Podcasts about Pareto

Intervju med Nadia Martin Wiggen om oljeprisets utveckling. Dessutom gästar Anders Roslund, verkstadsanalytiker på Pareto, för att ge sin bild på Nibes rapport och kursreaktion. I programmet gästar även Erik Spector, chefsekonom på Teknikföretagen, för att prata om läget i den svenska industrin – och när vändningen kommer.

If you are thinking about strategic planning, this episode is for you! Host Sarah Olivieri and special guest Doug Paul talk strategy and impact combining their 40+ years of strategy experience. They cover strategic planning, execution, and maintaining a balance between passion-driven goals and practical actions and go into some key concepts like the Pareto principle, assumptions mapping, and the difference between process goals and outcome goals. This episode is packed with actionable advice for ambitious nonprofit leaders! Episode Highlights 02:12 Challenges and Strategies in Nonprofit Leadership 04:36 The Importance of Integrating Strategy and Execution 05:52 Balancing Passion and Discipline 08:42 Developing and Implementing Effective Strategies 24:02 The Role of Boards and Stakeholders Meet the Guest Doug Paul is a Managing Partner and Innovation Strategist of Catapult, an organization that helps leaders build successful non-profits that scale. In addition to working with more than 1300 nonprofits over the course of his career, he's written the bestselling book Ready or Not and lives in Richmond, Virginia, along with his wife, Elizabeth, three kids, and great Dane Oliver. Connect with Doug: https://wearecatapult.org/ Sponsored Resource Join the Inspired Nonprofit Leadership Newsletter for weekly tips and inspiration for leading your nonprofit! Access it here >> Be sure to subscribe to Inspired Nonprofit Leadership so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! Let us know the topics or questions you would like to hear about in a future episode. You can do that and follow us on LinkedIn.

Welcome to a very special mini-series on The Inner Game of Change. I'm thrilled to take you on this journey as we explore something both timeless and practical: Mental Models for Managing Change.In this episode of Mental Models for Managing Change, we explore a mental model that helps us cut through complexity and focus our energy where it really counts: The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule.Named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, this model reveals a powerful pattern — that a small percentage of inputs often lead to the majority of outcomes. In change work, that means identifying the vital few actions, stakeholders, or conversations that drive the biggest impact.If you have ever felt spread too thin, overwhelmed by competing priorities, or stuck in busywork that goes nowhere, this episode is for you.Learn how to spot the 20% that truly matters, make better decisions with limited time, and shift from doing more… to doing what matters most.Listen now to discover how the Pareto Principle can bring clarity, focus, and traction to your next change effort.Send us a textAli Juma @The Inner Game of Change podcast Follow me on LinkedIn

In this episode of the YouTube Creators Hub podcast, Dusty Porter interviews Cara Nicole, a full-time YouTuber known for her educational video essays that blend personal finance with pop culture. Kara shares her journey from sporadic video creation in high school to establishing a successful channel with over 250,000 subscribers. She discusses the structure of her video essays, the challenges of predicting viral content, and her transition to full-time content creation. What We Offer Creators Join Creator Communities. A place to gather with other creators every single day. This provides access to Our Private Discord Server, Monthly Mastermind Group, and MORE!  Hire Dusty To Be Your YouTube Coach Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: Each week I document what I'm doing in my business and creative journey, share new things I've discovered, mistakes I've made, and much more!  

Strengthen your organisation's future – master the fundamentals of quality and root cause analysis today. Join our community, learn from global experts like Jeff Naylor, and create a culture of stability, performance, and excellence. Visit https://www.enterpriseexcellencegroup.com.au/ or connect via LinkedIn to get involved. Summary KeywordsQuality, root cause analysis, continuous improvement, operational excellence, problem solving, psychological safety, cause tree, five whys, process control, standardisation, reactive mode, training, leadership, culture, performance.IntroductionWelcome to Episode 194 of the Enterprise Excellence Podcast. It is such a pleasure to have Mr. Jeff Naylor on the podcast and community event with us today. Jeff is the Managing Director of Sirf Round Tables, an organisation truly focused on helping organisations create a better future. Sirf Round Tables do all sorts of amazing things around operational excellence and maintenance and all topics, but a particular one, which I experienced many years ago, was around root cause analysis (RCA) and quality. Without a baseline of quality and root cause capability, there are all sorts of things that play out.Episode Links:Youtube: https://youtu.be/TOFQsHu0gxUEnterprise Excellence Academy: https://www.enterpriseexcellencegroup.com.au/podcast/episode/7d15f371/194-quality-and-root-cause-analysis-with-managing-director-of-sirf-roundtables-mr-jeff-naylorContactsConnect with Brad on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradjeavons/. Call him on 0402 448 445 or email him at bjeavons@iqi.com.au. Connect with Jeff Naylor on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeff-naylor-56555623. Call him on 0409 535 239 and email him at Jeff.naylor@sirfrt.com.  What's next?1.     Review your organisation's quality and RCA practices – are they reactive or proactive?2.     Implement simple Pareto charts to focus on the highest-priority issues.3.     Train frontline leaders in Five Whys and root cause thinking to build grassroots capability.4.     Establish clear standards and visual management to stabilise operations.5.     Develop psychological safety – encourage and reward problem identification, not punish it.6.     Connect with Enterprise Excellence Community to access live events, workshops, and site tours.7.     Book into a Root Cause Analysis Workshop with experts like Jeff Naylor or attend one of the upcoming Enterprise Excellence events.To learn more about what we do, visit www.enterpriseexcellenceacademy.com.Thanks for your time, and thanks for helping to create a better future.

Rapportfloden forsar vidare och i dagens Börslunch avhandlas en strid ström fina och fula fiskar.Atlas Copco och Hexatronic lever inte upp till förväntningarna för sina första kvartal. Flera industribolag är hårt drabbade av konjunkturen och väntar på att Europa kan komma igång.”En del bolag har haft en något krävande värdering, det glömmer man gärna bort. Missar man lite på marginalen kan domen bli lite för hård”, säger Peter van Berlekom, investeringsansvarig på Espirira.Volvo Cars och Thule rasar på svag orderingång efter tullsmocka från USA. Hur mår konsumentbolagen? Storytel backar också efter lägre ebidta-marginal än väntat. Är det ett svagt kapitel i en fortsatt stark saga eller signalerar det orosmoln?Gäster i studion är Stefan Wård, analyschef på Pareto och Peter van Berlekom.

Send us a textKasim Aslam, founder of Solutions 8 and expert in hiring remote top 1% talent, reveals how entrepreneurs can build extraordinary teams by treating people as "miracles" rather than commodities. He shares his counterintuitive approach to finding and empowering exceptional talent while leveraging AI as a tool that makes human uniqueness more valuable than ever.• Entrepreneurs are "broken people" who experience dopamine during pursuit rather than achievement of goals• Most business books treat employees as interchangeable commodities, leading to mediocre results• The Pareto principle shows that 20% of people produce 80% of results – fight this natural distribution at your peril• US employers struggle to hire top talent locally as they compete with tech giants and entrepreneurship• International hiring creates win-win situations where your US company becomes an aspirational employer• Pay 10% above the high watermark (not median) to access talent that performs 10-100x better• Use paid trial projects instead of resumes and interviews to identify exceptional candidates• AI replaces tasks rather than jobs, making mediocre employees dangerous while making exceptional ones more valuable• Delegate projects not tasks, and focus on outputs rather than time spent• Virtual work requires intentional connection through small teams, shared interests, and occasional in-person gatheringsStart building your dream team today by identifying what miracle workers you need and creating the conditions for them to thrive.Support the showThis episode is NOT sponsored. Some product links are affiliate links, meaning we'll receive a small commission if you buy something. =========================== ⚡️PODCAST: Subscribe to our podcast here ➡ https://elevatemedia.buzzsprout.com/ ⚡️Need post-recording video production help? Let's chat ➡ https://calendly.com/elevate-media-group/application ⚡️For Support inquires or Business inquiries, please email us at ➡︎ support@elevate-media-group.com Our mission here at Elevate Media is to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs elevate their brands and make an impact through the power of video podcasting. Disclaimer: Please see the link for our disclaimer policy for all our episodes or videos on the Elevate Media and Elevate Media Podcast YouTube channels. https://elevatemediastudios.com/disclaimer

Apabila Anda pernah merasa sibuk tetapi tidak produktif, mungkin ini saatnya Anda mengenal prinsip Pareto 80/20. Sebuah prinsip yang bisa mengubah cara Anda bekerja, berpikir, dan mengambil keputusan. Dalam episode ini, Tanadi Santoso membagikan bagaimana hanya 20% usaha bisa menghasilkan 80% hasil, asalkan kita mengetahui cara memilihnya.Episode ini juga akan membahas pengalaman nyata selama 20 tahun lebih menerapkan prinsip Pareto dalam bisnis, manajemen waktu, hingga kehidupan pribadi. Anda akan dibawa menyelami insight praktis tentang bagaimana berpikir dan bertindak seperti seorang "Pareto thinker" yang tahu mana yang layak difokuskan dan mana yang harus dilepaskan.Mau tahu kenapa 100 baju di lemari Anda tetapi cuma yang itu-itu saja yang dipakai? Atau kenapa hanya sebagian kecil pelanggan yang menyumbang sebagian besar omzet? Episode ini akan menjawabannya. Banyak contoh nyata dan logika yang langsung bisa Anda terapkan di dunia kerja maupun kehidupan sehari-hari.

Google staat nu aan de top van de AI-wereld met modellen die zowel krachtiger, sneller als goedkoper zijn dan wat elders beschikbaar is. Met de Gemini 2.5 Pro en Flash modellen, zeven producten met meer dan 2 miljard gebruikers, eigen chips, cloudplatform en rijke datasets uit YouTube, Search, Maps en Gmail heeft Google een indrukwekkende positie bereikt. Is dit het Google-jaar dat voorspeld werd?Ondertussen demonstreren twee Koreaanse studenten dat Sam Altman's "you can just do things" geen loze woorden zijn. Zonder financiering bouwden ze Dia, een open-source spraakmodel met geavanceerde functies zoals emotionele tonen en non-verbale signalen. Anthropic onthult de resultaten van een groot onderzoek naar Claude's morele kompas, gebaseerd op 700.000 echte gebruikersgesprekken. Dit eerste grootschalige onderzoek naar AI-waarden "in het wild" toont dat Claude, net als mensen, zijn morele keuzes aanpast aan de situatie – soms met verrassende resultaten. En Krisp introduceert een functie om accenten te verbloemen.Als je een lezing wil over AI van Wietse of Alexander dan kan dat. Mail ons op lezing@aireport.emailOp de hoogte blijven van het laatste AI-nieuws en 2x per week tips & tools ontvangen om het meeste uit AI te halen. Abonneer je dan op onze nieuwsbrief via aireport.emailVandaag nog beginnen met AI binnen jouw bedrijf? Ga dan naar deptagency.com/aireport This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.aireport.email/subscribe

Kraftiga rörelser i en intensiv rapportskörd. Pavel Rosenberg, aktiemäklare på Pareto och Joel Backesten, förvaltare på Danske Bank guidar genom dagens rapportförlorare och fåtalet vinnare. Bolag som avhandlas är bland annat Mips, Husqvarna, Dometic och Beijer Ref.Programledare Elin Wiker och Gabriel Mellqvist.

Want to launch a podcast in 2025? Apply to work with us here: https://top10podcasts.com/start▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Is working US hours non-negotiable for overseas talent? In this quick episode, I ask Kasim Aslam of Pareto Talent the same question. If you want to know the answer, you'll find it here. The way we think about remote work has undergone significant changes. It's no longer about rigid 9-to-5 schedules. Kasim shares how he structured his team to work across time zones, allowing for flexibility while maintaining communication and productivity.Tune in and learn how adjusting your expectations can unlock greater efficiency and results.In This Episode:00:00 Introduction 00:12 US work hours for overseas employees?00:58 VA role and ideal time zones▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

In this episode, Dennis Carlson sits down with Kristen Rivers, SVP of Sales at ParetoHealth. They discuss how mission-aligned benefits consultants and employers can access premium healthcare solutions typically reserved for large companies through captive healthcare models, highlighting the limitations of traditional fully-insured and level-funded plans while emphasizing the value of actionable data transparency and stronger contractual protections available through alternative funding approaches. Key Takeaways The healthcare market is at a watershed moment where employers are seeking alternatives to unsustainable cost increases in traditional fully-insured plans, with many consultants becoming catalysts for this change. Contrary to popular belief, level-funded plans are often "fully insured, repackaged with a little more data" but without the ability to meaningfully act on that data to control costs. Pareto Health's model provides stronger contractual protections (no-new laser provision and 30% rate cap for the entire membership duration) while giving employers access to cost-saving levers like alternative drug sourcing and patient assistance programs. Contact Information To connect with Kristen Rivers or learn more about Pareto Health, reach out to her directly on LinkedIn or contact any member of the Pareto team in your market.

Vous passez trop de temps sur vos médias sociaux pour des résultats décevants? Dans ce vlog, je vous révèle comment j'ai réussi à maintenir les mêmes résultats tout en réduisant mon temps de travail de 20 à 10 heures par semaine grâce à la stratégie des 20%.Cette approche basée sur le principe de Pareto (ou règle des 80/20) a été testée avec plus de 35 entrepreneurs québécois comme vous.Vous découvrirez:✅ Comment identifier les 20% d'actions qui génèrent 80% de vos résultats✅ Les 3 domaines où la règle des 80/20 a le plus d'impact dans votre marketing✅ Comment créer un système d'analyse pour identifier vos activités à haut rendement✅ Comment éliminer, déléguer ou automatiser les 80% d'actions à faible impact✅ Comment maintenir votre discipline et éviter de retomber dans le piège de l'hyperactivité

La política económica no es materia constitucional, solamente las reglas de juego constituyen una Constitución formal y política. El comunismo y el liberalismo son jugadas políticas que no pueden formar parte de las reglas del juego de una Constitución. Referencias a Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek y Pareto. Fuentes: https://go.ivoox.com/rf/18157467 Música: Danza española nº5. Enrique Granados. ---------------------------- Escucha la lista de reproducción de los florilegios de Trevijano: https://go.ivoox.com/bk/9608366 ---------------------------- ¡APÓYANOS! - Vía iVoox: haz clic en APOYAR (botón de color azul). - Vía Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=Y4WYL3BBYVVY4 - Vía Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MCRC_es ---------------------------- mcrc.es diariorc.com.

The gang discusses two papers that use morphometrics to investigate patterns of selection on bird morphology. The first paper looks at the morphology of feathers, while the second paper looks more broadly at various parts of the avian body. Meanwhile, James breathes new life into a classic, Amanda is passionate about formatting, and Curt exposes “the truth”.   Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): The friends talk about two papers that look at animals that move in the air. Both of these papers look at how these animals look and try to find out why these animals look the way they do. The first paper looks at the different types of soft things that these animals use to fly and also to stay warm. They look at how these soft things look and how that look has changed over time and between groups. Some of these animals that don't fly have soft things that are different from the ones that do fly, but they way they are different is different with each group that does not fly. The second paper looks at parts of these animals like their mouths to see how they change between groups. They find that there are lots of things these animals could be doing that most of them are not doing. This makes them say that maybe there is something keeping the animals looking like that because if they change too much in one way it might be really really bad for them.   References: Sayol, Ferran, et al. "Biophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification." BioRxiv (2023): 2023-10. Saitta, Evan T., et al. "Feather evolution following flight loss in crown group birds: relaxed selection and developmental constraints." Evolution (2025): qpaf020.

Where else can you get a discussion about the football spring portal, animal fights, college baseball, Pareto's principle, how the cost of customer acquisition relates to NIL, and a ranking of the best college football programs in Texas? The time is now for your new mortgage or refi with Gabe Winslow at 832-557-1095 or MortgagesbyGabe. Then get your financial life in order with advisor David McClellan 312-933-8823 with a free consult: dmcclellan@forumfinancial.com. Read his retirement tax bomb series at Kiplinger! https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/605109/is-your-retirement-portfolio-a-tax-bomb Need a great CenTex realtor? Contact Laura Baker at 512-784-0505 or laura@andyallenteam.com.

