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The 4-50 Rule

Every once in awhile, I catch myself majoring in minor things. I start spending too much time on the minutia and not enough time on the vital few things that make the business grow.

You've all heard of Pareto's 80-20 rule: 20% of the business produces 80% of the results. But I have found that Pareto's 80-20 rule also applies within the 20%. This means that as little as 4% of your business effort produces over 50% of the overall benefit. What would it be worth to you to work on that small part just a little bit more often?

4-50 Rule (Arthur's Extension to Pareto's 80/20 Rule

Who are the top 4% of your customers or clients? What can you do to WOW them? What can you do to attract more customers like them?
(Hint: Figure out their motivation style and tailor all of your marketing to attract only the top 4%.)

Who are the top 4% of your suppliers? What additional business can you transfer to them to eliminate some of the problems you have with other suppliers?

What are the top 4% of your products or services? How can you adapt these concepts to other markets? What can you do to expand it into a full buffet (e.g., cell phone-digital cameras) or chunk it down into an ala carte menu?

Who are the top 4% of your workforce? How can you hire more people like them?
(Hint: Figure out their motivation style and tailor your hiring practices to attract more employees just like the top 4%.)

How much more productivity and profits could you wring out of your business if you just spent a little more time each day on the top 4%?

When you change your mind, you change your life.