rule applies to the Top 20% as well (i.e., 4% controls 64%, etc.)

How to Leverage the 80-20 Rule in Your Practice

Spend 80% of your time working on the 20% of your business that matters most to your success!

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