In 1951, Joseph Moses Juran published the Quality Control Handbook, a groundbreaking work that redefined how organizations approach quality. As a Romanian-American engineer and management consultant, Juran brought a fresh perspective to a world recovering from war and industrial upheaval. His handbook wasn't just a technical manual—it was a call to action for leaders to prioritize quality as a strategic cornerstone. Over 70 years later, its principles remain a goldmine for today's leaders striving for operational excellence, customer loyalty, and sustainable growth. This blog dives into the key takeaways from Juran's 1951 masterpiece, offering actionable lessons for modern leadership, with a nod to its historical impact. The Heart of Juran's Vision: Quality as a Leadership Priority At its core, the Quality Control Handbook challenged the notion that quality was solely the domain of inspectors or technicians. Juran argued that quality starts at the top—with leaders who set the tone, define the vision, and rally their teams around it. In 1951, this was a radical shift. Industries were focused on mass production, often at the expense of consistency or customer satisfaction. Juran flipped the script, insisting that quality isn't just about catching defects—it's about designing systems that prevent them. For today's leaders, this is a wake-up call. Whether you're running a tech startup, a manufacturing plant, or a service-based business, quality can't be an afterthought. It's a competitive edge. Juran's handbook teaches us that leadership isn't just about charisma or strategy—it's about embedding a quality mindset into every layer of your organization. Let's unpack the key principles and how they apply to you. Key Principles from the Quality Control Handbook While the original 1951 text isn't widely available online, its foundational ideas have been well-documented through Juran's legacy and subsequent editions. Here's what leaders need to know: Quality Means Fitness for Use Juran defined quality as “fitness for use”—a product or service that meets customer needs and performs as expected. This wasn't about perfection for its own sake; it was about delivering value to the end user. In 1951, this customer-centric focus was ahead of its time, pushing leaders to look beyond factory floors and into the lives of their customers. Leadership Lesson: Put your customers first. Ask: Does this solve their problem? Does it delight them? Whether it's a software update or a new product line, align your definition of quality with what your audience values most. The Pareto Principle: Focus on the Vital Few Juran popularized the 80/20 rule, suggesting that 80% of your quality issues come from just 20% of causes. He called these the “vital few” versus the “trivial many.” This principle gave leaders a practical tool to zero in on what matters most, cutting through the noise of endless problem-solving. Leadership Lesson: Don't spread yourself thin. Use data to pinpoint the handful of issues—like bottlenecks or customer complaints—that drive the biggest headaches. Fixing these delivers outsized results, freeing you to innovate elsewhere. Top Management Must Lead the Charge Juran was crystal clear: quality isn't a middle-management task—it's a leadership imperative. He urged executives to own the quality agenda, setting goals, allocating resources, and holding teams accountable. Without this commitment, quality efforts fizzle out. Leadership Lesson: Step up. Make quality a personal mission. Show your team it's a priority by investing time and budget in it—whether that's training, new tools, or process redesigns. Your involvement signals that quality isn't optional. Train Everyone, Everywhere The handbook pushed for widespread quality training, not just for specialists but for every employee. Juran believed that a shared understanding of quality principles builds a cohesive, capable workforce. This was a bold stance in an era when training was often siloed. Leadership Lesson: Empower your people. Equip them with the skills to spot and solve quality issues. A frontline worker who understands the “why” behind their role is your secret weapon for consistency and innovation. Improve Quality Project by Project Juran advocated a structured, project-based approach to quality improvement. Rather than vague goals, he recommended specific initiatives with clear objectives, timelines, and metrics. This methodical mindset turned quality into a tangible, achievable outcome. Leadership Lesson: Break it down. Tackle quality challenges one project at a time—say, reducing delivery delays or streamlining onboarding. Small wins build momentum and prove the value of your efforts. The Quality Trilogy: Plan, Control, Improve Juran's Quality Trilogy is a three-step framework that's pure gold for leaders: Quality Planning: Identify customers, understand their needs, and design processes to meet them. Quality Control: Monitor performance and catch deviations early. Quality Improvement: Continuously raise the bar by addressing weaknesses. This holistic approach ties quality to every stage of your operation. Leadership Lesson: Think systematically. Map out how you'll plan for quality, maintain it, and push it further. It's a cycle that keeps your organization sharp and adaptable. Mind the Cost of Quality Juran introduced the idea that quality has a price tag—costs of prevention (training, design), appraisal (testing, audits), and poor quality (returns, lost trust). He showed that investing upfront saves money down the line, a lesson rooted in economic pragmatism. Leadership Lesson: Play the long game. Don't skimp on quality to cut corners—it'll cost you more in rework or reputation damage. Budget for prevention and watch your bottom line improve. Why These Principles Matter Today In 2025, the stakes for quality are higher than ever. Customers have endless options and zero patience for mediocrity. A single glitch—a buggy app, a late shipment, a rude interaction—can tank your brand. Juran's handbook, though written in a different era, feels tailor-made for this reality. His focus on customers, data, and leadership aligns perfectly with modern demands like agile workflows, user experience (UX), and data analytics. Take the tech world: a SaaS company lives or dies by its uptime and user satisfaction—Juran's “fitness for use” in action. Or consider manufacturing: lean principles owe a debt to his project-by-project improvements. Even in service industries, training staff to deliver consistent excellence echoes Juran's vision. His ideas aren't relics; they're blueprints for staying relevant. Practical Steps for Leaders Ready to channel Juran in your leadership? Here's how to start: Set a Quality Vision: Define what “fitness for use” means for your customers and rally your team around it. Make it specific—e.g., “Zero defects in our next release” or “95% on-time delivery.” Dig into Data: Use tools like surveys, analytics, or Pareto charts to find your “vital few” problems. Focus your energy there. Lead by Example: Get hands-on with a quality project. If you're in the trenches, your team will follow. Train Relentlessly: Host workshops or bring in experts to upskill your staff. Make quality everyone's job. Launch a Pilot: Pick one process—say, customer support response times—and improve it step by step. Measure the impact and scale it up. Track Costs: Calculate what poor quality costs you (e.g., refunds, churn) versus prevention (e.g., better onboarding). Use the numbers to justify your investments. Historical Impact: A Legacy That Shaped the World Juran's handbook didn't just influence theory—it changed history. In 1954, the Japanese Union of Scientists and Engineers (JUSE) invited him to Japan, where his ideas fueled the country's post-war quality revolution. Companies like Toyota and Sony embraced his teachings, blending them with local practices to create Total Quality Control (TQC). By the 1970s, Japan's reputation for precision and reliability had flipped global markets on their head, a feat Juran called “the greatest quality achievement in the history of mankind.” The 1951 handbook laid the groundwork for this transformation, proving that quality isn't just a tactic—it's a game-changer. Bringing Juran into 2025 As a leader, you're not just managing a team—you're shaping an organization's future. Juran's Quality Control Handbook offers a roadmap to do it right. It's about more than avoiding mistakes; it's about building something exceptional. Imagine your business humming with efficiency, delighting customers, and outpacing competitors—all because you took quality seriously. That's Juran's promise, and it's yours to claim. So, pick one principle—say, the Quality Trilogy—and test it this quarter. Plan for your customers, control your processes, and improve relentlessly. You'll see why Juran's work has endured for over seven decades. Quality isn't a buzzword; it's leadership in action. Let's make it happen.

Hvordan bygger man et globalt teknologiselskap – sammen?Mot slutten av fjoråret ble det kjent at norske Crayon og sveitsiske SoftwareOne ønsker å slå seg sammen. I denne episoden av Paretopodden får vi besøk av Rune Syversen, styreleder i Crayon, og Till Spillmann, styremedlem i SoftwareOne.Samtalen gir et unikt innblikk i prosessen bak sammenslåingen – fra strategiske overveielser til kulturelle forskjeller og forventede synergier. Hva er de største utfordringene i en slik prosess? Og hvorfor mener de to styremedlemmene at selskapene passer godt sammen?Disclaimer:This material has been produced by Pareto Securities for general guidance and information purposes only and shall be seen as marketing material. The information provided should not be considered professional advice and is under no circumstances intended to be used or considered as financial or investment advice, a recommendation or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities or other form of financial asset.The information should not be considered investment research and is consequently not prepared in accordance with the regulation regarding investment analysis. Furthermore, the information is not indented to be regarded as legal, financial, commercial, tax or accounting advice.The information provided in the material is obtained from public sources which Pareto Securities considers reliable. However, the information has not been independently verified, and Pareto makes no guarantee as to its accuracy or completeness. We have taken reasonable care to ensure that, to the best of our knowledge, material information contained herein is in accordance with the facts and contains no omissions likely to affect its understanding. Please note that we make no assurance that the underlying forward-looking statements are free from errors. The material reflects Pareto Securities' assessment at the time of production and may change without further notice. Pareto do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update or correct the information included in the material.Pareto Securities AS is subject to supervision by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Securities Dealers Association. Pareto Securities AB is subject to the supervision by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Sweden.Please see our website https://paretosec.com/our-firm/compliance/ for more information and full disclaimer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode introduces a valuable meta-tool for understanding the generic shapes of models, focusing specifically on the concept of logarithmic relationships and how they manifest as diminishing returns in various aspects of our lives and work. Understanding these patterns can help us make more informed decisions about where to invest our time and resources. Uncover a meta-tool for understanding generic model shapes, specifically focusing on the concept of logarithmic relationships, which operates at a layer above specific mental models. Learn about logarithmic complexity as a concept often encountered in algorithmic analysis and graphing math, characterised by a curve where the slope continuously decreases. Discover how diminishing returns serve as a colloquial way to understand logarithmic relationships, where each unit of input effort yields progressively smaller returns in value or output. Explore examples of where diminishing returns are evident, such as increasing the reliability of a system through quality improvements, estimation efforts, and the value gained from time spent in meetings. Understand how learning processes often follow a logarithmic curve, with rapid initial gains that gradually diminish with experience. Grasp the connection between logarithmic returns and the Pareto principle (80/20 rule), where a small percentage of effort often produces a large percentage of the value. Recognise the importance of identifying the threshold on a logarithmic curve where the returns on further investment become minimal, aiding in more effective resource allocation. Consider how our natural perception might not align with logarithmic realities, potentially leading us to overvalue continued effort beyond the point of significant return. Learn how understanding these fundamental input-output relationships can empower you to make better decisions about where to focus your time, effort, and resources.

Eirik Haavaldsen is Head of Research at Pareto, and one of leading experts on shipping stocks. In this episode, we analyse all shipping segments for 2025, and learn how Eirik finds value in different types of maritime companies. Let us know what you think of the episode, and please comment and share the interview with friends and network. It helps more than you can imagine!Christopher Vonheim is a Norwegian host focused on business, ocean industries, investing, and start-ups. I hope you enjoy this tailor made content, and help us make this channel the best way to consume ideas, models, and stories that can help fuel the next entrepreneurs, leaders and top performers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A chat about Adolescence, the Manosphere, red, blue, purple and black pills; the 80/20 principle (not Pareto), Alpha, Beta and Sigma males, mewing - and a Hiberno English story between a young boy and his grandfather. Support the PodcastConnect on LinkedInConnect on InstagramALL IN Magazine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, host Jenny Marks explains how the 80/20 rule (Pareto's Law) can help flower farmers streamline their business, increase profits, and reduce burnout. She shares real examples from her own farm, including: How analyzing sales data helped identify the most profitable crops Why cutting underperforming flower varieties improved efficiency and revenue How focusing on key sales outlets maximized profits with less effort Why applying the 80/20 rule to time management allows for smarter work, not harder work Join Jenny at the Lean Flower Farming Workshop on July 28-29, 2025, in Clifton Springs, NY (with an optional third day focused on high-earning high tunnels). Register now: www.trademarkfarmer.com/lean Did you enjoy this episode? Please leave a review on Apple or Spotify.Follow Jenny on Instagram: @trademarkfarmerFind free flower business resources: www.trademarkfarmer.com

Este episodio fue grabado durante el evento de la Fundación Inspirar que hicimos el año pasado. Tuvimos una invitada de lujo: La campeona olímpica Paula Pareto. Estas fueron las preguntas que le hice:00:16- ¿Qué cualidades buscarías en un emprendedor de alto rendimiento?01:45- ¿Cómo hiciste para estudiar y competir en un deporte de alto rendimiento al mismo tiempo?02:49- ¿Cuáles son las herramientas necesarias para tener éxito en lo que hagas?04:01- ¿Qué aprendiste de tu carrera deportiva?04:56- ¿Cómo manejás la presión como emprendedora?06:50- ¿Qué consejo le dejarías a alguien que empieza a emprender?Abrazá un propósito. ¡Desafía al mundo e inspirá a otros!Recordá que si querés enviarnos tus preguntas, consultas o sugerencias podés hacerlo a podcast@emprendeconproposito.com.arTambién podés seguirnos en las otras redes:Web: emprendeconproposito.com.ar IG: @sebasosaemprende YT: Emprende con propósito También te dejo un resumen del podcast por si querés guardarte algún concepto: ¿Qué cualidades buscarías en un emprendedor de alto rendimiento?Esfuerzo y disciplina son claves para llegar a cualquier objetivo. Es lo que más resultados me dio para llegar a donde estoy hoy y en el deporte es el factor central porque a nivel físico partís desde distintas situaciones. ¿Cómo hiciste para estudiar y competir en un deporte de alto rendimiento al mismo tiempo?La pasión es lo que cuenta. Cuando empecé a estudiar medicina todos me recomendaban que estudié educación física por ser deportista, pero a mí no me gustaba, y tuve que escuchar mi voz que me decía que me gustaba la medicina y que era por ahí. ¿Cuáles son las herramientas necesarias para tener éxito en lo que hagas?Creo que hay que ver si uno hace lo que hace porque quiere o porque lo hace todo el mundo. Si tenés un propósito, una pasión, un foco y una visión.  ¿Qué aprendiste de tu carrera deportiva?Me dejó muchos valores del deporte que se pueden aplicar todos a la vida. El respeto, el honor, el compañerismo, la amistad, los saludos de comienzo, del final, el respeto al rival, a la competencia como algo bueno para siempre buscar ser mejor. Yo no quiero ser mejor que otro, quiero ser mejor que yo misma en todos los ámbitos de mi vida. ¿Cómo manejás la presión como emprendedora?Yo tengo un café y una línea de viandas gluten free con mi familia y puedo delegar a mis personas de confianza. ¿Qué consejo le dejarías a alguien que empieza a emprender?Si tenés un objetivo, hacé todo por cumplirlo por más difícil que parezca. Me di cuenta que la clave es el día a día. Es la cotidianeidad y hacer cosas todos los días para ser mejor que ayer. #emprendedoresargentinos #emprender #emprendedores #emprendedoreslatinos #franquicias #negociosconvalores #servicioalcliente #servicio #cliente #pequeparetto #altorendimiento #deporte #objetivosclaros #competencia #meta #millaextra #reclutamiento #proposito #equipo    

I scheduled a meeting with my boss one cold mid-March morning in New York City. Since saving up almost $40,000, I had started to taste freedom in my morning coffee. My courage came out of nowhere. I was about to do something crazy. I was on the edge, flirting with the real world. That morning, I did the dead. I quit my full-time job.Three years have passed since that fateful morning, and this week, I hosted a party to celebrate that. As I sipped white wine with my friends, I realized that despite what the crunch of capitalism would want you to believe, I'm still here. I've survived for three years without a full-time job; I also moved to Mexico City and published a teen romance novel in the process. And in some ways, I'm thriving.This article is for anyone in the corporate world who is curious about what I've learned in the chaos of building my new career as a writer, freelancing, and fun, which I'm calling my “post-employment” era. Here, I've distilled for you the five most important professional lessons that I've never shared anywhere else, as well as the most impactful things in other categories of my life.Top Five Lessons for Post-Employment Professional Thriving

Richard Bernabe on productivity hacks and techniques for creators - photographers, artists, writers, musicians, etc. - so they can spend more of their time on the act on creating and less time bogged down on the mundane tasks of running a business.These are battle-tested productivity techniques that transformed my creative practice. Discover how I wrote an entire photography book in just 7 months (instead of 2 years), how to identify which 20% of your work produces 80% of your results, and why multitasking is destroying your creative output. Does the time of day you perform certain tasks matter?These aren't theoretical concepts - they're practical strategies I've implemented with dramatic results.Notable Links:The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim FerrisThe Myth of Multitasking: How Doing It All Gets Nothing Done by Dave CrenshawNever Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love  by Chase JarvisWhen: the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Science by Daniel PinkMuench WorkshopsKelbyOne*****This episode is brought to you by Kase Filters. I travel the world with my camera, and I can use any photography filters I like, and I've tried all of them, but in recent years I've landed on Kase Filters.Kase filters are made with premium materials, HD optical glass, shockproof, with zero color cast, round and square filter designs, magnetic systems, filter holders, adapters, step-up rings, and everything I need so I never miss a moment.And now, my listeners can get 10% off the Kase Filters Amazon page when they visit. beyondthelens.fm/kase and use coupon code BERNABE10Kase Filters, Capture with Confidence.

