Lily's Blog

The Pareto principle is also known as the 80-20 rule or the the law of the vital few and trivial many. This law implies that for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of causes. The secret is in identifying the 20%. Many years ago I lectured in Quality Management at Sligo IT. Then and there I spoke frequently of Juran.

Juran (1904 – 2008) was a 20th century US management consultant who is principally remembered as an evangelist for quality and quality management, writing several influential books on the topics. He suggested the Pareto Principle naming it after the Italian economist Pareto, who observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. In business 80% of sales come from 20% of clients. One can think of many instances in life where the 80-20 rule is applicable.

Although born in Romania, Juran moved to Minnesota when he was eight. He earned his primary degree from University of Minnesota. When he died in 2008, he had been married for 81 years. Doing the sums that means he married at 15!

That’s Tommy’s next birthday!

That’s the scene of action for Tommy in the US. We head to Minnesota for his next appointment with Dr. Gage in August.