---
title: "The 20 percent rule"
description: "McNeill's habit of spending one day a week living the customer journey."
canonical: https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/the-algorithm/the-20-percent-rule/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

# The 20 percent rule

> McNeill's habit of spending one day a week living the customer journey.

Jon McNeill's framework, from The Algorithm, pp. 95 to 127.

Framework 7 of 7 from [The Algorithm](https://tomsharman.com/bookshelf/the-algorithm/index.md) by Jon McNeill. Category: Leadership.

## The steps

1. **Spend a day a week in the customer's shoes.** Visit stores, drive the cars, use the app, as a customer would.
2. **Go unannounced.** Visit swapped stores or in disguise so nobody polishes the experience.
3. **Ask what they would change.** Ask people at every step what they would change if they ran the company.
4. **Send feedback and close the loop.** Write up observations quickly so the owner fixes them within a day or a week.

## Where it comes from

From chapter: Part II: The Three Cultural Ingredients of the Algorithm, pp. 95–127

## The animation

24 seconds, 4:5, no sound.

- MP4: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/the-algorithm/the-20-percent-rule.mp4
- MP4, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/the-algorithm/the-20-percent-rule-dark.mp4
- Still: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/the-algorithm/the-20-percent-rule.png
- Still, dark: https://tomsharman-downloads-006143767029.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/downloads/bookshelf/the-algorithm/the-20-percent-rule-dark.png