Business Calcium Blog

I read a book recently which changed my life. It is called The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less. I’ve read many business books, and this one has had one of the largest impacts in the shortest time.

First: the concept. What is it with this 80/20 rule?
The Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule, is the law of the vital few. About 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes. For example, the top 20% of sales people will drive 80% of sales.

I think some things are just bigger than us. Gravity will always win, just ask my gut, for example. We can observe that there is a truth to the 80/20 rule. Everything from internal combustion engines to the universe itself follows this rule. I used to think it had to do with anything which involved humans, but it’s much more; it is proven in anything that involves our Universe, or G-d if you want.

So, it probably applies to you to and your business.

The thinking is that 80% of the things you are doing daily in your business don’t matter and are worth close to nothing to you – that only 20% of your time is spent on work that is of great impact to you. So you may have much more time and capability than you can imagine.

I am not suggesting this is an easy principle to apply. It has been challenging, and I, too, have a long way to go. However with an understanding of the 80/20 rule will come new perception to your day.

Read the book, your return will be immense and immediate.