Being a procrastinator, I know how difficult it is to get up and actually work. I never understood why it is important to excel in everything or to work the whole day. What if I tell you I have a trick to do less and achieve more? And trust me I am not a politician who promises and then forgets about it.
Read the following statistics-
20% of the marketing efforts represent 80% of the results
20% of posts generate 80% of traffic
20% of software development efforts account for 80% of the program’s functionality
80% of the pollution originates from 20% of all factories
20% of a company’s products represent 80% of sales
20% of employees are responsible for 80% of the results
80% of the financial advisor’s revenue comes from the top 20% of the clients
80% of the sales are from 20% of the customers.
Did you notice anything common in above? The 80-20 ratio. 20% of our efforts are the reason for 80% of our success.
Keeping this in mind, ask yourselves this question. Is it important to put all of your efforts (100% efforts) on all the things or is it better to first put your efforts on those 20% things which will lead to 80% of your results?
Background
In the late 1940s Romanian-born American engineer and management consultant, Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy went to 20% of the population.
How to use this to our benefit?
As we know by now that majority of our result happen are a result of 20% of our inputs so why not to use this to our advantage?
Here are the 2 main questions that we can ask ourselves
Which 20% sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?
And which 20% sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
So how can you apply Pareto’s principle to gain better result at your workplace or personal life?
Are you an executive? You’re surely faced with the constant challenge of limited resources. It’s not just your time you need to maximize, but your entire team’s. Instead of trying to do the impossible, a Pareto approach is to truly understand which projects are most important. What are the most important goals of your organization, or boss, and which specific tasks do you need to focus on to align with those goals? Delegate or drop the rest.
Are you a freelancer? It’s important to identify your best (and highest-paying) clients. Of course, you don’t want all your eggs in one basket. But too much diversification will quickly lead to burnout. Focus on the money makers and strengthening those long-term relationships.
Are you an entrepreneur? The temptation always exists to try the new and exciting. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it boils down to your goals. Are you trying to grow your current business? Would an 80/20 mindset help you to stay focused on your strategic plan and spend less time chasing endless new opportunities?
Are you a Customer Relationship Manager? Make an analysis of all the complaints, categorise them. Give importance to those 20% problems which affect 80% of the population.
And on and on and on....
No matter what your situation is, it’s important to remember that there are only so many minutes in an hour, hours in a day, and days in a week. Pareto can help you to see this a good thing; otherwise, you’d be a slave to a never-ending list of things to do. All I want to tell you is to give preference to those 20% things which will help to achieve 80% results.
So, what 20% of your work drives 80% of your outcomes?
Write-up by: Elesh Gupta
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