The Pareto Principle

The Pareto principle, which is also known as the 80/20 rule was first discovered in 1897 by an Italian economist called Vilfredo Pareto. Whilst researching patterns of wealth and income in nineteenth century England he discovered that there was an unequal distribution of wealth across the country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. He repeated this study in his own country and then went on to look at historical data and he found the same pattern repeating itself – that twenty percent of the people in his studies owned eighty percent of the wealth.

However, the findings were largely ignored at the time, and it wasn’t until Quality Management pioneer, Dr. Joseph Juran, working in the US in the 1930s and 40s reapplied the principle to his own work that it really became popular. Juran recognized a universal principle he called the "vital few and trivial many" - the principle that 20 percent of something always are responsible for 80 percent of the results. Juran later went on to apply his theories in the Japanese car manufacturing industry, where the principle was adopted with great zeal, and of course the resulting success of the Japanese car industry is now legendary.

So what can this principle teach us? Well truly understanding the 80/20 principle can give you great insight into what is really happening in the world around you. In terms of Life Coaching and time management, exactly the same principle can be used as a very effective tool to help you manage yourself and your time as best as possible.

The 80/20 Rule means that in anything you do, a few things (20 percent) are vital and many (80 percent) are trivial. For example, 80% of the results you achieve in your job will come from 20% of your activities; 80% of the happiness you experience in your life will come from 20% of the experiences you have; 80% of the relationship problems you experience in life will come from 20% of the people you know, and so on…

In applying this to your own life, the value of the Pareto Principle is that it reminds you to focus on the 20 percent of things that really matter. Of all the things you do during your day, only 20 percent really matter. Those 20 percent produce 80 percent of your results. Identify and focus on those things. When you get caught up with the stress of a hectic day, remind yourself of the 20 percent you need to focus on.

So just for a moment, think about how you have spent your time over the last week – what are the 20% of things you have done which have given you 80% of your results? And think about the week ahead – what are the vital few things you should be focusing on? And look out for this principle operating in the world around you and in your own life – do 20% of your monthly bills account for 80% of your total outgoings? Do you spend 80% of your time with 20% of the people you know?

And when you do find this principle in operation, remember that this gives you a massive clue as to where you should be focusing your efforts to get the maximum results!

If you would like to learn more about the Pareto Principle, and other time management techniques, why not visit www.LifeCoachSeries.com and take a look at Life Coaching for a Better Career…

Kind Regards,

Guy Insull,
Founder,
Champions Club

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