Ed Lando is the Co-founder of Pareto, where he's been an early investor in over 25 unicorns, started and incubated over 10 companies, and was recently named the most active angel investor in the world according to Crunchbase.We get into how Ed first got started angel investing, how he built up deal flow, why he's historically kept a low profile, and why he hasn't raised outside capital.We also talk concentration vs diversification, why there's many ways to build successful companies, advice on hiring your first employees, and his playbook for incubating companies at Pareto, which is where he focuses most of his time. Timestamps:(0:00) Intro(2:51) Getting into angel investing(3:58) Debating high vs low PR strategies(8:27) How to start building deal flow when angel investing(10:00) Pareto: first investor in people leaving school or their job(12:05) Evolving from angel to fund(14:57) Why Ed didn't raise outside capital(20:33) Concentration vs diversification(28:29) Investing in non-sexy categories(32:50) There's no one right way to build a company(36:03) When to go against traditional wisdom(39:36) Lessons from his anti-portfolio(45:59) Ed's close relationship with his parents((49:04) How we're using AI(54:04) Incubating companies(58:38) Investing beyond spreadsheets and DCF models(1:05:49) How to trust your intuition investing (1:09:47) How to move fast(1:14:24) What most people get wrong when incubating companies(1:18:40) How to hire your first employees(1:26:27) Navigating hype when building and investing1:29:59 Venture math and the Power Law1:35:33 How Ed and Pareto's strategy might break1:38:45 Differences between the US and EuropeReferencedPareto: https://pareto20.com/Misfit Market: https://www.misfitsmarket.com/Catalina Crunch: https://catalinacrunch.com/Zamp: https://zamp.com/Magnus Carlsen on Joe Rogan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybuJ_nIXwGEFollow EdTwitter: https://x.com/edwardlandoLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardlando/Substack: https://edwardlando.substack.com/Follow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it/

00:00 - Learnings So Far In 202507:28 - Container Markets12:25 - Car Carrier And Ro-Ro Markets19:23 - Gas Markets (LNG and LPG)22:27 - Golar LNG26:20 - LPG Ahead28:25 - John Fredriksen Golden Ocean Exit 33:10 - Dry Bulk Markets Ahead40:05 - Tankers Markets And Crude Oil46:30 - How To Value A Shipping Company 51:44 - Best Question To Ask Shipping CEOs?54:33 - How To Make A Career In Shipping And Finance?01:00:44 - Most Impressive Shipping CEOs And Companies?01:03:50 - List A Shipping Company In Oslo or New York?01:05:50 - Favorite Books From Eirik Haavaldsen (Fiction)Eirik Haavaldsen is Head of Research at Pareto, and one of leading experts on shipping stocks. In this episode, we analyse all shipping segments for 2025, and learn how Eirik finds value in different types of maritime companies. Let us know what you think of the episode, and please comment and share the interview with friends and network. It helps more than you can imagine! Christopher Vonheim is a Norwegian host focused on business, ocean industries, investing, and start-ups. I hope you enjoy this tailor made content, and help us make this channel the best way to consume ideas, models, and stories that can help fuel the next entrepreneurs, leaders and top performers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Per acquistare la tua copia del mio libro Fattore 1% e implementare la tua capacità di instaurare nuove abitudini, clicca qui: https://amzn.to/3tfRFNwIn questo episodio estratto dal BeMore Program di Febbraio, ti spiego due principi game-changing da applicare per migliorare nella tua comunicazione e nella tua vita.Buon ascolto ;-)(00:00:00) Intro (00:00:25) La ricerca di Pareto (00:01:23) La legge di Pareto (00:02:03) Come fare esplodere i tuoi risultati? (00:03:16) Quando comunichi, scegli le tue battaglie(00:07:16) Qual è il segreto per riuscire a parlare in pubblico?(00:09:17) Il Fattore 1% in pratica(00:11:22) Migliora dell'1% anche tu #comunicazioneefficace #psicologia #fattore1% #crescitapersonale #publicspeaking 

In this episode, I introduce the powerful 80/20 rule, also known as Pareto's Principle, to help you work less and achieve more. I share my personal journey of transforming my business by focusing on tasks that drive the most results and explain how this principle can revolutionize your productivity. I dive into identifying key drivers in your business, prioritizing high-impact tasks, and strategies to avoid getting trapped in busy work. I also provide actionable questions and exercises to help you pinpoint the most effective activities for business growth. Tune in to discover practical tips for leveraging your strengths and optimizing your workflow to maximize your success.Listen to the full episode to hear:How the 80/20 rule can help you work less while achieving moreThe key to identifying high-impact tasks in your businessStrategies to avoid getting stuck in busyworkPractical exercises to boost productivity and maximize successFREE Resources to Grow Your Online Business:The 100K Method Podcast Series: https://www.gillianperkins.com/the-100k-methodUse code “WORKLESS” for 30% off at The Startup Shop: https://startupsociety.shop/Work with Gillian Perkins:Apply for $100K Mastermind: https://gillianperkins.com/100k-mastermind Get your online biz started with Startup Society: https://startupsociety.com Learn more about Gillian: https://gillianperkins.com Instagram: @GillianZPerkins

President Donald Trump has been using the phrase “common sense” a lot. But it turns out that this is nothing new for politicians. This hour, we look at how common sense is used in politics. Plus, is there really such a thing as common sense? We dig into what it means and if it’s possible to teach it to artificial intelligence. GUESTS: Sophia Rosenfeld: Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania; she is the author of multiple books, including Common Sense: A Political History and her new book, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life Mark Whiting: Research fellow at the Computational Social Science lab at the University of Pennsylvania and chief technology officer of the startup Pareto.AI; you can find the common sense survey here Mayank Kejriwal: Research professor and principal scientist at the University of Southern California The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where does your revenue actually come from… and how can you make more? In this episode, we're diving into the key data analytics I use to track revenue streams, the crucial questions I ask to interpret the numbers, and real-life examples of how I've applied these strategies at Young and Co. I'll also break down how tools like ChatGPT and the Pareto principle can make this process easier and more effective. If you're ready to focus on the true revenue drivers for your business, this episode is for you!

Oslo Stock Exchange listed Capsol Technologies is a carbon capture technology provider with a goal of accelerating the world's transition to a net zero future. The company just released their Q4 report, which saw 2024 end on a positive note as they are entering a very exciting 2025.Together with host Sebastian Baartvedt, CEO Wendy Lam shared her insight on the global CCS market and how Capsol is positioned to stand out within the fast-growing CCS market.Clients can access all our renewables and Capsol research through our research and trading platform: https://online.paretosec.com/instrument/NO0010923121/c/NOK/overviewLearn more about our Nordic trading services: https://www.paretosec.no/aksjehandel-paa-nett/verdipapirhandel/aksjehandel-paa-nettDisclaimer:This material has been produced by Pareto Securities for general guidance and information purposes only and shall be seen as marketing material. The information provided should not be considered professional advice and is under no circumstances intended to be used or considered as financial or investment advice, a recommendation or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities or other form of financial asset.The information should not be considered investment research and is consequently not prepared in accordance with the regulation regarding investment analysis. Furthermore, the information is not indented to be regarded as legal, financial, commercial, tax or accounting advice.The information provided in the material is obtained from public sources which Pareto Securities considers reliable. However, the information has not been independently verified, and Pareto makes no guarantee as to its accuracy or completeness. We have taken reasonable care to ensure that, to the best of our knowledge, material information contained herein is in accordance with the facts and contains no omissions likely to affect its understanding. Please note that we make no assurance that the underlying forward-looking statements are free from errors. The material reflects Pareto Securities' assessment at the time of production and may change without further notice. Pareto do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update or correct the information included in the material.Pareto Securities AS is subject to supervision by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, and member of the Norwegian Securities Dealers Association. Pareto Securities AB is subject to the supervision by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Sweden.Please see our website https://paretosec.com/our-firm/compliance/ for more information and full disclaimer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gresham Harkless shares his journey as a franchise broker, focusing on time management, entrepreneurship, and starting a business.    He emphasizes that many people delay taking action because they feel they need to have everything perfect and all their time available.    Gresham highlights the importance of focusing on the key activities that produce the most significant results rather than trying to do everything.   Gresham also discusses Parkinson's Law, which suggests that work expands to fill the time allocated for it.  He uses an example from his friend Dave, who transitioned out of his full-time job using "power hours"—intentional, focused time to make progress toward his business goals.    Gresham recommends that even dedicating a small amount of focused time, like an hour or 10–20 minutes, can significantly move things forward.   Blue Star Franchise: http://bluestarfranchise.com Browse the Franchise Inventory: https://bluestarfranchise.com/franchise Is franchising right for you? Check this out to see: http://bluestarfranchise.com/assessment Franchise CEO (A CBNation Site - coming soon) - http://franchiseceo.co Check out our CEO Hack Buzz Newsletter–our premium newsletter with hacks and nuggets to level up your organization. Sign up HERE.  I AM CEO Handbook Volume 3 is HERE and it's FREE. Get your copy here: http://cbnation.co/iamceo3. Get the 100+ things that you can learn from 1600 business podcasts we recorded. Hear Gresh's story, learn the 16 business pillars from the podcast, find out about CBNation Architects and why you might be one and so much more. Did we mention it was FREE? Download it today!

Denne uken er vi med å arrangere sjømatkonferansen North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) i Bergen. Konferansen er verdens største sjømatkonferanse og en viktig møteplass for sjømatbransjen med over 1000 deltagere og 400 selskaper representert fra hele verdikjeden.Før konferansen og i kjølvannet av Q4-rapportene fra sjømatselskapene oppsummerer analytikerne Sander Lie og Oda Djupvik markedsbildet nå, biologiske forbedringer, Q4-tallene og hva som blir det viktigste på årets NASF sammen med aksjemegler Sebastian Baartvedt.Ta kontakt med Pareto-megleren din for påmelding til årets konferanse, eller meld deg på NASFs nettsider: https://nor-seafood.com/ Vårt analyseteam dekker ca. 20 sjømataksjer og publiserer ukentlige analyser og lakseprisoppdateringer for aksjehandels- og analysekunder. Les mer om vårt ledende analyse- og aksjehandelstilbud: https://www.paretosec.no/aksjehandel-paa-nett/verdipapirhandel/aksjehandel-paa-nettDisclaimer:Pareto Securities' podkaster inneholder ikke profesjonell rådgivning, og skal ikke betraktes som investeringsrådgivning. Handel i verdipapirer medfører til enhver tid risiko, og historisk avkastning er ingen garanti for fremtidig avkastning. Pareto Securities er verken rettslig eller økonomisk ansvarlig for direkte eller indirekte tap, eller andre kostnader som måtte påløpe ved bruk av informasjon i denne podkasten.Se våre nettsider https://paretosec.com/our-firm/compliance/ for mer informasjon og full disclaimer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the digital networked age, people's attention often overlooks local problems in favour of global ones, which don't necessarily impact them in their daily lives, or over which they don't have a say due to the skewed Pareto distribution of power in modern day societies. Puja Ohlhaver, in her recent research paper ‘Community currencies', proposes a dual-currency model that prices attention and influence in each community, with the ultimate goal of creating a Gaussian distribution of power, either locally, or globally through the dynamic interaction of multiple local communities. This model allows community members to stake their currency to earn non-transferable governance rights, creating a substrate for decentralised societal coordination that favours social innovation.Topics covered in this episode:Puja's backgroundWeb3 research‘Community currencies'Pareto vs. Gaussian distributionsGlobal vs. local power distributionsThe community currencies modelMeritocracy vs. influenceQuadratic fundingGovernance, bribery and the crisis of legitimacyExperimenting with community currenciesEpisode links:Puja Ohlhaver on X'Community Currencies' Research Paper'Decentralized Society' Research PaperSponsors:Gnosis: Gnosis builds decentralized infrastructure for the Ethereum ecosystem, since 2015. This year marks the launch of Gnosis Pay— the world's first Decentralized Payment Network. Get started today at - gnosis.ioChorus One: one of the largest node operators worldwide, trusted by 175,000+ accounts across more than 60 networks, Chorus One combines institutional-grade security with the highest yields at - chorus.oneThis episode is hosted by Friederike Ernst.

Hoy platicamos con Daniel Demicheri, Máster en ciencias, entrenamiento y nutrición, coach online, entrenador personal, divulgador sobre hábitos.Conoce por qué contar con un coach es esencial para mejorar hábitos, equilibrar tu descanso y adaptarte a diversos estilos de vida saludables.Redes Sociales de Daniel Demicheri:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demicherifitness/Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@demicherifitnessWeb:demicherifitness.com

Are you making the most of your time? In this Freestyle Friday episode, Kevin and Alan reveal how tracking time can boost focus, productivity, and success. Kevin shares his initial resistance and surprising benefits, while Alan explains how minor adjustments in time, money, and effort lead to significant results. Whether chasing a dream or just wanting to use your time more wisely, this episode will shift your perspective.Learn more about:Next Level Dreamliner: https://a.co/d/9fPpxEtNext Level Live 2025 - Saturday, April 5th, 2025 (10:00 am to 5:00 pm) - https://bit.ly/4aTwC7Q_____________________NLU is not just a podcast; it's a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.For more information, please check out our website at the link below.

"Be kind, be focused on others, be a steward of your craft and take the opportunity to take action.” - Sean WoodSean Wood, SVP of National Partnerships at ParetoHealth, joined me for a podcast that is far less about captives than it is about being a sales ninja. We talk about getting started in sales, the buyer as a skeptic, collaborative selling, and sales mentorship.Sean was actually a pro basketball player, and he shares how his point guard experience has translated to his career. He shares what led him into sales and why he embraced it so quickly, and why Pareto felt like a natural fit when he joined. Whether you're just getting started in sales or you're a sales veteran, I promise you'll learn something from this week's episode of Self-Funded with Spencer.Chapters:00:00:00 Meet Sean Wood00:04:16 Elevating Your Team As A Leader00:11:04 Transitioning From Pro Basketball To Sales00:20:04 Trust-Based Team Selling 00:24:11 Long-term Relationship Building In Sales00:31:30 The Importance Of Sales Mentorship00:53:09 Healthcare Solutions Driven By The Market00:59:57 The Future Of Healthcare ConsultingKey Links for Social:@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFundedListen on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/Key Words: Transition To Sales, Collaborative Selling, Team Sales, Mentorship, Relationship Building, Sales Process, Healthcare Solutions, Buyer Mentality, Sales Success, podcast, healthcare, health insurance, self funded, self funding, self funded health insurance, self funded insurance#TransitionToSales #CollaborativeSelling #TeamSales #Mentorship #RelationshipBuilding #SalesProcess #HealthcareSolutions #BuyerMentality #SalesSuccess #podcast #healthcare #healthinsurance #selffunded #selffunding #selffundedhealthinsurance #selffundedinsurance

