Blue Sky Solutions

Using the Pareto Principle

In 1906 Vilfredo Pareto made an observation, that 80% of the land owned in Italy was possessed by just 20% of the population. Later on, whilst he was gardening, he observed that 20% of his pea pods contained 80% of the peas he harvested. Here, the Pareto Principle was born. Following this, many others discovered this phenomenon in their own disciplines. Dr Joseph Juran, recognized that this principle could be utilized generically and referred to the theory as the “vital few and trivial many”.

According to Dr Juran, 20% of the tasks are always responsible for 80% of the results, and we can use this in a business model as follows:

80% of profits come from 20% of clients.
80% of profits come from 20% of the time spent.
80% of profits come from 20% of goods.
80% of complaints come from 20% of clients.
80% of matters are trivial and 20% are vital.
80% of sales come from 20% of goods.
80% of production comes from 20% of staff.
80% of sales are made by 20% of sales staff.

So according to the Pareto principle, those who do not follow this principle are simply wasting 4/5 of their resources on “the trivial”, and could be achieving more, by doing less (as Richard Koch neatly puts it). So surely, one should not be wasting the majority of their time pursuing the trivial? No, in order to save input (time, energy, money) without hindering output (results) one must identify the 80% of less productive input and minimize it.

The application of this rule to the business model, and indeed, everyday life will no doubt ensure that you and your company and operating at productive efficiency. For example: 20% of you time spent revising will ultimately account for 80% of your result. This theory has also been applied to: economics, where 20% of the population generates 80% of GDP; in software, where 80% of computer crashes are caused by 20% of bugs; in health and safety, where 20% of hazards are responsible of 80% of injuries; and in crime where 20% of criminals commit 80% of the crimes.

Now, the ratio of 80-20 is not always constant, meaning that instead of a ratio of 80-20, it could be 63-37, or 95-5. All we know for sure is that the integer for output (80) will lie between 50 and 100 and the number for input (20) is between 0 and 50. Remember this and hopefully by utilizing the Pareto Principle you can flourish your business and take full advantage of your potential.

Renew Your Business Thinking

One of the worst trends in work is the human race’s inability to make changes when the current methods are inefficient or causing problems for the organisation as a whole. This problem affects every aspect of our lives  but I’m most interested in how our work methodologies, and specifically the rigidity off our work processes can hold us down and stop us from reaching our maximum possible effectiveness, as both individuals and as groups.

This trend is very affecting in the world of technology, which might actually surprise some of you at first blush. For years now we have all been using technology as your one silver bullet to fix all of the problems with efficiency and productivity in the workspace. However if we take just one look at the way that email has now taken hold as an insurmountable form of communication that is so all powerful in our lives that many of us will receive more email in our daily lives than we will ever possibly have time to answer. This is an old technology that has eased the ability to get in contact with many people. But the problem comes about when you realise that this has not lessened the amount of time that is spent on communication between people in work but in fact the lowering of the barrier has made people send more messages than they ever would have before the technology.

We need to look at our needs and spend no more time on technology than needed, this means that we must do everything that we can to save time on ensuring our database software is managed properly along with all of our technology that we need to use daily to run our businesses to the best of our abilities.

Keep in mind that change is the best way to go if you are not hitting your maximum effectiveness at any time. Don’t be afraid to be exceptional.

Dirty Windows Can Spell Trouble For Your Business

Dirty windows can be one of the first signs that your business is in trouble. Yes, falling customer count, declining sales, high employee turnover and low staff moral, are all things to look for, but there are subtler sign, that can be equally telling. Just as in relationships, appearances do count and the old advertising slogan that, “you only get one chance to make a first impression”, is as true for companies as it is for people. We all know that the time to start worrying about loved ones or close friends is when they start letting themselves go. Scruffy clothes, dirty finger nails and signs of stress are all signs that a person has lost confidence and may be depressed So pay attention and check for the following signals that your business may be going the same way.

Dirty Windows

Nothing puts potential customers off or undermines your own staff’s moral more quickly, than the environment you do business in. A tardy working space says, oh so clearly, that you simply don’t care enough about your business or your employees to look after the place you spend most of your working life in and if you don’t care about that why would you care any more about what your customers want. Windows are a vital part of that environment. They let light in and light makes everything brighter and happier. A happy worker is a more productive worker, cheesy I know, but true none the less. Your business’s windows are also the first things your customers see when they visit you. Remember, that potential customers are evaluating whether they want to hire you, from the moment they first see you. As far as they are concerned the place where you do business, is as much a part of who you are, as the clothes you wear. Don’t skimp on this key area. Believe me using a professional window cleaning service will pay big dividends.

Office Kitchens

It never fails to amaze me, how otherwise sensible companies, can allow their office kitchens to become disaster areas. Men have to lean that shoddy kitchens turn off women, companies must understand that they do the same to potential customers. Apart from anything else a messy kitchen can be a health hazard. If your sink is dirty what does that say about your microwave, oven or fridge. A dirty kitchen though says other bad things about your company. It indicates among other things, that no one is taking responsibility for this crucial area, that staff moral is probably low and that management is failing to administer it’s own premises properly. None of these things inspires confidence in prospective clients.

Toilets

Toilets are another give away to the health of your business. The public relations disaster of a dirty toilet should go without saying but things like broken hand dryers and paper towel dispensers and an absence of hand wash, not only say that your management isn’t up to scratch, but also suggests that you are so short of money, that you can’t afford to keep your toilets properly stocked.

