Major Australian manufacturer becomes leader in U.S. market

“The fibre cement pipe business was languishing...the technology was not working well, our quality was down, our customers were not getting the benefits they’d hoped for and the board was seriously considering selling us off. Alitek showed us how to focus our business using input from our customers and some simple tools to evaluate our internal effectiveness and show us where we would get the greatest benefit in the shortest time. We achieved an extra $600,000 bottom line in the first year following the plan. This gave our managers the shot in the arm that saw the business go from strength to strength and is now the leading FRC pipe manufacturer in the US market.”
Max Lockwood
Former CEO
James Hardie Fibre Cement Business

Why is the 80/20 process so powerful?
The 80/20 business focus process grew out of the last major recession, about 10 years ago. It helped save many businesses from the tough times they faced. A recession forces a business to really focus on the few, critical things that will lead to survival. When you apply this same, focused thinking in good economic times, an amazing thing happens: you see ordinary companies achieve extraordinary things.

How is the 80/20 process different from other planning we’ve done?
Something like 90% of planning produces nothing but documents that sit on the shelf. A year later, nothing has changed. This happens for a number of reasons:

• The plan was produced by a small number of senior people (or worse, by an external consultant), so there is no ownership and therefore no action.
• The planning process was so long and involved (sometimes taking months, rather than weeks or days) that the plan is out of date by the time it’s prepared.
• Activities are not prioritised well. The final plan is so complex that no one knows where to start. No one person is responsible if the plan fails, so people are able to “pass the buck”.

The 80/20 business focus process overcomes these problems because:

People from every level are involved, so there is buy-in from the people responsible for implementing the plan.

The process is simple enough that everyone can understand it and be involved.

The process is practical, quick and relevant, so people are not taking days off work attending "navel gazing" planning sessions.

Plans are easily updated as the market changes, so they stay relevant.

The process identifies the few critical activities that will make the business thrive.

This means that everyone is motivated and enthusiastic as they quickly see results from their actions.

The plan is simple enough that individual responsibilities are clear. If someone is not pulling their weight it is immediately obvious, making performance management easier.

So what’s the basis of the 80/20 process?
The 80/20 process uses a series of simple yet powerful fact finding, prioritising, and decision making tools that help you to identify the few critical things that will make your business excel. It will do this faster, cheaper and better than any other planning process we've encountered.

How can I find out more about applying the 80/20 process to my business?

Contact The Simpler Business Institute to discuss how effective the 80/20 tools are when you apply them to your business

Go back

© 2000-2008 Simpler Business Institute