This time around, we have a bit of a different format, featuring the book that started it all for me, The 4-Hour Workweek. Readers and listeners often ask me what I would change or update, but an equally interesting question is: what wouldn't I change? What stands the test of time and hasn't lost any potency? This episode features one of the most important chapters from the audiobook of The 4-Hour Workweek. It includes tools and frameworks that I use to this day, including Pareto's Law and Parkinson's Law. The chapter is narrated by the great voice actor Ray Porter. If you are interested in checking out the rest of the audiobook, which is produced and copyrighted by Blackstone Publishing, you can find it on Audible, Apple, Google, Spotify, Downpour.com, or wherever you find your favorite audiobooks.Sponsors:ExpressVPN high-speed, secure, and anonymous VPN service: https://www.expressvpn.com/tim (get 3 or 4 months free on their annual plans) Momentous high-quality supplements: https://livemomentous.com/tim (code TIM for 20% off)Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://HelixSleep.com/Tim (Between 20% and 27% off all mattress orders and two free pillows)*For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsorsSign up for Tim's email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Discover Tim's books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissYouTube: youtube.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Join host Andrew Stotz for a lively conversation with Cliff Norman and Dave Williams, two of the authors of "Quality as an Organizational Strategy." They share stories of Dr. Deming, insights from working with businesses over the years, and the five activities the book is based on. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.2 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz, and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, we have a fantastic opportunity to learn more about a recent book that's been published called "Quality as an Organizational Strategy". And I'd like to welcome Cliff Norman and Dave Williams on the show, two of the three authors. Welcome, guys.   0:00:27.1 Cliff Norman: Thank you. Glad to be here.   0:00:29.4 Dave Williams: Yeah, thanks for having us.   0:00:31.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I've been looking forward to this for a while. I was on LinkedIn originally, and somebody posted it. I don't remember who, the book came out. And I immediately ordered it because I thought to myself, wait, wait, wait a minute. This plugs a gap. And I just wanna start off by going back to Dr. Deming's first Point, which was create constancy of purpose towards improvement of product and service with the aim to become competitive and stay in business and to provide jobs. And all along, as anybody that learned the 14 Points, they knew that this was the concept of the strategy is to continue to improve the product and service in the eyes of the client and in your business. But there was a lot missing. And I felt like your book has started really to fill that gap. So maybe I'll ask Cliff, if you could just explain kind of where does this book come from and why are you bringing it out now?   0:01:34.5 Cliff Norman: That's a really good question, Andrew. The book was originally for the use of both our clients only. So it came into being, the ideas came out of the Deming four day seminar where Dr. Tom Nolan, Ron Moen and Lloyd Provost, Jerry Langley would be working with Dr. Deming. And then at the end of four days, the people who some of who are our clients would come up to us and said, he gave us the theory, but we don't have any methods. And so they took it very seriously and took Dr. Deming's idea of production viewed as a system. And from that, they developed the methods that we're going to discuss called the five activities. And all of our work with this was completely behind the wall of our clients. We didn't advertise. So the only people who became clients were people who would seek us out. So this has been behind the stage since about 1990. And the reason to bring it out now is to make it available beyond our client base. And Dave, I want you to go ahead and add to that because you're the ones that insisted that this get done. So add to that if you would.   [laughter]   0:02:53.0 Dave Williams: Well, thanks, Cliff. Actually, I often joke at Cliff. So one thing to know, Cliff and Lloyd and I all had a home base of Austin, Texas. And I met them about 15 years ago when I was in my own journey of, I had been a chief quality officer of an ambulance system and was interested in much of the work that API, Associates of Process Improvement, had been doing with folks in the healthcare sector. And I reached out to Cliff and Lloyd because they were in Austin and they were kind enough, as they have been over many years, to welcome me to have coffee and talk about what I was trying to learn and where my interests were and to learn from their work. And over the last 15 years, I've had a great benefit of learning from the experience and methods that API has been using with organizations around the world, built on the shoulders of the theories from Dr. Deming. And one of those that was in the Improvement Guide, one of the foundational texts that we use a lot in improvement project work that API wrote was, if you go into the back, there is a chapter, and Cliff, correct me if I'm wrong, I think it's chapter 13 in this current edition on creating value.   0:04:34.3 Dave Williams: In there, there was some description of kind of a structure or a system of activities that would be used to pursue qualities and organizational strategy. I later learned that this was built on a guide that was used that had been sort of semi self-published to be able to use with clients. And the more that I dove into it, the more that I really valued the way in which it had been framed, but also how, as you mentioned at the start, it provided methods in a place where I felt like there was a gap in what I saw in organizations that I was working with or that I had been involved in. And so back in 2020, when things were shut down initially during the beginning of the pandemic, I approached Lloyd and Cliff and I said, I'd love to help in any way that I can to try to bring this work forward and modernize it. And I say modernize it, not necessarily in terms of changing it, but updating the material from its last update into today's context and examples and make it available for folks through traditional bookstores and other venues.   0:05:58.9 Andrew Stotz: And I have that The Improvement Guide, which is also a very impressive book that helps us to think about how are we improving. And as you said, the, that chapter that you were talking about, 13, I believe it was, yeah, making the improvement of value a business strategy and talking about that. So, Cliff, could you just go back in time for those people that don't know you in the Deming world, I'm sure most people do, but for those people that don't know, maybe you could just talk about your first interactions with Dr. Deming and the teachings of that and what sparked your interest and also what made you think, okay, I wanna keep expanding on this.   0:06:40.0 Cliff Norman: Yeah. So I was raised in Southern California and of course, like many others, I'm rather horrified by what's going on out there right now with fires. That's an area I was raised in. And so I moved to Texas in '79, went to work for Halliburton. And they had an NBC White Paper called, "If Japan Can, Why Can't We?", and our CEO, Mr. Purvis Thrash, he saw that. And I was working in the quality area at that time. And he asked me to go to one of Deming's seminars that was held in Crystal City, actually February of 1982. And I got down there early and got a place up front. And they sent along with me an RD manager to keep an eye on me, 'cause I was newly from California into Texas. And so anyway, we're both sitting there. And so I forgot something. So I ran up stairs in the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel there. And I was coming down and lo and behold, next floor down, Dr. Deming gets on and two ladies are holding him up. And they get in the elevator there and he sees this George Washington University badge and he kind of comes over, even while the elevator was going down and picks it up and looks it up real close to his face. And then he just backs up and leans, holds onto the railing and he says, Mr. Norman, what I'm getting ready to tell you today will haunt you for the rest of your life.   0:08:11.8 Cliff Norman: And that came true. And of course, I was 29 at the time and was a certified quality engineer and knew all things about the science of quality. And I couldn't imagine what he would tell me that would haunt me for the rest of my life, but it did. And then the next thing he told me, he said, as young as you are, if you're not learning from somebody that you're working for, you ought to think about getting a new boss. And that's some of the best advice I've ever gotten. I mean, the hanging around smart people is a great thing to do. And I've been gifted with that with API. And so that's how I met him. And then, of course, when I joined API, I ended up going to several seminars to support Lloyd Provost and Tom Nolan and Ron Moen and Jerry as the various seminars were given. And Ron Moen, who unfortunately passed away about three years ago, he did 88 of those four day seminars, and he was just like a walking encyclopedia for me. So anytime I had questions on Deming, I could just, he's a phone call away, and I truly miss that right now.   0:09:20.5 Cliff Norman: So when Dave has questions or where this reference come from or whatever, and I got to go do a lot of work, where Ron, he could just recall that for me. So I miss that desperately, but we were busy at that time, by the time I joined API was in '88. And right away, I was introduced to what they had drafted out in terms of the five activities, which is the foundation of the book, along with understanding the science of improvement and the chain reaction that Dr. Deming introduced us to. So the science of improvement is what Dr. Deming called the System of Profound Knowledge. So I was already introduced to all that and was applying that within Halliburton. But QBS, as we called it then, Qualities of Business Strategy was brand new. I mean, it was hot off the press. And right away, I took it and started working with my clients with it. And we were literally walking on the bridge as we were building it. And the lady I'm married to right now, Jane Norman, she was working at Conagra, which is like a $15 billion poultry company that's part of Conagra overall, which is most of the food in your grocery store, about 75% of it. And she did one of the first system linkages that we ever did.   0:10:44.5 Cliff Norman: And since then, she's worked at like four other companies as a VP or COO, and has always applied these ideas. And so a lot of this in the book examples and so forth, comes from her actual application work. And when we'd worked together, she had often introduced me, this is my husband, Cliff, he and his partners, they write books, but some of us actually have to go to work. And then eventually she wrote a book with me with Dr. Maccabee, who is also very closely associated with Dr. Deming. So now she's a co-author. So I was hoping that would stop that, but again, we depend on her for a lot of the examples and contributions and the rest of it that show up in the book. So I hope that answers your question.   0:11:28.2 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, and for people like myself and some of our listeners who have heard Dr. Deming speak and really gotten into his teachings, it makes sense, this is going to haunt you because I always say that, what I read originally... I was 24 when I went to my first Deming seminar. And I went to two two-day seminars and it... My brain was open, I was ready, I didn't have anything really in it about, any fixed methods or anything. So, for me, it just blew my mind, some of the things that he was talking about, like thinking about things in a system I didn't think about that I thought that the way we got to do is narrow things down and get this really tight focus and many other things that I heard. And also as a young, young guy, I was in this room with, I don't know, 500 older gentlemen and ladies, and I sat in the front row and so I would see him kind of call them on the carpet and I would be looking back like, oh, wow, I never saw anybody talk to senior management like that and I was kind of surprised. But for those people that really haven't had any of that experience they're new to Deming, what is it that haunts you? What is... Can you describe what he meant when he was saying that?   0:12:42.9 Cliff Norman: I gotta just add to what you just said because it's such a profound experience. And when you're 29, if most of us, we think we're pretty good shape by that time, the brain's fully developed by age 25, judgment being the last function that develops. And so you're pretty well on your way and then to walk in and have somebody who's 81 years old, start introducing you to things you've never even thought about. The idea of the Chain Reaction that what I was taught as a certified quality engineer through ASQ is I need to do enough inspection, but I didn't need to do too much 'cause I didn't want to raise costs too much. And Dr. Deming brought me up on stage and he said, well, show me that card again. So I had a 105D card, it's up to G now or something. And he said, "well, how does this work?" And I said, "well, it tells me how many samples I got to get." And he says, "you know who invented that." And I said, "no, sir, I thought God did." He said, "no, I know the people that did it. They did it to put people like you out of business. Sit down, young man, you've got a lot to learn." And I thought, wow, and here you are in front of 500 people and this is a public flogging by any stretch.   0:13:56.1 Cliff Norman: And it just went on from there. And so a few years later, I'm up in Valley Forge and I'm working at a class with Lloyd and Tom Nolan and a guy named, I never met before named Jim Imboden. And he's just knock-down brilliant, but they're all working at General Motors at that time. And a lot of the book "Planned Experimentation" came out of their work at Ford and GM and Pontiac and the rest of it. And I mean, it's just an amazing contribution, but I go to dinner with Jim that night. And Jim looks at me across the table and he says, Cliff, how did you feel the day you found out you didn't know anything about business economics or anything else? I said, "you mean the first day of the Deming seminar?" He said, "that's what I'm talking about." And that just... That's how profound that experience is. Because all of a sudden you find out you can improve quality and lower costs at the same time. I'm sorry, most people weren't taught that. They certainly weren't taught that in business school. And so it was a whole transformation in thinking and just the idea of a system. Most of what's going on in the system is related to the system and the way it's constructed. And unfortunately, for most organizations, it's hidden.   0:15:04.2 Cliff Norman: They don't even see it. So when things happen, the first thing that happens is the blame flame. I had a VP I worked for and he'd pulled out his org chart when something went bad and he'd circle. He said, this is old Earl's bailiwick right here. So Cliff, go over and see Earl and I want you to straighten him out. Well, that's how most of it runs. And so the blame flame just takes off. And if you pull the systems map out there and if he had to circle where it showed up, he'd see there were a lot of friends around that that were contributing. And we start to understand the complexity of the issue. But without that view, and Deming insisted on, then you're back to the blame flame.   0:15:45.1 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And Dave, I see a lot of books on the back on your shelf there about quality and productivity and team and many different things. But maybe you could give us a little background on kind of how how you, besides how you got onto this project and all that. But just where did you come from originally and how did you stumble into the Deming world?   0:16:08.9 Dave Williams: Sure. Well, sadly, I didn't have the pleasure of getting to sit in on a four-day workshop. Deming died in 1993. And at that time, I was working on an ambulance as a street paramedic and going to college to study ambulance system design and how to manage ambulance systems, which was a part of public safety that had sort of grown, especially in the United States in the '60s. And by the time I was joining, it was about 30 years into becoming more of a formalized profession. And I found my way to Austin, Texas, trying to find one of the more professionalized systems to work in and was, worked here as a paramedic for a few years. And then decided I wanted to learn more and started a graduate program. And one of the courses that was taught in the graduate program, this is a graduate program on ambulance management, was on quality. And it was taught by a gentleman who had written a, a guide for ambulance leaders in the United States that was based on the principles and methods of quality that was happening at this time. And it pieced together a number of different common tools and methods like Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams and things like that.   0:17:33.1 Dave Williams: And it mentioned the different leaders like Deming and Juran and Crosby and others. And so that was my first exposure to many of these ideas. And because I was studying a particular type of healthcare delivery system and I was a person who was practicing within it and I was learning about these ideas that the way that you improve a system or make improvement is by changing the system. I was really intrigued and it just worked out at the time. One of the first roles, leadership roles that emerged in my organization was to be the Chief Quality Officer for the organization. And at the time, there were 20 applicants within my organization, but I was the only one that knew anything about any of the foundations of quality improvements. Everybody else applied and showed their understanding of quality from a lived experience perspective or what their own personal definitions of quality were, which was mostly around inspection and quality assurance. I had, and this won't surprise Cliff, but I had a nerdy response that was loaded with references and came from all these different things that I had been exposed to. And they took a chance on me because I was the only one that seemed to have some sense of the background. And I started working and doing...   0:19:10.1 Dave Williams: Improvement within this ambulance system as the kind of the dedicated leader who was supposed to make these changes. And I think one of the things that I learned really quickly is that frequently how improvement efforts were brought to my attention was because there was a problem that I, had been identified, a failure or an error usually attributed to an individual as Cliff pointed out, somebody did something and they were the unfortunate person who happened to kind of raise this issue to others. And if I investigated it all, I often found that there were 20 other people that made the same error, but he was, he or she was the only one that got caught. And so therefore they were called to my office to confess. And when I started to study and look at these different issues, every time I looked at something even though I might be able to attribute the, first instance to a person, I found 20 or more instances where the system would've allowed or did allow somebody else to make a similar error.   0:20:12.6 Dave Williams: We just didn't find it. And it got... And it became somewhat fascinating to me because my colleagues were very much from a, if you work hard and just do your job and just follow the policy then good quality will occur. And nobody seemed to spend any time trying to figure out how to create systems that produce good results or figure out how to look at a system and change it and get better results. And so most of my experience was coming from these, when something bubbled up, I would then get it, and then I'd use some systems thinking and some methods and all of a sudden unpack that there was a lot of variation going on and a lot of errors that could happen, and that the system was built to get results worse than we even knew.   0:21:00.7 Dave Williams: And it was through that journey that I ended up actually becoming involved with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and learning about what was being done in the healthcare sector, which API at the time were the key advisors to Dr. Don Berwick and the leadership at IHI. And so much of the methodology was there. And actually, that's how I found my way to Cliff. I happened to be at a conference for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and there was an advertisement for a program called the Improvement Advisor Professional Development Program, which was an improvement like practitioner project level program that had been developed by API that had been adapted to IHI, and I noticed that Cliff and Lloyd were the faculty, and that they were in my hometown. And that's how I reached out to them and said, hey can we have coffee? And Cliff said, yes. And so...   0:21:53.1 Andrew Stotz: And what was that, what year was that roughly?   0:22:00.3 Dave Williams: That would've been back in 2002 or 2003, somewhere in that vicinity.   0:22:02.0 Andrew Stotz: Hmm. Okay.   0:22:06.8 Dave Williams: Maybe a little bit later.   0:22:06.9 Andrew Stotz: I just for those people that are new to the topic and listening in I always give an example. When I worked at Pepsi... I graduated in 1989 from university with a degree in finance. And I went to work at Pepsi in manufacturing and warehouse in Los Angeles at the Torrance Factory originally, and then in Buena Park. But I remember that my boss told me, he saw that I could work computers at that time, and so I was making charts and graphs just for fun to look at stuff. And he said, yeah, you should go to a one of these Deming seminars. And so he sent me to the one in... At George Washington University back in 1990, I think it was. And but what was happening is we had about a hundred trucks we wanted to get out through a particular gate that we had every single morning. And the longer it took to get those trucks out the longer they're gonna be on LA traffic and on LA roads, so if we can get 'em out at 5:00 AM, fantastic. If we get 'em out at 7:00, we're in trouble. And so they asked me to look at this and I did a lot of studying of it and I was coming for like 4:00 in the morning I'd go up to the roof of the building and I'd look down and watch what was happening. And then finally I'd interview everybody. And then finally the truck drivers just said, look, the loaders mess it up so I gotta open my truck every morning and count everything on it. And I thought, oh, okay.   0:23:23.7 Andrew Stotz: So I'll go to the loaders. And I go, why are you guys messing this up? And then the loaders was like, I didn't mess it up. We didn't have the production run because the production people changed the schedule, and so we didn't have what the guy needed. And so, and oh, yeah, there was a mistake because the production people put the product in the wrong spot, and therefore, I got confused and I put the wrong stuff on by accident. And then I went to the production people and they said, well, no, it's not us. It's the salespeople. They keep putting all this pressure on us to put this through right now, and it's messing up our whole system. And that was the first time in my life where I realized, okay, it's a system. There's interconnected parts here that are interacting, and I had to go back into the system to fix, but the end result was I was able to get a hundred trucks through this gate in about 45 minutes instead of two hours, what we had done before.   0:24:18.8 Andrew Stotz: But it required a huge amount of work of going back and looking at the whole system. So the idea of looking at the science of improvement, as you mentioned, and the System of Profound Knowledge, it's... There's a whole process. Now, I wanna ask the question for the person who gets this book and they dig into it, it's not a small book. I've written some books, but all of 'em are small because I'm just, maybe I just can't get to this point. But this book is a big book, and it's got about 300... More than 300 pages. What's the promise? What are they gonna get from digging into this book? What are they gonna take away? What are they gonna be able to bring to their life and their business that they couldn't have done without really going deeper into this material?   0:24:57.7 Cliff Norman: Dave, go ahead.   0:25:01.4 Dave Williams: Well, I was gonna joke by saying they're gonna get hard work and only half because this is just the theory in the book and many of the... And sort of examples of the method. But we're in the process of preparing a field guide which is a much deeper companion guide loaded with exercises and examples of and more of the methods. So the original guide that that API had developed was actually about an eight... Well, I don't know how many pages it was, but it was a thick three inch binder. This, what you have there is us refining the content part that explains the theory and kind of gets you going. And then we moved all of the exercises and things to the field guide for people that really wanna get serious about it.   0:26:00.3 Dave Williams: And the reason I say hard work is that the one thing that you won't get, and you should probably pass it if this book if you're on Amazon, is you're not gonna get an easy answer. This is, as a matter of fact, one of the things that emerged in our early conversations about was this project worth it? Is to say that this is hard work. It's work that a very few number of leaders who or leadership teams that really want to learn and work hard and get results are gonna embark on. But for those, and many of our clients, I think are representative of that, of those people that say, gosh, I've been working really hard, and I feel like we could do better. I feel like I could make a bigger impact, or I could serve more customers or clients.   0:26:44.0 Dave Williams: And but I am... And I'm in intrigued or inspired or gotten to a certain point with improvement science on my own, but I want to figure out how to be more systematic and more global and holistic at that approach. Then that's what QOS is about. It builds on the shoulders of the other books that you mentioned, like The Improvement Guide which we talked about as being a great book about improvement, and improvement specifically in the context of a project. And other books like The Healthcare Data Guide and the Planned Experimentation, which are also about methods, healthcare Data Guide being about Shewhart charts, and Planned Experimentation being about factorial design. This book is about taking what Cliff described earlier as that... I always say it's that that diagram that people put on a slide and never talk about from Deming of production views as a system and saying, well, how would we do this if this is the model for adopting quality as strategy, what are the methods that help us to do this?   0:28:01.3 Dave Williams: And this book breaks that down into five activities that are built on the shoulders of profound knowledge, built on the shoulders of the science of improvement and provide a structure to be able to initially develop a system, a systems view of your organization, and then build on that by using that system to continually operate and improve that organization over time. So the book describes the activities. The book describes some of the things that go into getting started, including being becoming good at doing results-driven improvement, building a learning system, focusing in on the things that matter to your organization. And then working towards building the structure that you can improve upon. The book creates that foundation. It provides examples from clients and from people that we've worked with so that you can see what the theory looks like in practice get, kind of get a flavor for that. And we hope it builds on the shoulders of other work that I mentioned in the other books that compliment it and provides a starting point for teams that are interested in taking that journey.   0:29:26.5 Andrew Stotz: And Cliff, from your perspective, if somebody had no, I mean, I think, I think the Deming community's gonna really dive in and they're gonna know a lot of this stuff, but is gonna help them take it to the next level. But for someone who never had any real experience with Deming or anything like that, and they stumble upon this interview, this discussion, they hear about this book, can they get started right away with what's in this book? Or do they have to go back to foundations?   0:29:49.6 Cliff Norman: No, I think that can definitely get started. There's a lot of learning as you know, Andrew, from going through the four-day to understand things. And I think we've done a pretty good job of integrating what Dr. Deming taught us, as well as going with the methods. And one of the things people would tell him in his four-day seminars is, Dr. Deming, you've given us the theory, but we have no method here. And he said, well, if I have to give you the method, then you'll have to send me your check too. So he expected us to be smart enough to develop the methods. And the API folks did a really good job of translating that into what we call the five activities. So those five activities are to understand the purpose of the organization.   0:30:35.6 Cliff Norman: And a lot of people when they write a purpose, they'll put something up there but it's usually we love all our people. We love our customers even more. If only they didn't spend so much, and we'll come out with something like that and there'll be some pablum that they'll throw up on the wall. Well, this actually has some structure to it to get to Deming's ideas. And the first thing is let's try to understand what business we're in and what need we're serving in society that drives customers to us. So that word is used not need coming from customers, but what is it that drives them to us so we can understand that? And then the second part of that purpose needs to define the mainstay, the core processes, the delivery systems that relate directly to customers. And just those two ideas alone, just in the first activity of purpose, most people haven't thought about those ideas.   0:31:27.8 Cliff Norman: And can somebody pick up this book and do that? Yes. And that will answer a big challenge from Dr. Deming. Most people don't even know what business they're in, haven't even thought about it. And so that we... That question gets answered here, I think, very thoroughly. In this second activity, which is viewing the organization as a system contains two components that's viewing the organization as a system. And that's difficult to do, and a lot of people really don't see the need for it. Jane Norman reminded Dave and I on a call we did last week, that when you talk about a systems map with people, just ask 'em how do they know what's going on inside other organizations, other departments within their organization? How do they know that? And most of us are so siloed.   0:32:11.2 Cliff Norman: Somebody over here is doing the best job they can in department X, and meanwhile, department Y doesn't know anything about it. And then three months later the improvement shows up and all of a sudden there's problems now in department Y. Well, somebody who's focused on the organization as a system and sees how those processes are related when somebody comes to a management meeting said, well, we've just made a change here, and this is gonna show up over here in about three months, and you need to be prepared for that. Andrew, that conversation never takes place. So the idea of having the systems map and this book can help you get started on that. The second book that Dave was just talking about, there are more replete examples in there. I mean, we've got six case studies from clients in there than the practitioners and people who actually are gonna be doing this work.   0:33:01.7 Cliff Norman: That's gonna be absolutely... They're gonna need that field guide. And I think that's where Dave was coming from. The third activity is the information activity, how are we learning from outside the organization and how do we get feedback and research into the development of new products and services and the rest of it? And so we provided a system there. In fact, Dave took a lead on that chapter, and we've got several inputs there that have to be defined. And people just thinking through that and understanding that is huge. When Dr. Deming went to Japan in 1950, he was there to do the census to see how many Japanese were left after World War II. And then he got an invitation to come and talk to the top 50 industrialists. And he started asking questions and people from the Bank of Tokyo over there and all the rest of it.   0:33:52.4 Cliff Norman: And Dr. Deming says, well, do you have any problems? And they said, what do you mean? He says, well, do customers call up and complain? And he said, yes. And he says, well, do you have any data? And he said, no. He says, but if they complain, we give them a Geisha calendar. And then Dr. Deming says, well, how many Geisha calendars have you given out? So it's like, in 1991, I'm sitting here talking to a food company and I asked him, I said, well, you get customer complaints? Oh yeah. Do you have any data on it? No, but we give 'em a cookbook. I said, well, how many cookbooks are you giving out? So I was right back to where Deming was in 1950, so having the information activity, that third activity critical so that we're being proactive with it and not just reactive.   