Clients First: The Two Word Miracle

Chapter 11

Giving Up

There is a school of thought that reasons there are some clients whom you are better off without. Some base this on the Pareto principle, which suggests that 80 percent of your problems come from 20 percent of your clients.

Pareto was an Italian economist who first applied this idea to wealth distribution. He observed that 80 percent of the wealth resided with 20 percent of the population. Since that time, the 80/20 rule has been applied to practically everything, from how you should manage your time to your daily intake of calories.

While this 80/20 rule may or may not apply to problem clients, there are ample alternative theories. A highly successful agent we know follows the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Hubbard discovered that a percentage of people are incorrigible and therefore dangerous to those with whom they come into contact. Hubbard estimates that 2.5 percent, or 5 out of every 200 people, are sociopaths with no moral compass and that association with this element can lead to emotional ruin. Hubbard then estimates that 20 percent of the people we know are suppressive personalities. These people, according to Hubbard, are devoted to finding fault with everything and everybody. Association with suppressive personalities is therefore dangerous and to be avoided.

A number of America’s corporate gurus propound the theory that you should always be looking to rid the company of the bottom 10 percent. The bottom 10 percent of the ...