Is the 80/20 principle dead?
August 6th, 2009
If you are like me you have heard about the 80/20 rule for years. You know it, it’s called the Pareto Principle – 20% of your activities account 80% of your results.
Well as Bob Dylan said about 40 years ago, “the times they are a changing”. In my opinion the more accurate reality of this notion is the 90/10 principle. Why?
Simply this… Technology has seduced us all into many new activities that didn’t exist a few years ago (creating websites, watching videos on I pods, viewing webinars on our computers). It’s endless and very very addictive.
While cool and exciting, it has also turned us into culture of multi-taskers. I think we are developing what I call “technological ADD”. You know it — you live it. You listen to teleconferences while you are checking your email and IM’s, scan through hundreds of channels on your TV while eating and talking, talk on the phone while cleaning, text while driving (I hope not) …this list goes on and on. You may even get restless just doing two things at once because we are so addicted to these new forms of stimulation.
How Does This Affect Your Business?
Big time. Your audience is distracted too and they are hardy even listening when you talk (remember they are multi-tasking). And with Twitter and other social media platforms thousands of people are all talking at the same time!
So if you want to get results you must be more specific and strategic than ever about what you focus your time on. I propose we change the 80/20 principle to the 90/10 principle.
What does this mean for you? Become much more intentional with how you spend your work time. Ask yourself: What 10% of my activities account for 90% of my results? Then focus on these everyday and learn to say no to distractions!
It isn’t easy, but as they say in the recovery world “one step at a time”. If you do you will be surprised at the results.
Place a comment and let me know if you agree or not.
by Mitch Meyerson, Founder of Guerrilla Marketing Coaching
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9 Responses to “Is the 80/20 principle dead?”
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Totally agree Mitch, and our technologies only seem to reinforce it. Institutionalized ADD!
Nevertheless, gossip still gets attention, and pretty women still turn heads.
There is a story about two friends walking one summer on a noisy New York avenue. One of them was an expert on insect species, and kept picking out and identifying by name the sounds of various insects amidst the din of traffic and street noises. His friend asked how he could possibly pick out such small sounds from all the noise around them? He replied by taking a coin from his pocket and dropping it on the sidewalk, which turned nearly every head around them.
“People notice,” he said, “what they’re interested in.”
So we ourselves need to focus on the top ten percent, but it will work even better if that ten percent touches on what people want.
Will Reed from the Entrepreneurs Creative Edge.
Yeah! It seems when I’m on the phone with someone, I always get background noise.
Your article is true, good proposal :)
…thinking on these things lots lately, resisting leaning to addictive traits. Constantly coming back to that same rule…have to force myself to focus. Like what Will Reed said “on what people want”.
Wonder how many points my smarts go down by multi-tasking.
You’ve identified a huge disconnect. Maybe I ought to take a few good practices from the military and go back to Simpleology.
Thanks Mitch…may I be in the 10% that will learn to say no to distractions.
I was just discussing this very subject over lunch with a friend yesterday. The metropolitan life is all about too much activity and noise much of the time. We’re always trying to keep up with our bulging task list.
Less is more is a secret to productivity that few are actually embracing. I need to embrace the concept in my daily life. I appreciate you writing about it, which lends support to my growing view that slowing down is a good thing.
thanks so much for sharing this detailed post!!
Here, I found a youtube video about watching tv online that I would like to share: International TV channel Online..
But seriously, amazing post and thanks so much !!
I look forward to your next article !
:)
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Heyy, Found your blog on Yahoo and I am so glad I did! Keep it up! =)
Hey! Wonderful idea, but might this really do the job?
LATRICIA
Intriguing, how do I make use of this?