Less Friction | More Leverage

Believe it or not, you can get more of what you want with less effort.

The key is leveraging something called the 80/20 principle.

The 80/20 Principle has been around since the late 19th century, but has become increasingly popular recently.

A Few 80/20 Insights

  • 80% of sales tend to come from 20% of one’s customers

  • 20% of the global population generates 80% of global income

  • 80% of many results are produced by 20% of the effort

The principle can be applied in business, economics, and personal development.

The key insight to remember is this: you can get powerful results with fairly modest effort.

Another way to get more by doing less is…

Leveraging Technology

In 2001, I was trapped in a high-overhead practice filled with friction, frustration, and bureaucracy. Then, I discovered how to scan paper into a computer and store hundreds of boxes in a 2 lb laptop.

At that point, my practice was transformed in amazing ways. But I still had to learn to develop digital systems to replace paper-based ones.

In my struggles to do this, it became apparent that…

We Need Modern Systems

It’s true that, because of digital technology, we can do much more work more easily, with lower overhead and fewer resources.

But, we need new systems for organizing and optimizing this digital work.

If you can optimize your increasingly digital workflows, you can confidently take on more work, earn more, and —most importantly— enjoy more time off.

This is true for any modern knowledge worker, including lawyers.


If you’re a lawyer

Over the years, I've helped many lawyers successfully leverage technology to improve their practices. I’ve done this primarily by...

  • Publishing a popular law blog called Ernie the Attorney, with millions of visitors over the past 20 years

  • Speaking to thousands of lawyers at national, state, and local bar events

  • Hosting Small Firm Bootcamps with nationally recognized speakers and tech consultants

  • Authoring four books on technology, two published by the ABA

  • Hosting the Law Firm Autopilot podcast, with over 240 episodes and 170,000 downloads

  • Creating online programs designed specifically for solo & small firm lawyers

So if you’re a lawyer, you might want to sign up for the paid subscription to this newsletter to get guidance specifically designed to help solo and small firm lawyers.

You can also visit my website to find out more about how I help lawyers in particular.

Subscribe to The 80/20 Principle

Helping solo & small firm lawyers create systems for remote work and virtual collaboration

People

Ernie Svenson

I help fellow lawyers modernize their practices using tech & high-leverage efficiency principles