0:34:43.7 Cliff Norman: And so I think people can read through that and say, well, what are we doing right now? Well, I guess we're not doing this and move on. Then the fourth activity is absolutely critical. This is where you know that you've arrived, because now you're going to integrate not only the plan to operate, but a plan to improve. That becomes the business plan. For most people in business plan they do a strategy, and then they have a bunch of sub strategies, and they vote on what's important, and they do some other things, and then a year later they come back and revisit it. Well, what happens here is there's some strategic objectives that are laid out, and then immediately it comes down to, okay, what's gonna be designed and redesigned in this system? Which processes, products and services are gonna be designed? 'Cause we can all see it now, Andrew.   0:35:31.6 Andrew Stotz: Mm.   0:35:31.6 Cliff Norman: We can, it's right in front of us. So it's really easy to see at this point, and now we can start to prioritize and make that happen on purpose. As an example when Jane was a vice president at Conagra, they came up with five strategic objectives. Then they made a bunch of promises to corporate about what they were gonna do and when they were going to achieve it. When she laid out the systems map for them, they were horrified that over 30% of the processes that they needed to be having precooked meat didn't even exist. They were gonna have to be designed. And so Jane and I sat there and looking at 'em and said, well, if you'd had this map before you made the promises, would you have made those promises? No, no, we're in trouble right now. I gotta go back to the CEO of the holding company and tell 'em we're not gonna make it.   0:36:22.4 Cliff Norman: But there's a whole bunch of people that sit around in goal settings. We're gonna do this by when and have no idea about what they're talking about. So that's a little bit dangerous here. And then the fifth activity, it's probably the most important. And where I want people to start, I actually want 'em to start on the fifth activity, which is managing individual improvement activities, team activities. And what I mean by that is, nothing can hold you up from starting today on making an improvement and use the model for improvement. The three basic questions, you can write that on an envelope and apply it to a project and start right away. Because learning the habit of improvement, and when you identify, and this is typical in the planning process, again, a chapter that Dave took a lead on in the planning chapter.   0:37:03.8 Cliff Norman: When you lay that out, you're gonna come up with three to five strategic objectives, but that's gonna produce anywhere between 15 and 20 improvement efforts. And when people start three improvement efforts, and they see how difficult that is to traffic through an organization, particularly if you have a systems map, makes it a lot easier. If you don't have that, then there's all sorts of things that happen to you.   0:37:21.3 Andrew Stotz: Hmm.   0:37:22.8 Cliff Norman: But the, the idea of that all coming together is critical. And where you... Where that really shows up for the reader here is in chapter one. So Lloyd Provost took a lead on chapter one. If you read chapter one, you got a pretty good idea of what's gonna happen in the rest of the book. But more importantly, in that book, in chapter one, there's a survey at the end. And every time we give this out to people, they feel real bad.   0:37:48.1 Cliff Norman: And well, Cliff, any, on a scale of one to 10, we only came up with a four. Well, what I would tell 'em is, if you can come up with a four, you're pretty good. And those fundamentals have to be in place. In other words, the management needs to trust each other. There are certain things that have to be in place before you can even think about skating backwards here. And quality as an organizational strategy is all about skating backwards. The people who don't have the fundamentals can't even start to think about that.   0:38:15.0 Cliff Norman: So that survey and the gap between where they are at a four and where they're going to be at a 10, we've integrated throughout the whole book. So as you're reading through the whole book, you're seeing that gap, and then you have a good plan forward as to what do I need to do to get to be a six, an eight, and what do I need to do to finally arrive at a 10? Dave, why don't you add to what I just said there, and I gotta turn on a light here, I think.   0:38:39.2 Dave Williams: Well, I think one of the things that, and Cliff has probably been the one that has helped me appreciate this to the biggest degree is the role in which improvement plays in quality as an organizational strategy. So, I mean, I think in general, in our world, improvement is seen as kind of like a given, but in our case, what we've found is that many times people are not working on the things right in front of them or the problems in which they have, that they are on the hook... I like to say, are on the hook to get accomplished right now. And like Cliff mentioned, many of my clients when I engage with them, I say, well, what have you promised this year? And they'll give me a list and I'll say, well, okay, what are you working on to improve? And they'll be working on projects that are not related to that list of things that they've got to affect. And so usually that's a first pivot is to say, well, let's think about what are the things that you're working on or should be working on that are either designing or redesigning your system to achieve these strategic objectives.   0:39:48.8 Dave Williams: And the reason to put the attention on that fifth activity and get people working on improvement, there's a good chance that the improvement capability within the organization currently isn't to the level that you need it, where you can get results-driven projects happening at a clip that will enable you to chip away at 20 projects versus four in a year. And that it's not well integrated into the leadership, into the support structures that you have. In addition, if you're trying to use improvement on things that you're on the hook for, and Cliff noted, especially if you've got a system map while you're on that journey, you're gonna start to pick up on where the disconnects are. Similar to your example, Andrew, where you were describing your experience working backwards in the process, you're going to start to recognize, oh, I'm working on this, but it's linked to these other things. Or in order for me to do this, I need that. Or... And so that amplifies the project to be kind of just a vehicle to appreciate other things that are interconnected, that are important in improving our work together.   0:41:05.1 Dave Williams: And so I think that that's a critical piece. I mean, I sometimes describe it as the disappointment that people have when they open QOS because they want to have a new method or a new thing to work on. I said, well, there's a lot new in here. And at the same time, we want to build on the shoulders of the fundamentals. We want to build it because it's the fundamentals that are going to be able for you to activate the things that are necessary in order for you to skate backwards, like Cliff was describing earlier.   0:41:36.2 Cliff Norman: I got to add to what Dave was saying because this actually happened to me with a... I'm not going to mention the name of the company, but it's a high-tech companies worldwide. And we got up, a good friend of mine, Bruce Bowles, and we were introducing the idea of quality as an organizational strategy. And one of the guys in the front row, he says, Cliff, this just sounds like common sense, why aren't we all doing this? I said, that's a real good question. Let me put that in the parking lot here. So I put it up on a flip chart. And so we went through the idea of... We were working on Shewhart control charts. And so we showed him one of those. And at the end of all that, he raised his hand and I said, yeah, he says, Cliff, this is hard. I said, well, let me put that up here. This is hard. Then we went through the systems map and he says, look, this is hard. By the end of the two days, it was, this is hard, this is hard, this is hard, this is hard. This goes back to what Dave was saying earlier about once you open this page, there's some work that takes off, but more importantly, there's something new to learn here.   0:42:40.3 Cliff Norman: And that's frustrating to people, especially when they've got to quit doing what they've done in the past. It's what Deming says, you got to give up on the guilt and you got to move forward and transform your own thinking. So there's something here for the management to do. And if they're not willing to do that work, then this is probably not a good thing for them. Just go back to the blame flame and circling org charts and that kind of stuff and then wonder why we're losing money.   0:43:11.8 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, and I think that that's one of the things that we see in the Deming community is that, why are people doing it the way they are, dividing things up and doing KPIs and saying, you take care of that. And we're gonna optimize by focusing on each... We see how that all kind of falls apart.   0:43:27.9 Cliff Norman: It all falls through reductionism.   0:43:29.8 Andrew Stotz: [laughter] Yeah.   0:43:32.5 Cliff Norman: It doesn't understand the system, yeah.   0:43:32.5 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, so what I want to do now is I was just thinking about a book on my shelf called "Competitive Strategy" by Michael Porter. And there's a whole field of study in the area of strategy for businesses. Now you guys use, and you explain a little bit about the way you come up with... Why you come up with organization rather than let's say company as an example. But let's just talk about strategy for a moment. Generally we're taught in business school that there's two main strategies. One is a differentiation strategy. I like to teach my students like Starbucks. It's very differentiated from the old model. And you can have a low cost strategy, which is like McDonald's, where it's all about operational efficiency.   0:44:18.4 Andrew Stotz: And those are two different strategies that can get to the same goal, which is to build a strong and sustainable business that's making a good profit for the employees to get paid well and for shareholders. And so for somebody that understands some of the foundations of typical strategy, it's hard for them to think, wait, wait, wait, what? You're just talking about just better quality is the strategy? How should they frame this concept of quality as a strategy in relation to what we've been taught about low cost and differentiation and other types of strategy? How do we think about this book in relation to that?   0:45:03.2 Cliff Norman: When Deming wrote his book, his very first one of the four "Out of the Crisis", which was the whole idea about quality and competitive position. But he was kind of answering that. And at that time, what we had is we had three companies in the United States that were going at each other, Ford, GM, and Chrysler. And they'd call each other up, well, what are you doing this year? Oh, we're making cars that don't work. Sometimes they break down. That's why we have Mr. Goodwrench to repair them. That's an extra revenue source for us. As one of the executives that are challenged, a colleague of mine, he said, you don't realize how much money we're gonna lose here taking the repair business out because we make a lot of money out of repair. So making cars that don't work has been a good revenue stream for us. Well, all that works out great, until somebody shows up like Toyota that has a car that works and doesn't need to be repaired by Mr. Goodwrench all the time.   0:45:58.8 Cliff Norman: So the mind shift there, and what Dr. Deming was saying is that he was focused on the competition's already licked. And I don't think Porter's thought about that very much, not to be overly critical, because I'm an admirer of his, but the idea of focusing on the need and why is that customer coming to us so that we make a journey, and the Japanese call that being in the Gemba, being in the presence with the customers as they use the product or service and doing the research and the rest of it. And then coming back and then redesign that product or service so that it not only grabs the current customer, but we start thinking about customers that are not even our customers and innovate and actually come up with a design that actually brings new customers to us through products and services that we haven't thought about yet. So if I show you three products just to make a picture of it, we often show like an abacus, which was a hand calculating machine about BC. Then there's a slide rule that came out about the same year that Columbus discovered America. And that was good till about 1968.   0:47:06.0 Cliff Norman: And then the calculator, the handheld calculator came out. Well the need for all three of those products is to do handheld calculations. So we've had that need since BC. Now in 1967, K&E Calculator was making that slide rule, which I used in junior high school. If you'd have come up to me and said, Cliff, what do you need in the way of a better slide rule? I said, well can you get me a holster for it? 'Cause I don't like having to stick me in the face. I put it in my pocket and it sticks me in the face. And if you can give me a holster for that, that would be my view of that. I wasn't about to come up with the TI calculator. That wasn't gonna happen. Not from Cliff. It's gonna come from an engineer at TI. Now, K&E Calculator, if they'd been doing research in the marketplace and saying, is there something that can totally disrupt us going on here? Rather than just looking at figuring out a way to make the K&E slide rule better, they might've discovered that.   0:48:07.0 Cliff Norman: Most people don't do that. They just go back. They just lose their business. And it was interesting in '67, their annual report put out, what's the world gonna look like 100 years from now? So they had dome cities, they had cars flying, they had all sorts of things going on that were great innovations, but they didn't have the TI calculator in there, along with the HP calculator. And that wiped out their business. And so if people understand the need, and that's what Dr. Deming is getting at, he says, they really haven't thought about what business they're in. So why are the customers coming to us? He says, no customer ever asked for pneumatic tire. No customer ever asked for a microwave oven. That came from people with knowledge that were looking at how the customers are using the current products and services and say, now, is there technology innovation going on that we can actually do a better job of providing a better match in the future?   0:48:56.9 Andrew Stotz: And can you explain why you use the word need as opposed to want?   0:49:06.5 Cliff Norman: That's a good question. The idea is that there's a need that's constant in society. So that need of having to do handheld calculations or needing healthcare or to pay bills, that need is constant throughout civilization. And so if I want something that's interesting, that might be the match. That might be something to do with some features what I'm offering and so forth. I'd like to have this, I'd like to have that. But the need and the way we're using that is it doesn't come from customers. It's what drives customers to us. And it's always been there. It's always been there. Need for transportation, for example. Whether you're walking or driving a bicycle or a car or a plane.   0:49:53.6 Andrew Stotz: And Dave, how would you answer the same question when you think about a person running a business and they've had many strategy meetings in their business, they've set their corporate strategy of what we're doing, where we're going and that type of thing. And maybe they've picked, we're gonna be a low cost producer. Thailand's an interesting one because Thailand had a ability to be low cost producers in the past. And then China came along and became the ultimate low cost producer. And all of a sudden, Thai companies had a harder time getting the economies of scale and the like. And now the Chinese manufacturers are just really coming into Thailand, into the Thai market. And now it's like, for a Thai company to become a low cost leader is almost impossible given the scale that China and the skills that they have in that. And so therefore, they're looking at things like I've got to figure out how to get a better brand. I've got to figure out how to differentiate and that type of thing. How does this... How could this help a place like that and a management team that is struggling and stuck and is looking for answers?   0:51:07.0 Dave Williams: Well, I go back to what Cliff said about that many organizations don't pause to ask, why do they exist? What is the need of which they are trying to fulfill? Much of my background involved working in the service industry, initially with public safety and ambulance systems and fire systems, and then later in healthcare and in education. And in many of those environments, especially in places where in public systems where they've been built and they may have existed for a long time, when you ask them about what are they trying to accomplish as an organization or what is it that they... The need that they're trying to fulfill? Typically, they're gonna come back to you with requests or desires or wants or sort of characteristics or outcomes that people say they expect, but they don't pause to ask, like, well, what is the actual thing of which I'm trying to tackle? And Cliff mentioned like, and we actually, I should mention in the book, we have a list of different strategies, different types of strategies, all the different ones that you mentioned, like price and raw material or distribution style or platform or technology.   0:52:30.9 Dave Williams: There's different types of strategies, and the one that we are focusing in on is quality. But I think it's important for people to ask the question. Cliff mentioned transportation. There's a number of different great examples, actually, I think in transportation, where you could look at that as being an ongoing need as Cliff mentioned from the days when there was no technology and we were all on foot to our current day. Transportation has been a need that existed and many different things over time have been created from bicycles, probably one of the most efficient technologies to transport somebody, wheels and carts. And now, and you were referencing, we've made reference to the car industry. It's a fascinating experience going on of the car world and gas versus electric, high technology versus not, autonomous vehicles. There's, and all of them are trying to ask the question of, are there different ways in which I might be able to leverage technology to achieve this need of getting from point A to point B and be more useful and potentially disrupt in the marketplace? And so I think the critical thing initially is to go back and ask and learn and appreciate what is that need?   0:53:58.6 Dave Williams: And then think about your own products and services in relation to that. And I think we include four questions in the book to be able to kind of think about the need. And one of those questions is also, what are other ways in which you could fulfill that need? What are other ways that somebody could get transportation or do learning or to help sort of break you away from just thinking about your own product as well? And that's useful because it's super tied to the system question, right? Of, well, this is the need that we're trying to fulfill and these are the products and services that are matching that need. Then the system that we have is about, we need to build that and design that in order to produce, not only produce the products and services that match that need, but also continually improve that system to either improve those products and services or add or subtract products and services to keep matching the need and keep being competitive or keep being relevant. And maybe if it's not in a competitive environment where you're gonna go out of business, at least be relevant in terms of the city service or community service, government service that continues to be there to match the need of the constituents. So I think it's a really important piece.   0:55:17.0 Dave Williams: It's that North star of saying, providing a direction for everything else. And going back to your original comment or question about strategy, and many times people jump to a strategy or strategies or, and those might be more around particular objectives or outcomes that they're trying to get to. It may not actually be about the method or the approach like cost or technology that they may not even think that way. They may be more thinking about a plan. And I really encourage people to be clear about what they're trying to accomplish and then start to ask, well, how's the system built for that? And later we can bring a process that'll help us learn about our system and learn about closing that gap.   0:56:05.1 Cliff Norman: Yeah. Just what I'd add to that, Andrew, because you mentioned China, a few other countries, but I think the days are coming to an end fairly quickly where somebody can say, oh, we can go to this country. They have low wages, we'll put our plant there and all that. There's a lot of pushback on that, particularly in the United States. And if that's your strategy, that hadn't required a lot of thinking to say the least. But in 1966, over 50% of the countries in the world were, let me rephrase that, over 50% of the population of the world lived in extreme poverty. So there were a lot of targets to pick out where you want to put your manufacturing. And in 2017, and you and Dave were probably like myself, I didn't see this hit the news, but that figure had been reduced from over 50% down to 9%. And all you have to do is just, and I worked in China a lot, they're becoming very affluent. And as they become very affluent, that means wages are going up and all the things that we want to see throughout the world. And I think that's happening on a grand scale right now, but you're also getting a lot of pushback from people when they see the middle class in their own country, like here in the United States, destroyed, and say, I think we've had enough of this. And I think you're gonna see that after January. You're gonna see that take off on steroids.   0:57:31.7 Cliff Norman: And that's gonna happen, and I think throughout the world, people are demanding more, there's gonna have to be more energy, every time a baby is born, the footprints gets bigger for more energy and all the rest of it. So it's gonna be interesting, and I think we are going into an age for the planet where people as Dr. Deming promised that they'd be able to live materially better, and the whole essence of this book is to focus on the quality of the organization and the design and redesign of a system to a better job of matching the need and cause that chain reaction to go off. When Jane and I went over to work in Sweden, Sven Oloff who ran three hospitals and 62 dental clinics there and also managed the cultural activities and young shipping. He said, Cliff, I report to 81 politicians. I don't wanna have to go to them to put a bond on an election to get more money for my healthcare system, I wanna use Dr. Deming's chain reaction here to improve care to the patients in my county and also reduce our costs. A whole bunch of people that don't even believe that's possible in healthcare.   0:58:39.9 Cliff Norman: But that's what Sven Oloff said that's what you're here for. And that's what we proceeded to do, they launched about 350 projects to do just that, and one of their doctors, Dr. Motz [?], he's amazing. We taught him a systems map, I came back two months later, and he had them in his hospital on display. And I said, Motz, how did you do this? He said well Cliff, I'm an endocrinologist by education as a doctor, of course, that's a person who understands internal systems in the body. So he said the systems approach was a natural for me. But I'd like to say it was that easy for everybody else, that systems map idea and as you know, being in the Deming seminar, that's quite a challenge to move from viewing the organization as an org chart, which has been around since Moses father-in-law told him, you need to break up the work here a little bit, and the tens of tens reporting to each other, and then of course, the Romans took that to a grander scale, and so a centurion soldier had 100 other soldiers reporting to him. So we've had org charts long and our federal government took that to a whole new level.   0:59:46.1 Cliff Norman: But the idea is switching off the org chart from biblical times to actually getting it up to Burt [?] about 1935 and understanding a system that's kind of a nose bleed in terms of how much we're traveling there to get us into the 21st century here.   1:00:04.0 Andrew Stotz: And I left Ohio, I grew up outside of Cleveland, and I left Ohio in about 1985, roughly. And it was still a working class, Cleveland had a huge number of jobs and there was factories and all that, and then I went to California, and then I moved to Thailand in 1992. So when I go back to Ohio now, many years later, decades later, it's like a hollowed out place, and I think about what you're saying is... And what's going on in the world right now is that I think there's a desire in America to bring back manufacturing to bring back production and all of that, and that's a very, very hard challenge, particularly if it's gone for a while and the skill sets aren't there, maybe the education system isn't there, I talk a lot with John Dues here on the show about the what's happening in education and it's terrifying.   1:01:05.9 Andrew Stotz: So how could this be... Book be a guide for helping people that are saying, we've got to revitalize American production and manufacturing and some of these foundational businesses and not just services, which are great. How can this book be a guide?   1:01:25.8 Dave Williams: One thing I would say that I think is interesting about our times, many times when I reflect on some of the examples that you just provided, I think about how changes were made in systems without thinking about the whole system together. And there may have been changes at various times that we're pursuing particular strategies or particular approaches, so it may have been the low-cost strategy, it may have been to disrupt a marketplace. And oftentimes, they don't think about... When somebody's pursuing one particular view, they may miss other views that are important to have an holistic perspective. One of the things that I appreciate about QoS in the methods and overall as a holistic view of looking at organizations that it's asking us to really think initially about that North Star, what we're trying to do, our purpose, and what are the tenants. What are the things that are important us, the values...   1:02:38.7 Dave Williams: That are important to us in pursuing that particular purpose? And in doing that, really thinking about how does the system work as it is today, and if we make changes, how does it move in alignment with the values that we have and in the direction that we wanna go? And appreciating, I would say, part of the value of the scientific thinking that is in the Science of Improvement is that it encourages you to try to see what happens and appreciate not only what happens in relation to the direction you're trying to go, but also the... Have a balanced view of looking at the collateral effects of things that you do, and I think that systems do is really important there. So I think from that perspective, the quality as an organizational strategy brings a holistic picture into these organizations, or at least...   1:03:45.1 Dave Williams: To be paying attention to the system that you have, maybe the direction you wanna go, and what happens as you... What are your predictions and what do you see when you study the results of making changes in the direction of the vision that you have. And I think that's at a high level that is one of the ways that I think about it. Cliff, how would you add on there?   1:04:09.1 Cliff Norman: Your question made me think of something that happened about two years ago, Jane and I got a call from a lady that worked for her in one of the chicken plants, and she said, Jane, I had to call you because I need to order some of those Shewhart charts. But what happened today, you should have been here and Jane said, what... She said, Remember that 10 year thing we buried in the ground that we're gonna open up in 10 years, and she said, yeah, said, well, we opened it up today, and the new plant manager was here, and those Shewhart charts came out, and he looked at the costs on them. He said, you were operating at this level? She said, yeah, routinely. And he said what happened? He said, well, they had new management come in and they got rid of the charts, that's the first thing they did, and then gradually they try to manage things like they normally did, and then they forgot everything that we had learned. And that's kind of where we are right now.   1:05:11.0 Cliff Norman: So just think of that a decade goes by, and it just as Dr. Deming said, there's nothing worse than the mobility of management, it's like getting AIDS in the system. And they basically destroyed their ability to run a low-cost operation in an industry that runs on 1 or 2%. And when you watch that happen and understand that we still have food companies in this country, and we have to start there and start looking at the system anew and start thinking about how it can actually cause that chain reaction to take off, and that comes from focusing on quality of the system. And then as Dr. Deming says, anybody that's ever worked for a living knows why costs go down with two words less rework, but instead of people will put in extra departments to handle the rework. Next thing they start building departments to handle...   1:06:01.8 Cliff Norman: The stuff that's not working because the system they don't understand. So that was a... What do they call those things, Dave, where they put them in the ground and pull him out?   1:06:11.0 Dave Williams: Time capsule.   1:06:13.4 Andrew Stotz: Time capsule yeah.   1:06:13.5 Cliff Norman: Yeah. Time capsule. The a 10-year time capsule.   1:06:19.2 Andrew Stotz: It's a great, great story. And a great idea. We had a company in Thailand a very large company that the CEO of it came upon the idea of the teachings of Dr. Deming and over time, as he implemented it in his company, the Japanese Union of Scientists have their prize and his company won that prize and then he had about 10 subsidiary companies that also were doing it and they also won over time. And so Thailand is actually is the second largest recipient of the Japanese Deming Award outside of India. But he left and he retired and another guy took over, a very bright guy and all that, but he threw most of that out and focused on newer methods like KPIs and things like that. And just at the end of last year, maybe six months ago, they reported a pretty significant loss, and I was kind of made me think how we can spend all this time getting the Deming teachings into our business, and then one little change in management and it's done.   1:07:26.9 Andrew Stotz: And that made me think, oh, well, that's the value of the book, in the sense that it's about building the concept of quality as a core part of strategy as opposed to just a tool or a way of thinking that could go out of the company as soon as someone else comes in. Go ahead, Dave.   1:07:41.9 Dave Williams: I was gonna say, Andrew, you raise a point, I think it's really, really important and Cliff mentioned this in terms of the problem of mobility of management. One thing that I don't know that we outline probably in dark enough ink in the book is the critically important piece of leadership, building the structures and the capability. I know we talk a little bit about it, but doing it in a way that both builds up the people that you have... So Cliff emphasiz

