Pareto’s Principle

Often called the 80- 20 rule, Pareto’s Principle holds that 20% of our effort yields 80% of our results. This is often applied to other situations, such as 20% of our customers create 80% of our profits. While I don’t think this rule is literally true, there are elements of it worth considering.

There are many situations that can disrupt a painting contractor’s day. Many of these—such as a crew running short of paint at the end of a job, equipment that wasn’t taken to the job, customer complaints—can become minor emergencies that require immediate action. The time required to address these issues, in addition to the interruption, can sap energy as well as time.

If our day is dominated by crisis management it can be extremely difficult to work on our business. If we spend our time putting out fires we do not have time to address the true source of those fires. As soon as one is stamped out, another arises.

Imagine how your business might change if you spent 8 hours a week (or 20% of a 40-hour week) developing systems to prevent those fires. Those 8 hours would eventually save you hundreds of hours, not to mention the reduced stress and improved profitability. Further, by eliminating those fires would provide additional free time to address other issues.

Working on your business is simply one application of Pareto’s Principle. It is an application that can pay dividends for years to come.

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