May 14, 2009: 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

Thanks Michael for leading another great session!

I realized that the most deceiving thing about the 80/20 Principle, and other such principles, is their simplicity. We were taught to believe that we "got" something when we were able to grasp it intellectually. And yet, that's perhaps only a very small part of the learning process. The true "getting" of it happens only when we implement it.

There are three ways in which, I thought this principle is useful to me.

The first is in the marketing and prospecting of my business. I am so glad that I spent a few hours before the session figuring out the 20% of the marketing and prospecting activities that get 80% of my results. The 80% is not going away, but with the knowledge of what's really important, I can focus on the activities that really matter and not waste time doing things that don't.

Second, I realized that my "three businesses" actually intersect at their 20%. And I now have a pretty good idea of what that 20% is in each of the businesses. This helps me enormously in deciding what branding strategies to use and in which combination. It also allows me to focus on the most important and let the rest go for now.

Third, I am now using the principle with all of my tasks and projects. I even got inspired enough that I picked up a book I had abandoned some time ago, Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, which is based on the 80/20 principle, and started implementing many of its concepts. For a guy like me for whom prioritizing tasks is a huge struggle, this help is godsend.

Thanks group for the insights, support and ideas. Looking forward to the next meeting.