Sara hosted her real estate show, "Keeping it Real Estate," discussing the importance of time management and productivity in the industry. She introduced various time management techniques, including the Pareto principle, the Eisenhower matrix, and the Pomodoro technique, and shared her personal experiences with these methods. Sara also emphasized the importance of balancing work and personal life, and suggested strategies like task batching, time boxing, and identifying inefficiencies to optimize productivity.

Show Notes: Jim Ettamarna, a renowned expert in commercial excellence, defines it as incorporating commercial efficacy and efficiency. He believes that there are two key branches to drive down in this area, and it holds tremendous potential for clients and organizations. Jim's framework for commercial excellence is value creation, which involves understanding market demand, go-to- market models, market growth, and demand trends with a focus on each specific industry. A Six Sigma Lean Framework Jim uses a lean framework, starting with Six Sigma, to standardize the right work and ensure associates and employees are conducting the right activities and behaviors. He also emphasizes the importance of systems in psychology in commercial results, as it helps design standardized systems for onboarding talent, enhancing team engagement, and engaging with customers. In sales, motivation is crucial, and the human element of having a team is essential. However, dealing with complex buying processes can be challenging, so it is essential to tune processes and approaches to the specific needs of the customers. A Go-to-market Model The go-to-market model is a linkage between strategy and execution and commercial excellence. It should be tuned for the company's strategy and the strategic context. For example, a $300 million middle market private equity-backed company serving the Durable Medical Equipment market that sold to 5,000 independent organizations and specialty retailers. The company had to strategically think through market growth, accounts to capture, and the buying cycle for customers. To drive efficiency and effectiveness, the company had a set of building blocks, including an online component, independent sales reps, an inside sales team, and specialty sales people. The strategy piece involved determining what would drive value, growth, renewals, base volumes, and pricing. The go-to-market model was designed around these building blocks, and commercial excellence was driven by optimizing these aspects. Components of Commercial Excellence Jim discusses the importance of breaking down commercial excellence into various components, including channels, sales operations, content, and management systems. He emphasizes the need for segmentation at the top level to understand what will drive value and optimize the go-to-market model for the business. Within this model, he suggests ways to optimize each element, such as sales enablement, which includes training, scripts, and engagement strategies. He also emphasizes the importance of benchmarking and understanding the nuances of sales teams. He shares an example of a furniture retailer where he worked with 2500 full-time employees and 1000 part-time employees. The performance of the company was analyzed using Pareto curves, but some outliers were more successful than averages. To replicate these outliers, he spent time in the field with the best sellers and identified their backgrounds and profiles. He also highlights the importance of identifying B+ and A minus players and setting them as standards. The A plus players are often unique individuals that can be difficult to replicate, but they can still learn from them. Segmentation is crucial in understanding customer nuances. Value Mapping and Needs-based Segmentation In the past, value mapping and needs-based segmentation were crucial for designing sales teams and engaging with customers. This was particularly important when selling software into hospital systems, where hospitals may make localized decisions or have a system or GPO that drives these decisions. The CIO or clinical or nursing professional may specify the solution, and the CIO and finance will negotiate it. Jim cites a case where a big client involved segmenting the market and designing selling approaches based on how customers operated and how they bought. This involved investing in customer success research, conducting field interviews, and conducting surveys to understand their usage of the product. The consultant rolled out five archetypes and profiles for four segments, which were then rolled into product development and product teams. Different teams focused on different segments, such as geographic, size, SMB, or enterprise, and focusing on needs-based and purchasing behavior-based segmentation. The go-to-market model was designed around these archetypes, with territory design considering geographic, size, SMB, or enterprise boundaries. There is no right or wrong answer to this, but it is essential to consider these factors when designing the go-to-market model. This approach helps to understand the value in use and what drives value for customers. Diagnostics and Metrics The conversation turns to commercial excellence in organizations, particularly in B2B industrial or SaaS sectors. Jim emphasizes the need for a diagnostic assessment to understand opportunities and challenges. A diagnostic should focus on input and output metrics, such as sales reps' success, territories, and numbers. He suggests that data from sales operations and rev ops can be used to conduct quick diagnostics. Additionally, examining spreads and distributions to identify right spots and dark spots, which are indicators of opportunities and challenges. For example, he could work with a labeling client and identify bright spots where individuals were selling unique markets and promoting innovative products. These best practices could be disseminated among the team. A diagnostic should involve analytics, cost, interviews with sales people, and customer visits to gather customer feedback. The goal is to identify three to five things that can be done to achieve commercial excellence. Jim also offers tips on how to work with the sales department.  The Role of a Sales Playbook in Commercial Excellence Jim talks about the importance of rolling out a sales playbook and its role in commercial excellence. He shares an example of a software company that he helped develop a sales playbook for, which focused on making standard work and minimizing waste. The company had three different sales processes, and they trained employees on territory management, account management, and prospecting. They created a set of 10 difference makers based on actual activities performed by the best people, which were rolled out in a fun, gamified way to encourage adoption and recognition. Some of the key difference markers included prospecting, owning territory, and using Salesforce to drive compliance.  Metrics to Monitor in Sales Jim mentions the importance of having the right input and output metrics, such as the number of meaningful meetings and demonstrations per week, to ensure the right outbound results. By tracking these metrics, the sales team can make necessary adjustments to improve their performance and drive more profitable deals. To drive results in sales, Jim highlights metrics such as deal size, velocity, win rates, attachment, cross, sell, and upsell. He also emphasizes the importance of driving customer success and retention. He mentions that, in one case, key initiatives were displayed at the office, allowing for a competitive dynamic. The metrics were then distilled down to the board, with some metrics for frontline commercial team members and others for the board pack. The goal was to turn the dial on sales enablement, resulting in better win rates and accelerated funnel velocity. Jim also highlights the importance of gamification, making it fun, and rewards to encourage employees to work harder and drive competitive juices.  Timestamps: 01:32: Value Creation Framework  04:18: Go-to-Market Model  07:24: Tangible Elements of Commercial Excellence  11:10: Segmentation and Customer Nuances 14:18: Practical Segmentation Approach  18:18: Diagnostic Approach to Commercial Excellence  24:04: Sales Playbook and Metrics  29:50: Customer Success and Competitive Dynamics Links: Company website: https://www.suttongrowth.com/ LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jimettamarna   Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.  

