It’s easier than you think.

There is a process that I coach people through to help them gain clarity and momentum with growing their organizations  (small business or otherwise) in a way that yields actual results and generates sustainable momentum in the right direction. 

Something I’ve learned along the way is that growing a business with marketing is very similar to personal growth and development. Stick with me.

Growing whether professionally or personally requires commitment, and experimentation.

If you want to grow you have to make an intentional commitment to a process. You also have to experiment with different things in order to gain a firm footing so you can move forward without getting stuck.

When a business doesn’t separate and prioritize the things they’re committed to and the things they experiment with they become inconsistent and stop growing.

You’re no different. 

Enter the 90:10 principle

The 90:10 principle is a practical framework to help you identify the things that require the most commitment from you and the things that can’t take all of time, energy, and focus. 

Here it is…

The 90 

These are your big priorities. When you look at your day, week, month, etc. these are the things that require your best time and energy investment. These may shift over time but they largely remain the same. 

If you want to continue taking actionable next steps toward a goal then you need to name these and guard them. When I name and focus on the things that require the most out of me, my level of productivity, fulfillment, and quality of work elevates. When I neglect these things I start to feel overwhelmed, stressed, and frustrated with my lack of performance.

The 10

The 10 is everything else. In the business world this is the experimentation space. It’s where I tell clients they should be trying new things to help with business growth. They spend SOME time here, but not ALL of their time here. 

For you, it’s where everything that isn’t a top priority lives. All of the things that can’t take every bit of your best focus should be in this space. For me it’s things like email, social media time, meetings that are off topic for my day. A new creative endeavor. I block time and create space for these things but they never consume all of my time doing them. A well structured 10 allows your 90 to flourish.

They go together

Focusing on one area over the other will get you lopsided and cause you to move from proactive to reactive. From clear to confused. From confident to stressed. and from moving forward at a sustainable pace to stuck with no clear path forward. Your 90 and your 10 work together to help you make the best use of 100% of your time and energy. A business that uses the 90:10 eventually finds a sweet spot where efficiency, effectiveness, and creativity are all optimized. 

With a little work and intentionality you can also find your own sweet spot by clarifying your 90 and your 10.

What are three things that should be in your 90?

What are three things that should be in your 10?

What’s you next right step?