Staff moral and management stress

I’ve already mentioned that signs of low staff moral are not good for business but equally damaging can be any impression that a company’s managers are under unusual stress. It may sound crazy but seeing a company manager manically squeezing a stress ball, does not inspire confidence. Nor does being easily;y distracted during a business meeting or bursting into a spontaneous rant about the failure of government to support small businesses, how much it may be deserved.

You may think that these things are unimportant or frivolous, when put against the bigger concerns of winning more customers and increasing turnover, but you would be wrong. A well presented work space speaks of a confident and proud business, that knows what it is about and cares about its customers. There’s a reason why the military put such an emphasis on order and cleanliness. They know that it generates discipline and success. The good news is, that solving these problems can actually help turn a failing company around, by giving your workforce a renewed sense of pride and direction. So get to it and get you business in order.

The Best of the Bunch.

Here at Blue Sky Solutions we proud to be the very best at everything that we do – and I mean EVERYTHING. The only problem is this; we don’t actually know what it is that we do… and no-one else can tell us…

Never mind. You see, in the scheme of things, this doesn’t actually matter. Why? Well, because whatever it is that we do ‘do’, you can bet your bottom dollar that we are better than anyone else at doing it; regardless of what it actually is. So, be it ‘minimal structuring’, ‘gain tractioning’, ‘ghostworking’, ‘core competency’ or ‘economic empowerment’, you can be absolutely sure that Blue Sky Solutions are the undisputed market leaders!!!

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The Perfect Mystery That is – Blue Sky Solutions.

There are a certain number of advantages to being the employee of a pro-active, logic- based enabling company (which is fast becoming the industry leader in radical, enterprise culture re-positioning and branding). However because these may not be immediately apparent to most people who are reading this blog, I intend to explain them all to you today…

So forget all about annual salaries, how many days of paid sick leave or company pension schemes; these are the real deal. These are the BIG advantages of working for Blue Sky Solutions –

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Three Big Branding No-Nos

If looking to avoid business branding suicide, steer clear of the following at all costs:Copying Ideas – It doesn’t matter how subtle you try to be, you will get caught, look like a fool and maybe even end up in court. Complicate Things – Most brands are one or two simple words for a reason.Try to Be Cool – You can’t change your brand every six months to fit in with the times and trends, so always opt for timeless simplicity.

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Business Branding – How to Effectively Build Your Brand

Should you be a small business owner who might be worried about revenue and growth, branding needs to be your number one target. These days, branding businesses may be divided into a couple of levels; physical branding and Internet branding.
Physical branding refers to a persons genuine perception of your service or product in everyday living, for example, signage, standard marketing, and neighborhood involvement. Internet branding is exclusively your existence on the web, for example, internet site, social networking, and optimization. Both involve some likeness pertaining to ways to improve your brand and boost revenue, however they are different.

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Tips to a Successful Start Up Business

Starting up a small business from scratch may be challenging, specifically in the present economic environment that has put a good squeeze upon a few of the planet’s most well-known and established manufacturers. There is anticipation however, people who successfully put down origins in an economic depression will experience higher gains through the heady levels of any kind of long term monetary growth. So what suggestions is there for individuals trying to be successful with their own personal start up business and without spending a fortune? Check out the tips below to learn how to capture your target audience and sell your products.

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Brainstorming for teams: keep it simple!

Brainstorming should be simple: in theory, everyone gets their information down on the big white pad and that’s it, the idea sharing can begin! In reality, though, we know that that doesn’t always happen. Here is a good process to follow if you have a small-to-medium sized team and need to get thinking quickly:

1) Let the headstrong individuals go first. They’ll have loads of ideas and letting them go first means that afterwards the more considered individuals can have their turn and do so without feeling rushed. It’s also a good idea to make sure that nobody else speaks while ideas are written on the board.

2) Do it one by one and make sure any communication is between the person who has just put their ideas up and everyone else. This means less back and forth chatter between people who are seated.

This’ll make things loads easer, and everyone will be able to see what’s going on…

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Taking Harbor under Microsoft

Nokia has official announced that it has joined forces to taken on Apple and Google head on. Nokia which had exempted itself from the developing market has suddenly decided to play catch up long after it had lost 12% of the mobile phone market share. The only ally it could turn too which also looks to seek allegiance with any company what would go in competition with Google and Apple – Microsoft.

Microsoft has also been unable to contain the monster, the Apple grows bigger as Google turns into a day to day minute to minute second to second lifestyle of the people – they cannot take them on alone. Recent graphs drawn up analysts on The Economist suggest that companies like Motorola and LG have already lost a vast amount of whatever little they did have; Apple has suddenly grabbed Nokia by neck squeezing the market to their favor. On the other hand HTC which has a generous amount of the market is slowly but surely growing.

Nokia which used to command the majority of the mobile phone market has now left its fate with Microsoft who also seeks to grab back its lost consumer to more specifically – Apple. It quite a sight to see that a single company on its own could bring the electronics market to an overhaul. Eventhough Apple products are more expensive than Nokia or Microsoft products, they are sold more because it is known for its reliability and creative style that standards that sets it apart from the monotonous Microsoft life we’ve all live.

More than reasons of competition – the alliance will prove to be quite powerful as Microsoft has also stepped up its game in order to compete with Apple’s market that is day by day consuming its customers. Technology like Microsoft Surface shows us that an impressive touch tech has been developed – it could be integrated into a phone. Something more to talk about with the lads other than gas oil over a beer.

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