There have been two episodes lately that have sent me down a rabbit hole that I wanted to bring to your attention. Now, disclaimer: I know you people; you're busy. You listen on average to, like, 26 minutes of any given episode. So, yeah … look at me being self-aware. I say all this to say welcome to this inbetweenisode, otherwise known as The Rabbit Hole. But it's like a 20-something-minute rabbit hole, not a day-and-a-half retreat; so just be kind if you email me and tell me I forgot something or failed to dredge into a nuance or a background point. It might be that I just could not manage to pack it in. For a full transcript of this episode, click here. If you enjoy this podcast, be sure to subscribe to the free weekly newsletter to be a member of the Relentless Tribe. This rabbit hole really, really matters for anybody creating benefit design. It really matters for anybody trying to optimize the health that can be derived from said benefit design. It also probably matters for a whole lot of operational decisions involving patients or members, nothing for nothing. But it really matters for anybody trying not to, by accident, as an unintended consequence, hammer plan members or patients with some really blunt-force cost containment measures that do a lot of harm in the process of containing costs or, flip side, accidentally cost a whole lot but don't actually improve member health. Nina Lathia, RPh, MSc, PhD, kind of summed up this whole point or gave an adjacent thought really eloquently in episode 426. She said there's better or worse ways to do things and doing the worst kinds of cost containment may not actually contain costs. You squeeze a balloon, and that works great for some, like pharmacy vendors who don't really have any skin in the game. (See me using the “skin in the game” term for other people besides plan members? That's some really good foreshadowing right there, by the way.) So, squeezing the balloon works for some when they don't have skin in the game, in the place where the air goes when you squeeze the balloon—like a pharmacy vendor who makes it super unaffordable for patients to get meds so the patient doesn't take their meds and winds up in the ICU, or the patient's formerly controlled with meds condition that is now newly uncontrolled and requires all kinds of medical interventions to get said condition back under control. Like, these are the reasons and the why behind why some cost containment efforts don't actually contain costs at the plan level. But not at the vendor level. You see what I mean? Most pharmacy vendors don't get penalized if medical costs wind up going up. And I'm picking on pharmacy vendors a little bit here, but it's true for a lot of siloed entities. But, you know, balloon squeezing can also work, actually, at the plan level if where the air goes, it's to a place where the member or the patient has to pay themselves. Like, if there's a huge, I don't know, max out of pocket or deductible, does it really matter to a very mercenary plan that's running on a very short time horizon? Do they really care, that plan, if the patient's formerly controlled condition gets uncontrolled? Maybe not, I guess, as long as it doesn't cost more than the max out of pocket that the patient is on the hook for, for any given plan year. So, yeah … again, there are better or worse ways to do things; and a lot of questions kind of add up to, What kind of plan do we want to be? What are our values, and does the plan align with them? But that's not the rabbit hole I wanted to go down today—the aligning with our values rabbit hole—so let us move on. The Relentless Health Value episode that kicked off the rabbit hole for me on multiple levels was the show with Bill Sarraille (EP459) about co-pay maximizers and accumulators. And don't get me wrong, that is a complicated topic with lots of pros, lots of cons; and I am not weighing in on the inherent lawfulness or value of any of this. I am also not weighing in on the fact that there are forthright and well-run maximizers and really not good ones, which cause patients financial, for sure, and possibly clinical harm. But not talking about that right now at all. Go back and listen to the show with Bill Sarraille if you are interested. Where my “down the rabbit hole” spiral started was when I started noticing the very, very common main plan pushback that was given right out of the gate so often when talking about the problems that any given plan sponsor has with these pharma co-pay programs—that if these pharmacopeia card dollars count toward the plan deductibles, then the patient's deductible gets met and the plan member will then often overuse healthcare and cost the plan excessive dollars from that point forward. So again, if you ask any given plan sponsor what I was gonna say their main issue but a main issue that they have with these pharma co-pay programs, that's gonna be it—that if these pharma dollars count toward the plan deductible, then the patient's deductible is met and from that point henceforth, the patient goes nuts and overuses healthcare services and it costs the plan a lot of money. The second episode causing this rabbit hole to open up is the one coming up actually with Scott Conard, MD. So, check back in a couple of weeks for that one. But in the show with Dr. Conard, we get into the impact of high-deductible health plans or just big out of pockets, however they transpire in the benefit design. Both of these scenarios, by the way, the maximizer meets the deductible scenario and the very, very high-deductible plan scenario are to blame, in other words, for this rabbit hole of an inbetweenisode. So, let's do this thing. Let's talk about the moral hazard of insurance to start us off. In the context of health insurance, if you haven't heard that term moral hazard before, it's an economics term; and it is used to capture the idea that insurance coverage, by lowering the cost of care to the individual, because their plan is paying for part of said care, by lowering the cost of care to the individual, it increases healthcare use. So, you could see why this may be related to having a deductible fully paid or not. Pre-deductible, the plan is not paying for a part of said care or paying a much smaller part. And after the deductible is paid for, then the plan is paying for a much larger percentage of care. So, moral hazard kicks in bigger after the deductible is fully paid, when the plan is paying for a bigger percentage or a bigger part of the care. So, before I proceed, let me just offer again a disclaimer to the many economists who listen to this show that this is a short inbetweenisode; so I am 100% glossing over some of the points that, for sure, have a lot of nuance. For anyone who wants a thick pack of pages for background reading, I have included some links below. Because you see, a few weeks ago, my Sunday did not go as planned. And instead of running errands, I wound up reading eight papers on moral hazard. So, my lack of groceries is your gain. You're welcome. I am happy to send you these links if you really want to dig in hard on this. Okay … so, moral hazard is the concept that individuals have incentives to offer their behavior when their risk or cost is borne by others. That's the why with deductibles, actually. We gotta give patients skin in the game because once a member has their deductible paid, it's like member gone wild and they will get all manner of excessive care. Again, I hear that a lot from plan sponsors—a lot, in all kinds of contexts but almost always, again, whenever the conversation has anything to do with manufacturer co-pay card programs and a lot when it has to do with just, you know, high-deductible plans and what happens when the patient meets their deductible. Once a patient or family has a fully paid deductible, their medical trend is like a spike, I hear over and over again. And again, this is the reason why many insist—and again, no judgment here, maybe they're right, I'm just rehashing the conversation—but this is why many insist the moral hazard of letting people have their deductible paid for them by Pharma or whatever is the reason why some believe it is imperative to have maximizers or accumulators where pharma dollars can absolutely not apply to patient deductibles. Because then we have sick patients who now have their deductibles reached, who have very few financial disincentives to go seek whatever care they want. Right. Moral hazard has entered the building. I've beaten this point to death, so let's move on. One time, I asked a plan sponsor, What exactly is it that these plan members are going wild spending plan money on once their deductible gets paid off? And he said, well, you know, they go get their suspicious-looking moles checked. Did you hear that silence just now? Yeah, that was my reaction. I don't know. I would consider getting suspicious moles checked kind of high-value care. There are posters all over the place saying if you have a suspicious-looking mole, it might be melanoma. Cancer. So, you should get ahead of that before you have a metastasized cancer. I'm no doctor, but yeah, this feels like high-value care. So, let's just, in arguendo, say it is high-value care and follow this thread for a sec. Once members reach their deductible, let's say they run around and get high-value care, care they actually need but haven't gotten before because they couldn't afford it earlier or were putting it off until they saved up enough, right? Like, this is the other side of the moral hazard coin. If patients delay or abandon care—and, by the way, there was a survey (it's in the Wayne Jenkins, MD, show from a while ago [EP358])—but 46% of patients with commercial insurance these days have delayed or abandoned care due to cost. But if they delay or abandon care that is high value and medically actually necessary and they put it off or abandon that high-value care because they cannot afford said care, then yeah, we have, again, the opposite of the moral hazard problem. We have members paying a whole lot for insurance that they cannot afford to use, they're functionally uninsured, and it's not gonna end healthfully if they need high-value care and they're not getting it. It's not. Functionally uninsured patients who have chronic conditions that really should be managed will, as per evidence, wind up with health problems if those chronic conditions are not managed. I read another study about this just recently. This is why members with chronic diseases on high-deductible health plans tend to have worse health, by the way. Now, I need to say, same rules do not always apply for healthy patients who, at least at this point, don't need regular healthcare. But do keep in mind, as it comes up in the Dr. Scott Conard show, 30% of patients who think they're healthy, they feel fine—actually they are not fine and will become sick and costly in the coming years. So, yeah … tune back in for that discussion if you are interested, but you get the gist of this whole thing, right? So, that's scenario 1 as to what patients may choose to buy once they're in the moral hazard zone and have met their deductible. They go get high-value care. So, let's move on from the high-value care case study where patients reach their deductible and get high-value care or they haven't met their deductible and fail to get care they actually need. I want to circle over to the other moral hazard potential situation: patients who meet their deductible. And in this scenario, they again embark on a health system jamboree; but they don't get a whole lot of high-value care in this scenario. They run around getting all manner of all kinds of stuff that is well outside of any evidence-based pathway. Like, weird example, I went to a doctor recently asking a question about something that everyone ultimately agreed was nothing. At which point, the doctor asked if I wanted an MRI. I was like, “What?” We and everyone else just agreed this was a big nothing burger. Why would I want an MRI? Is there something else that we didn't discuss to indicate that I need imaging? Like, why are we going there? And the doc said, “Oh, well, everyone in New York City has an anxiety problem. So, I thought you might just want to get an MRI.” Yeah, low-value stuff like that is now not financially prohibitive. So, someone who had met their deductible, in a similar situation to my example, might have shrugged and said, “Sure, I do have some anxiety. Let's go get that MRI.” Or if they hadn't met their deductible, then the whole skin-in-the-game, market-driven approach may work, I guess, to prevent them from getting low-value care that was clearly excessive and pretty wasteful. So, summing up these two scenarios, the implications of the moral hazard issue are, if it's expensive, people don't do it. If it's free or cheap, they will overutilize. And the issue with both of these patient choices is, patients are not good at discerning low-value care from high-value care. And because patients are not good at discerning high-value from low-value care, moral hazard is not mitigated with any sort of binary kind of vote for moral hazard or against moral hazard types of brute-force, broad-stroke tactics. Like, say I'm a moral hazard full-on believer. I assume all or most of the care a patient will go for is low value, right? Because if I try to prevent moral hazard from happening, then by default, what I'm effectively saying is, whatever they choose to buy on the basis of moral hazard is low value. So, I make basically everything I can pretty unaffordable so as not to invoke any moral hazard. But right, the problem with that is that some of the care is actually high value. And it's also expensive for the patient, so they don't get it. And patients are harmed, and balloons might get squeezed. Or the opposite, against moral hazard, right? Like, I'm against the concept of moral hazard. I don't believe in it, so I don't set up absolutely anything to combat it. Maybe because I assume all care that a patient might want to get is actually high value and totally worth it. That's gonna be a problem for the opposite reason. Plans can waste a lot of money this way. Random example, in 2014, the Commonwealth of Virginia reported spending $586 million on unnecessary costs from low-value care. I mean, they say something like a third of all care is waste and unnecessary, so … yeah. Plan sponsors can waste a lot of money on low-value care, and a bunch of that may happen when patients have less skin in the game because they reach their deductible, as one example, and the care is not financially prohibitive and moral hazard is realized. So, yeah … as I said, a couple of weeks ago, I did not spend my Sunday as planned. I spent my Sunday reading papers about moral hazard in insurance and how financial incentives impact patient decision making. And I'm gonna repeat the grand takeaway because this is a podcast and you might be multitasking. So, once again, here's the sum of it all: If it's expensive, people tend not to do it. If it's free or cheap, they will overutilize. And the issue with both of these patient choices is, patients are simply quite bad at distinguishing high-value care from low-value care. Once their deductibles are met, most patients will—due to moral hazard—they will, in fact, go on a spending spree; and part of what they will get done will be really, really important and necessary stuff, like getting their unusual moles looked at or their heart pain checked out or going for that follow-up visit or lab work that their doctor told them they need to come in for. And the other part of what they will do will be things that are outside the best-practice, evidence-based pathway guidelines by the length of the Appalachian Trail—you know, doing what appears to be a tour of specialty medicine physicians for unclear reasons but which lead to a cascade of testing and who knows what else. Why do they do this, these members? Do they do this on purpose? No. There is study after study that shows, again, members/patients do not, most of the time, have the chops to figure out if some medical service is high-value or low-value care. And no kidding. Most members and patients have no clinical training. They're not doctors. They're not nurses. They're not physician assistants. They're humans whose uncle died of cancer, and now they have a pain in their foot and they're convinced it's a tumor. Right? Like, do we blame them when they finally go see a doctor because they crushed their budget that particular year paying thousands and thousands of dollars out of pocket for whatever earlier in the year, and now they've made it to their deductible—do we blame them for taking the very rational step of getting the most out of those thousands of dollars of sunk costs? At that point, it's a “let me get my money's worth” situation because they can't afford to do this again next year. I mean, we hire employees because they're smart and rational, and this is really actually a pretty smart and rational thing to do. It's not somebody trying to commit fraud. Okay, sure … some people are. There's always bad apples. But the vast majority are just trying to live their life and not spend all of their vacation money next year on medical services like they did this year. I'm saying all this because it's actionable, by the way. And I'm getting to that, but indulge me for like 60 more seconds because I want to acknowledge you, listeners of this show, are probably nodding along to this whole thing this whole time and thinking all of this is pretty obvious. Well, yeah … maybe. Except here's the reason I decided to do an inbetweenisode about this rabbit hole instead of doing my normal thing, which is just ranting about it over dinner for three days straight—and God bless my husband for sitting through it—is the bottom line. But the reason we are here together today is the number of emails and posts and et cetera that cross my desk where it doesn't seem like these dots have been connected on all of this or at least connected in magic marker. Like fat, indelible magic marker, which is what I think is necessary for these dots to be connected with the ones between moral hazard and patients not being able to discern high- and low-value care. There are so many ways and places these dots will show up. Like, here's another moral hazard issue with those maximizers or accumulators, which apparently are on my mind right now—the not good ones I'm talking about now, where patients find themselves on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars midyear if they want to pick up the meds that they've been prescribed. If you need more details on how that might happen to understand what I'm saying fully, listen to the show again a couple of weeks ago with Bill Sarraille (EP459). But even if you're a little confused, it doesn't matter because the question is this: Do we justify having programs that make drugs really expensive for patients? Do we put in place one of these pretty darn punitive types of accumulators or maximizers, right? Like, there's different kinds, and I'm talking about the punitive ones of accumulators or maximizers. Do we justify putting one of those into place and figure that if a patient really wants the med, they'll pay a whole lot of money for it? Because if they're willing to pay a whole lot of money for it, then, right? It must be high-value care, so they'll figure out how to pay for it. Keep in mind, as I said earlier, if it's expensive, people don't do it. If it's free or cheap, they will overutilize. And the issue with both of these patient choices is, patients are not good at discerning low-value care or meds from high-value care or meds. So, look, Pharma can be up to all kinds of crap, and list prices are really expensive. No arguments here. That isn't the point. The point is, What is the actual problem that we're trying to solve for, for our plan and our patients and our members? And if that problem is making sure that the right patients get the right high-value meds or care, then not letting members get co-pay assistance such that all drugs—the good ones and the too-expensive ones and the ones that we don't really want our members to take for whatever reason—if we make all of them way too expensive with a maximizer or accumulator designed to make all the drugs really expensive … dots connected. We wind up with the all-in to prevent moral hazard issue we just talked about, where patients could easily be harmed and the plan can easily get into a balloon squeezing situation. All I'm saying is that there's a big-picture view of moral hazard here that we need to be looking at and over-indexing into binary, moral hazard black and white, where we attribute malice to members, some of whom, some of the time, may actually be trying to get high-value care, or the flip side, the plan's paying too much for low-value care and causing financial difficulties and not understanding the root cause. Going black and white or over-indexing to prevent outlier kind of stuff is probably not gonna end well. Not seeking a middle way can easily result in a solution that is possibly worse than the problem. So, look, moral hazard is actually a thing. There are lots of implications to patients not being able to distinguish high-value and low-value care. But if we know this, then, philosophically at least, how do we conceptualize a solve? What should we be doing? If we're not doing black and white, what does the gray in the middle look like? Alright, we don't want to be a solution looking around for a problem. So, let's think about the problems that we want to solve for. I would start with, What's the goal? The goal of plan sponsors providing insurance most of the time is attract and retain talent. Also, I was at the HBCH (Houston Business Coalition on Health) Conference at the beginning of December 2024. And there was a poll question. There was a bunch of employers in the audience, and the poll question asked the audience, “What's your biggest plan goal this year?” Main answer by a mile: Cut costs. Okay … so, we want to attract and retain, and we want to control costs. Obviously, you can go about achieving these three things a bunch of different ways, and they will all be tradeoffs. As Luke Prettol reminded me of the other day, there are no solutions, only tradeoffs. And so, with that, right now, I want to introduce the second concept that I have been ruminating over in my rabbit hole lately, that I've kind of been hinting at for this whole time. But here's a word we've been waiting for to solve all of our problems in a good kind of way, not the bad black-and-white ways that are so often either financially a problem or deploying brute force and harming patients in the name of solving something else: Pareto optimality. Pareto optimality is the state where resources are allocated as efficiently as possible so that improving one criterion will not worsen other criteria. It's essential to consider this, that Pareto optimality is the ideal we should at least be striving for when attempting to overcome any challenge but, in particular, the moral hazard issue, when we know that patients do not know what care is high value and what care is low value. Because if we don't try to at least Pareto optimize (if that's a word), if we try to fix the moral hazard problem and wind up with a new problem or new problems that might be worse than the old problem, that's not optimal. We have improved one criterion and worsened another. So, fixing the members going wild after they meet their deductible by slamming the lid on the fingers of members trying to get high-value care as well as low-value care, well … not sure about this, but I'd assume if not the attract but at least the retain criterion might be compromised by member dissatisfaction. But also, as I've said nine times, we might not actually cut costs. We might be doing a squeeze of the balloon. Especially that could be true when, as we all probably know or suspect, what's driving costs at the plan level is rising hospital prices. There's a show coming up on rising hospital prices as a primary driver of rising plan costs, and it's pretty hard to argue with. So, it's financially pretty advantageous to keep patients from needing to go to the hospital. So, yeah … I'd strongly suggest not squeezing balloons when hospitalizations are where the air goes. I'm not gonna belabor this. My only suggestion is, do the Pareto optimality math. A lot of you already are, I'm sure, and do a great job. But just for any given policy plan change, or decision, keep in mind moral hazard and then really go through the whole cascade of likely impact on other factors based on likely member/patient behavior. It's so easy to get sucked into kind of these philosophical, “those are my enemies” kinds of conversations that are actually philosophically sort of interesting, but they aren't the goal. I mean, there's always unintended consequences; but not all unintended consequences should come as some kind of, like, wild-ass surprise. They were pretty predictable, actually. Let me also mention that when considering Pareto optimal solutions, advanced primary care starts to get really compelling. It's because having a PCP team with data and a relationship to the patient helps patients stay on the high-value care bus. And that can minimize the bad that comes from lowering the barrier to care and inviting in a little bit of moral hazard. Just saying. Okay, so this has been going on a little bit longer than I had originally intended, but I do want to remind you of the so-called theory of second best. It's probably really appropriate here, and one of the reasons why I'm mentioning this and not finishing the show right now is that, in a very synchronistic moment, I was writing up my outline for this inbetweenisode and—how random is this?—Steve Schutzer, MD, wrote an email that included something about the theory of second best. Great minds and all of that. Anyway, the theory of second best is really aligned with Pareto optimality. It's just that sometimes you gotta be really practical. You gotta be a little scrappy. If you cannot achieve the best option, either because you just can't or because the best option for one thing results in too many negative consequences elsewhere, then don't do the best option. Forget it. Do the second best (ie, the theory of second best). There is nothing wrong with that. Don't be a hero. Okay, so in summary, moral hazard is actually a thing and so is the opposite; and it's even more of an impactful thing because most people cannot distinguish high-value from low-value care. And if they meet their deductible that they have paid a lot of money to reach, of course, they are going to want to try to get through their checklist of medical appointments that they have been putting off. This is not a surprise. And it's not all bad, as long as the care that they are trying to go get is high value; and that matters if we're trying to cut costs. Because to cut costs for real and not in a squeezing of the balloon way, we need to direct or limit somehow what gets done to high-value care. And we got to do that without accidentally causing other problems, meaning think through Pareto optimality and possibly consider the theory of second best. I hope this has been helpful at some level. It's helped me. I feel better having vented. Also mentioned in this episode are Nina Lathia, RPh, MSc, PhD; Bill Sarraille; Scott Conard, MD; Wayne Jenkins, MD; Houston Business Coalition on Health (HBCH); Luke Prettol; and Steve Schutzer, MD. Additional studies mentioned: Moral Hazard in Health Insurance: What We Know and How We Know It Do People Choose Wisely After Satisfying Health Plan Deductibles? Evidence From the Use of Low-Value Health Care Services Healthcare and the Moral Hazard Problem Distinguishing Moral Hazard From Access for High-Cost Healthcare Under Insurance   For more information, go to aventriahealth.com.   Each week on Relentless Health Value, Stacey uses her voice and thought leadership to provide insights for healthcare industry decision makers trying to do the right thing. Each show features expert guests who break down the twists and tricks in the medical field to help improve outcomes and lower costs across the care continuum. Relentless Health Value is a top 100 podcast on iTunes in the medicine category and reaches tens of thousands of engaged listeners across the healthcare industry. In addition to hosting Relentless Health Value, Stacey is co-president of QC-Health, a benefit corporation finding cost-effective ways to improve the health of Americans. She is also co-president of Aventria Health Group, a consultancy working with clients who endeavor to form collaborations with payers, providers, Pharma, employer organizations, or patient advocacy groups.   04:05 Where did Stacey's rabbit hole spiral start? 05:40 What is the moral hazard of insurance? 09:31 EP358 with Wayne Jenkins, MD. 12:49 Why isn't moral hazard mitigated in insurance? 18:16 EP459 with Bill Sarraille. 20:51 “How do we conceptualize a solve?” 22:24 Why should we be striving for Pareto optimality? 25:20 What is the theory of second best?   For more information, go to aventriahealth.com.   Our host, Stacey Richter, discusses considerations for #plansponsors and others. #healthcare #podcast #changemanagement #healthcareleadership #healthcaretransformation #healthcareinnovation   Recent past interviews: Click a guest's name for their latest RHV episode! Chris Crawford, Dr Rushika Fernandopulle, Bill Sarraille, Stacey Richter (INBW41), Andreas Mang (Encore! EP419), Dr Komal Bajaj, Cynthia Fisher, Stacey Richter (INBW40), Mark Cuban and Ferrin Williams (Encore! EP418), Rob Andrews (Encore! EP415)  

