how AI transforms the boring 98% into CS excellence
the Dutcher Principle applied to CS
May 18, 2025
"I'm just not seeing results despite our hard work."
I hear this from CS leaders constantly. Teams run at full capacity, implementing every best practice, yet the needle on retention or expansion barely moves.
The problem often isn't effort. It's focus.
Most CS organizations apply the wrong mental model.
You know the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle), but in today's complex environment, the 98/2 rule, better known as the Dutcher Principle, often governs success.
Let's explore why this matters now more than ever for customer success...
In the boardroom, the language of business is finance, yet most customer leaders weren't trained to speak it fluently.
CoverYourSaaS transforms how customer executives communicate value, secure budgets, and influence strategic decisions by teaching the financial frameworks the C-suite cares about.
Join 1,455 customer leaders who invested in their financial fluency this year.
Get Instant Access for $202.49
*Team licenses available (we sold a 1k-seat deal recently)
The 98/2 rule, popularized by Shane Parrish, states:
“People spend 98% of their time talking about flashy things that contribute only 2% to the results, while overlooking the fact that 98% of the results come from consistently doing the boring basics that few notice.”
This isn't just a slight tweak to 80/20, it's a fundamental reframing of how CS should operate.
In customer success, we celebrate the wins, the closed renewals, the expansion deals, and the rescued accounts. These visible outcomes are the 2% that everyone sees.
But the crucial 98%?
That's the unsexy, behind-the-scenes work: meticulous documentation that enables consistent onboarding, regular health audits that catch at-risk customers early, or systematic data cleaning that makes analytics reliable.
The irony is that, as the SaaS industry matured, leadership often fixated on those visible 2% quarterly numbers and significant renewals.
Meanwhile, the 98%the systems, processes, and capabilities driving those outcomes are squeezed into whatever time remains.
This creates the CS Excellence Paradox: the more pressure to deliver immediate results, the less time teams spend on the foundational activities that would produce them.
How do you reorient your team toward the critical 98%?
First, audit your team's time. Track where it goes for two weeks. Most leaders are shocked by how little is spent on high-leverage activities.
Then, identify your "boring basics," those unglamorous but essential tasks (like structured health monitoring, systematic playbook development, or proactive risk mitigation) that guarantee success if done consistently.
Here's the crucial insight most CS leaders miss: You shouldn't just do the boring basics well; you should systematically automate them.
The best CS organizations aren't just assigning the 98% work to their teams; they're relentlessly finding ways to use AI, automation, and technology to ensure consistency at scale:
AI is particularly powerful for 98% of the work. The mundane, repetitive tasks that your teams find draining are precisely where AI excels:
When you systematically automate the boring but crucial 98%, two transformations occur:
With that clarity, focus can be created, often through specialization. Even small teams benefit from clear swim lanes, allowing deep expertise. Critically, you'll need to build systems, not heroes. Don't depend on heroic individuals; ensure the boring basics happen by default.
And finally, measure and reward the right things. If your metrics only capture the visible 2%, you'll never incentivize excellence in the critical 98%. Create leading indicators for foundational work, not just results.
The power of the 98/2 rule lies in the compound effect over time. Each small investment in unsexy fundamentals adds up, creating an ever-widening gap between your team and the competition.
In a year where economic pressures demand more efficient teams, doubling down on the 98% that drives results isn't just smart, it's essential.
What is the invisible 98% in your CS organization that you need to prioritize now to drive the visible 2% your business demands?
Hit "Reply" and let me know.
🤘
We’re grateful you choose to read each week. When you’re ready for more, there are a couple ways we can help:
» Cover Your SaaS is a financial literacy course for go-to-market leaders. Grab your copy here.
» Promote your product and services to over 5,500+ senior SaaS Customer Success pros by sponsoring our weekly newsletter and podcast.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up at ChiefCustomerOfficer.io.
We’re grateful you choose to read each week.
When you’re ready for more, there are a couple ways we can help:
» Cover Your SaaS is a financial literacy course for go-to-market leaders. Grab your copy here.
» Promote your product and services to over 4,000+ senior SaaS Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success pros by sponsoring our twice-weekly newsletter and podcast.
