The 80-20 Rule is the Pareto principle and it states that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. It isn’t new. But think about it for a moment. No, really let it sink in – and apply it to not only your business, but to your personal life as well. I was sold on the 80-20 concept at the end of my workday today when I looked at my to-do list. I spent 80% of my day fighting fires and completed 20% of the items on my list. Sound familiar?
In business, 80% of the consequences flow from 20% of the causes; 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort and time; and 80% of your profits come from 20% of your products and customers. In personal relationships, I would bet that 80% of your problems stem from 20% of the issues you deal with everyday. Would I be right?
If you can pinpoint the 20% of your inputs that result in 80% of your outputs – you can start finding ways to eliminate the other 80%. And more importantly, as you eliminate that nasty 80%, you’ll have more time to work on that 20% of the sources that result in 80% of your happiness. The bad news is…until the 80% is under control for me, I have to continue to put forth 150% effort to keep my head above water.
But yanno what? I’m still good! The 20% that makes up 100% of my happiness — taken with iPhone4…
And just so I remember that it’s all good — I try to watch the video on this post at least once a week.