Let's kick off season 2 of the Crafting for Profit Live podcast chatting about how to set and crush your craft business goals. Learn how to use the Pareto principle to determine your goals and our method for making sure our goals are SMART! Then break them down into actionable steps that you can use throughout the year to make your business more productive and more profitable. Grab our Sublimation Craft Kit before January 31, 2025 for tons of sublimation resources all packed within an extremely low priced bundle. Crafters of all types will love this bundle of resources! Get it here: https://sublimationcraftkit.com/ Check out Cori's Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChapterCraftStudio  Don't forget to shop our merch store to support the podcast! https://link.craftingcamps.com/merch   Let us help you craft your future by turning your passion into a paycheck. Angie Holden and Cori George are teaming up for a series of live events dedicated to helping you start and grow your craft business. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any of the future episodes! Sign up for our email newsletter here: https://crafting-camps.ck.page/4715c59751 Ask us questions here: https://forms.gle/ShKt64gKjeuneMLeA Want more from Cori and Angie? Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channels and follow on Instagram using the links below. https://www.instagram.com/craftingcamps https://www.instagram.com/heyletsmakestuff https://www.instagram.com/angieholdenmakes

In today's episode, Kevin and Alan explore how self-awareness and focused effort can transform your results. Discover why identifying your top priorities can simplify your journey to success and lead to exponential growth. From fitness and brain health to relationships and business, they share personal lessons, practical tips, and the science behind prioritization to inspire your breakthroughs.Links mentioned:Free 30-minute Coaching Call with Alan - https://bit.ly/4f3MSUzNext Level Dreamliner: https://a.co/d/9fPpxEtSubscribe & follow -  https://www.buzzsprout.com/742955/shareNext Level Nation - https://www.facebook.com/groups/459320958216700_____________________NLU is not just a podcast; it's a gateway to a wealth of resources designed to help you achieve your goals and dreams. From our Next Level Dreamliner to our Group Coaching, we offer a variety of tools and communities to support your personal development journey.For more information, please check out our website at the link below.

Unlock the secrets of recurring sales success with our special guest, Guitze Messina, executive director at Hardy the Avocer Trade Association. Discover how businesses can thrive by transforming one-time buyers into loyal customers through a deep understanding of customer needs and behaviors. Guitze shares pivotal insights on the dynamics of recurring sales compared to long-cycle sales like real estate and life insurance, emphasizing the art of maintaining relationships without the pressure to purchase. Explore proactive sales strategies that keep your business ahead, taking cues from Guitze's transformative journey from skepticism to advocacy in the sales domain.If you've ever wondered how some businesses keep clients coming back without slashing prices, you'll find valuable techniques in this episode. We delve into the essence of effective sales techniques, focusing on listening and understanding customer needs to craft tailored solutions. Avoid the common pitfall of competing solely on price, and learn from real-world examples, like the restaurant owner who paid dearly for a cheaper ventilation system. Gidzi guides us through the importance of asking the right questions, making client feedback a cornerstone for strengthening business relationships and growing sales.Close the episode with actionable insights for both budding and seasoned sales professionals, as we explore strategic marketing solutions tailored for self-published authors and businesses alike. From conducting a Pareto analysis to identify key clients, to the power of storytelling in sales literature, we offer strategies that can reshape your marketing efforts. Embrace the transformative power of implementing ideas from nonfiction books with Messina's proven techniques, designed to unlock potential and leave a lasting impact on your personal and professional legacy.Join the What if it Did Work movement on FacebookGet the Book!www.omarmedrano.comwww.calendly.com/omarmedrano/15min

In this episode, I dive deep into the widely-recognized 80/20 principle, also known as Pareto's Principle, and its application in business, productivity, and personal growth. I provide valuable insights on how to streamline workflows, increase productivity, and drive revenue by focusing on the most impactful 20% of efforts.  Episode Highlights:  My New Year Plans and Business Masterminds  Understanding Pareto's Principle  Identifying Your 20%  Implementing The 80/20 Rule in Business  Audit and Optimize Your Operations   Let's dive in! Thank you for joining us today. If you could rate, review & subscribe, it would mean the world to me! While you're at it, take a screenshot and tag me @jennpike to share on Instagram – I'll re-share that baby out to the community & once a month I'll be doing a draw from those re-shares and send the winner something special! Click here to listen: Apple Podcasts – CLICK HERESpotify – CLICK HERE This episode is sponsored by: withinUs | Use the code JENNPIKE20 at withinus.ca for a limited time to save 20% off your order St. Francis Herb Farm | Go to stfrancisherbfarm.com and save 15% off every order with code JENNPIKE15 Skin Essence Organics | Go to skinessence.ca and save 15% off your first order with code JENNPIKE15 /// Save 10% off every order with code JENNPIKE10 Eversio Wellness | Go to eversiowellness.com/discount/jennpike15 and save 15% off every order with code JENNPIKE15 /// not available for “subscribe & save” option Free Resources: Free Perimenopause Support Guide | jennpike.com/perimenopausesupport Free Blood Work Guide | jennpike.com/bloodworkguide The Simplicity Sessions Podcast | jennpike.com/podcast Programs: The Perimenopause Project | jennpike.com/theperimenopauseproject The Hormone Project Academy | jennpike.com/thehormoneproject Synced Virtual Fitness Studio | jennpike.com/synced The Simplicity Women's Wellness Clinic | jennpike.com/wellnessclinic The Audacious Woman Mentorship | jennpike.com/theaudaciouswoman Connect with Jenn: Instagram | @jennpike Facebook | @thesimplicityproject YouTube | Simplicity TV Website | The Simplicity Project Inc. Have a question? Send it over to hello@jennpike.com and I'll do my best to share helpful insights, thoughts and advice.

En este episodio hablamos de cómo aplicar el Principio de Pareto para maximizar tu productividad. Hablamos de la diferencia entre hacer mucho y hacer lo CORRECTO para ver la mayor cantidad de resultados. Te llevo en el paso a paso de por qué decidimos borrar más de 500 pedazos de contenido de la cuenta de Isa García Corp y cómo encontrar las estrategias más efectivas para tu negocio digital. Para desbloquear un cupón de $111 USD para la Academia de Empresarias Digitales haz click aquí (www.isagarcia.online/academia) Para leer el artículo Maker Schedule vs. Manager Schedule por Paul Graham haz click aquí. Para leer el libro 10x Is Easier Than 2x por Dan Sullivan y Dr. Benjamin Hardy haz click aquí.