Meet Your New VP of Productivity

You work more but have little to show for it. You succeed in adding more patients, but it never seems enough. Do you try new things and most prove ineffective? It's time to have a face-to-face with your “VP” of Productivity.

Don't have one, you say? My, you have been busy! Meet your office mate, Vilfredo Pareto. He's been with you from the start. He's at all your meetings. He's there at each patient visit. Don't tell your spouse, but he comes home with you at night.

“VP” largely rules your operation, your production and certainly your profitability. Let's give him a call. Quick, dial Star-8020.

Buon giorno.

Hello, Vilfredo. It's Terry and a friend. We've got you on speakerphone. My associate here is feeling overworked.

Sî.

You'll have to forgive your VP of Productivity. He's 150 years old. And he's a man of few words. Let me explain.

Vilfredo was born in Italy in 1848. An engineer, economist and one heck of a math guy, he was among the first to apply advanced mathematics to economic analysis. About 108 years ago, he figured out that, nearly always, 80 percent of outputs are produced by just 20 percent of inputs. His “80:20” rule rules your daily business productivity.

So how do you make your VP of Productivity work for you?

It's simple. Just know he's there. Take a look at your business and be aware of which referral sources drive 80 percent of your business. Determine which products and services account for 80 percent of your revenue. Are they the same products that generate 80 percent of your gross profit? Which customers and products make up 80 percent of your service calls?

Study your business and identify your 80:20 strengths. Learn from your history what you do best, then try to expand those strengths just slightly. Why just a little? The 80:20 rule is universal. Grow twice as large and Vilfredo will be right there. Shrink 50 percent and you won't downsize him. But while Vilfredo's 80:20 rule is universal, it's not absolute. Hey, he's 150 years old! If you're clever, you can slip a few gains past him.

Think of it this way. Imagine that 100 batteries power your business. Total, they produce 1,000 volts. But 80 percent of your batteries generate only 20 percent of your power. That's 200 volts from 80 batteries for an average output of 2.5 volts each.

Your remaining 20 batteries generate 80 percent of your power: 800 volts divided by 20 batteries is 40 volts each. So, don't lose one. If one of your top batteries goes kaput, it will take 16 more regular batteries to get you back to the same power.