I’m Libby Hanna. I worked for ten years in software quality assurance in some of the most innovative companies around at the time. I learned some amazing, fancy stuff for managing high-quality software projects. Process improvement methodologies. Metrics-based, continuous improvement strategies. Statistical quality modeling. Japanese TQM "customer-first" techniques. Here’s the single most useful thing I learned:

The Pareto Principal: 80% of the improvements you will see come from the first 20% of the work you do.

After that, the Law of Diminishing Returns takes over. The last 20% is hard work, and the improvements are much less noticeable. For that last 20%, the cost of improvements skyrockets. Nothing in life is perfect. You need to know where to start, and when to stop: how to Keep It Simple.

For the next six years, I ran my own recruiting business. In this new business, I learned again that the simple things gave the greatest value. My success didn't come from having fancy resume search tools or even enormous networks of contacts. It came from working closely and carefully with people, listening and asking questions, being organized and staying on top of things.

Throughout these years, I’ve also worked as a volunteer or staffer with many different companies, non-profits, schools, and community groups. In every case, the simplest steps made the biggest difference. Communications. Organization. Focus.

Let me bring these same skills to your small business, non-profit, community group, organization or home-hobby. In no time, we'll take big steps by keeping it simple!