Next Monday and Tuesday, I’ll be in Austin, Texas to speak for Evolve 2026, the annual user group meeting for AxisCare, the industry leading Home Care Operating System software.
My topic will be “Scaling Your Home Care Business with Data Oriented Decision Making.”
This will be a short “Ted Talk” type presentation where we’ll look at some basic principles about how Home Care Founders, Owners, and CEOs can use facts, metrics, and data to guide strategic business decisions that align with your goals, objectives, and strategic initiatives.
If you have seen me speak, or if you have been reading this newsletter for a while, you know that my main mantra is “What gets measured gets managed. What gets rewarded gets repeated.”
And one of my favorite quotes is from W. Edwards Deming who said, “Without the data, you are just another person with an opinion.”
Understanding the Four Levels of your Data Stream
Many years ago, I was attending the annual convention of my professional association, The National Speakers Association. This is a society of about 2500 individuals who earn all or part of their living speaking professionally.
One of our friends and professional colleagues, Daniel Burrus, the Founder of Burrus Research explained to us the four levels of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom that I have come to call the Four Levels of Your Data Stream.
This begins with raw data; the bits and bytes that are stored in your Home Care Operating System software. That data is critical to understanding your business but by itself it is useless. It is only when you tabulate that data to get information that you can use it. And, we are information rich. We are often overwhelmed with the information we have available.
When we analyzed the synthesize the information, we get knowledge. And that’s what we’ll digging into when we discuss data oriented decision making.
And then there’s the fourth level. When we mix knowledge with gray hair, we get wisdom. Knowledge plus experience is wisdom.
The Rule of Threes and the Three Bucket Principle
As I have worked with hundreds of Home Care companies over the past three decades on industry research, strategic advisory services, and serving on some Boards of Directors, I have explored the data and information of these companies and helped their leaders develop knowledge and wisdom.
Over time, I have come to rely more on the Rule of Threes, and developed The Three Bucket Principle. This principles says that you can take your data and information about any one topic and divide it into three buckets. By analyzing the contents of each bucket, you will develop a better understanding of your business and you will be able to make better strategic business decision.
Some Examples of Three Buckets in Home Care
By digging into the data of hundreds of Home Care companies, I’ve identified a number of areas of your business where you can divide things into three buckets:
- Three categories of referral partners
- Three categories of clients
- Three types of caregivers
- Three elements of client conversion
- Three types of Home Care companies
As an example, we have analyzed the three categories of Referral Partners and the three categories of clients to help them identify their “Ideal Client”. Then we identify the sources of referrals that bring in the clients with the highest hours per week of service and the longest length of stay. These are your most profitable clients, and the easiest to serve.
When you are clear about your ideal client, you can focus your sales and marketing systems on those referral partners who bring you these clients most often. And, you can focus your recruiting efforts on the caregivers who are the best fit for your ideal clients.
