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The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less
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Sales rank 5,666
Customers rating (based on 86 reviews)
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How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has long influenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies.The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives.
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| Publisher | Broadway Business | | Release date | 10/1999 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Paperback |
| | List price | $15.95 | | Our price | $10.85 (you save 31.97%) | | Used price | from $5.74 |
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 get more done in less time (and that's just the start)
Good book with a great way to learn your life. And if you can figure out which 20% to read, you'll get 80% of the knowledge within it.
Seriously, there is an 80/20 rule for readings books and you can use it on this one. :)
We all know the 80/20 rule but, if you're like me, you haven't though about all the ways you can apply it to your life. Time management, relationships with friends, relationship with your girlfriend/wife, money, business, and more. Definitely worth reading!!
Be 80% Better With 20% of the Effort!
The book I read this week was The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch. What a wonderful book on results-based living. The 80/20 Principle is about inputs and outputs, an imbalance in the world. 80% of the results, outputs, or rewards come from 20% of activity, inputs, or effort. For instance, 80% of accidents on the road are caused by 20% of the drivers, 80% of wealth is held by 20% of people, and 20% of the work you do results in 80% rewards. This principle is used in business... many know it as the Pareto Law... The law of the trivial many and the vital few. The most important take-away is that there is an imbalance in the world... Things are not 50/50. I will help you apply this principle in 3 areas of your life: Business, Investing, and Happiness.
Business
Many consultants will use this principle when working with a firm and it results in enormous lasting effects. Koch was a consultant for Boston Consulting Group early in his career and I am sure he used his 80/20 principles many times in the course of business. How does it effect business? Many ways, but my favorite is that 80% of sales come from 20% of a company's products or clients. This also means that 80% of a company's products or clients only result in a small 20% of sales. So... Focus on the 20% of your products that give you 80%... If you are working with clients, build those relationships up and build on them. Big time clients have relationships with other business' and people like them, so exploit this information and build your sales portfolio with similar clients. If you are in retail, find the 20% of your products that result in 80% of sales and make them more visible. Put them in front of the customer. Too often do I find myself in a store and see a "hot" item tucked away in the back. Why? Most likely a mistake. Use this information to your advantage. Talk to the managers and make your business better. This will surely get you noticed and put you on the fast track to success.
There are many applications within the business world to utilize the 80/20 Principle... just think about your inputs and outputs or effort and results and think about how you can implement a more successful way of doing things. Generally, it comes from simplifying an existing idea. Great examples of this come from Wal-mart, IKEA,and Gas Stations. They have taken an employee out of an operation and it has resulted in increased sales and a simpler operation. In what context? Wal-mart has made it so customers can check themselves out, IKEA lets people build their own furniture, and Gas Stations everywhere let people pump there own gas. This allows the respective business' to take the cost of an employee, the person that once did those services, out of their prices and gives them a huge competitive advantage. In what area could your business trim a service down to save some money? Be different and think simple... it works!
Investing
It should be clear to most people that there is an imbalance on Wall Street. Some investments go up while others go down and in dramatic ways. This is why many people encourage having balanced portfolios (like me), however, Koch disagrees with this logic with good reason. Because there is an imbalance you are much more likely to make huge returns if you are heavily invested in one investment, about 80% invested. My thoughts on this is that when you throw all your eggs in one investment you do have a chance at great rewards, but you are heavily increasing your risk. Koch's investment strategy could work for you if you have a lot of knowledge and information of the investment you are putting yourself into. For example, you could invest in the company you work for because you know about the operations and you know whether it is getting better or worse. I encourage everyone to find the investment strategy that fits their personality best and if this one is for you, go for it!
Happiness
I am a huge advocate of always striving to increase levels of happiness in life. This book declares that 80% of our happiness comes from 20% of what we do. So we should simply analyze what falls within this 20% and do more of it and less of the 80% that only slightly increases our happiness levels. So if going on vacation with your family is in your 20% than arrange your life to do it more. And on the other side, if you have things in your life that you feel are pointless and result in low levels of happiness or unhappiness, then do them less or stop them all together. If its a social event or a meeting and you feel its pointless, you probably won't be missed if you stop attending and if its a chore, assign it to someone else. If this means getting a housekeeper, then do it. Happiness should take a very high priority in your life.
I also want to mention that the 80/20 Principle is not linear. Meaning that it does not have to add up to 100. 80% of a company's profits could be from 5% of products and on the same note 95% of your happiness could be a result of 30% of your activities. The idea behind the book is that there is an imbalance. Once you understand this concept you can start looking for it and use the information to become more efficient in every aspect of your life.
So there you have it. Applications for the 80/20 Principle. I have been asked by many people how I do everything I do: Read a book a week and write this, work on my career, analyze new investments and have a life. Well I guess I use some of the ideas outlined in this book and I didn't even know it. Additionally, I don't see anything I do in my life as "work": I love reading, I love writing this blog and teaching others how to be better, I love my career and the work I do, and I love learning about new investments and using that information to build my wealth. When I don't like doing something I find a way to do it differently so it's enjoyable or I ask someone else to take care of it for me. If you enjoy doing something there is a high probability that you are good at it. If you aren't good at something then giving that task to someone who is good at it, and following the same logic, that person will most likely enjoy it, this means it is the right decision. In fact, if you work on being smart about your delegation of tasks, you simultaneously turn yourself into a better leader.
There is a lot of great information in this book and I think anyone that reads it will improve their life greatly. I recommend it to everyone. If you have any questions on the book don't hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to help anyone that wants it.
80/20 for a better outcome in all areas of your life
80/20 is a rule to live by. Focus and invest time into things that matter.
This does not mean spend more time to get better result. In fact you spend LESS time to get BETTER results. Doesn't sound logical until you read this book. Discover how you can get More with Less. Get the most out of life by working smarter not harder. You may be accused of being lazy. 20% of what you say and do accounts for 80% of your happiness and productivity in life. Put your energy where it really counts and get the best rewards.
Strategic Endeavors
If you were responsible for marketing to 100 clients, would you spend equal amounts of time on each account? Or would you focus more of your attention to those 20 clients who send you 80% of your business? The answer to that rhetorical question is the central theme of Richard Koch's brilliant book---The secret to achieving more with less.
By trimming the fat on our endeavors, Koch demonstrates that we can get more of what we really want out of life, by doing less. It's a simple concept, yet one that needs to be hammered into our heads on a regular basis. This book is a comprehensive guide to maximizing our returns on our efforts. Keep it handy; read it again and again.
Once you've mastered Koch's simple strategies, you'll be able to prioritize your daily routines, and accomplish much more than you probably imagined possible.
 Creative
Anything in your life can be addressed using the 80/20 principle. If you work with projects, for instance, 20% of them bring you 80% of your income (or your problems). If you are trying to address people to buy your products/services, well focus on 20% of them, because they will buy 80% of your portfolio. And by the way,20% of it is really profitable. The issue is: how to read data and transform it in useful information.
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