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The 80/20 Rule

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  • #143525
    Kevin Mahoney
    Participant

    This past week I read Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson’s The New One Minute Manager.  Several things caught my attention in this very quick read and If you have not done so, I would recommend taking a few hours to read it.  Blanchard and Spencer explore the importance of managers utilizing brief and focused goals, encouragements, and redirections to lead their constituents.  I found these points simple to understand and practical.  However, what really caught my attention was the authors’ brief explanation of the 80/20 rule (Pareto principle) in relation to goal setting.  Blanchard and Johnson (2015) state “80% of your really important results will come from 20% of your goals” (Location No. 257).

    At face value, the 80/20 rule reflects a truth that I have observed in my own experiences.  That is, 80% of one’s positive outcomes result from 20% of their efforts.  I believe this is the reason we are best served by playing to our strengths, as much as possible.  One can also observe this dynamic in organizations, athletic teams, and peer groups.  Most results tend to come from a relatively small segment of a given group.

    As individuals, I believe the most important thing we can do is focus most of energy investing in our areas of strength.  Our life responsibilities and time constraints may limit this investment for a season of life but if we are going to fulfill our potential, we must invest in what we do well.

    Do you think the 80/20 rule accurate? If so, where have you observed it?

     

    Blanchard, K & Johnson, S. (2015). The New One Minute Manager. [Kindle Version] New York: Harper Collins.

    #143651
    pinchofattitude
    Participant

    Hi Kevin,

    I haven’t read the material that you have recommended but what I’ve read that introduced me to the 80/20 which I start to apply since is Tim Ferris “4 Hours Work Week” and also from my mentors at work who have achieve top levels and I hope to follow their successes in the near future.

    What tricky about this rule is you have to be able to identify the 20% that will yield the 80% result that you would like to see. So knowing your strength is one but also understanding all the project parts that contribute to that 80/20 to me was challenging at first but now I use this rule religiously at work and home. It’s a time saver for me to concentrate on other tasks at hands that I usually make up excuses of not completing them.

    Cheers.

     

    #143675
    Kevin Mahoney
    Participant

    Good point. Another challenge I face working in a large public sector agency, is the reality that others, or at least existing SOPs, can dictate a lot of what must be done.

    #143747
    pinchofattitude
    Participant

    Hi Kevin,

    Yes, cannot agree with you more. With public sector, there a lot of rules and procedures that you will need to understand in order to find the right loophole to apply the 80/20 rule.

    Great topic.

    Cheers:)

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