The 80/20 CEO: Take Command of Your Business in 100 Days teaches readers about the Profitable Growth Operating System (PGOS), featuring 80/20. Why did you feel compelled to write this book, and what was your hope that readers take away from it?

The journey of getting to the point where I could write this book has taken over 30 years. I have spent my career as a global business executive in various industries and markets focused on industrial and consumer products and services. Much of my experience has been rapidly turning around and then profitably growing a company. Throughout all of this, I have been repeatedly asked by my teams if is there a book that they can refer to help them understand the process and journey.

The 80/20 CEO: Take Command of your Business in 100 Days is the result of all of the hard work my team put into delivering superior results in both good markets and bad. As my friend Mitch Aiello said, “The book stands as a great step-by-step guide to identify the highest performing quadrant of a business, reduce unnecessary complexity, and redirect valuable resources to accelerate innovation, operational efficiency, and most importantly, profitable growth. The pages are full of fun and interesting historical references as well as humor and real-life case studies of businesses that were course-corrected through the 80/20 process.” I think Mitch is a bit of a genius.

What were some of the key ideas that you wanted to convey through your book?

The 80/20 Management Practice, also known as the Pareto principle, 80/20 is a management concept based on a natural law: 80% of results come from 20% of causes. It is a tool used to prioritize and manage resources, focusing on the most important and impactful activities that generate the majority of results. The principle suggests that organizations can achieve significant improvement by focusing their efforts on the 20% of activities that generate 80% of their results, rather than spreading their resources non-strategically across all activities.

The 80/20 principle can be applied in various ways, including time management, problem-solving, decision-making, and resource allocation. For example, in time management, individuals can use the 80/20 principle to identify the 20% of tasks that generate 80% of desired results and prioritize these activities. In problem-solving, the principle can be used to identify the root causes of issues and focus on solving the most impactful problems.

The 80/20 principle is a useful tool for organizations to achieve more with limited resources, but it is important to remember that it is an approximation and not a strict rule. It is a useful guideline that can help organizations focus their efforts and resources more effectively.

What do you think is the most common misconception people have about business growth, and how does your book address it?

The reason that 80/20 is so valuable is that it is counterintuitive. We tend to expect that all causes will have roughly the same significance, that all customers are equally valuable, or that every bit of business, every product, and every dollar of sales revenue is as good as another.

What is the next book you are writing, and when will that be published?

I am currently writing Earn the Right to Grow. It should be available in the Fall of 2024.

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