Book Review: The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

Conclusion: While the book contains the oversimplification typical of a writer/consultant, the main point is powerful.  There is way too much low value activity that takes away from high value activity, including thinking and learning.  The better I can get at simplifying my workday and eliminating low value activities to focus on what really matters and do that extremely well, the more successful I will be, and I may even be able to spend less time working at it.  I should focus my efforts on areas where I already have an advantage and work on building and leveraging that advantage.

The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 Rule holds true in many areas of life, including management.  20% of the people in an organization contribute to 80% (or more) of its success.  20% of my time contributes to 80% of my success.  Rather than spending more time doing more activity, as is the norm in the business world today, I should do less, but do the important things very well.  I must find what is most important to me, what I really care about, and then pursue that, going for the jugular of what makes the biggest difference in my area.  Very few things matter at all, but those that do matter enormously.  In my business, I should focus on where I can add the most value to clients and on clients who have the most to gain from working with me.

Continue reading here to find out the Ten Traits of 80/20 Managers: The 80 20 Principle Review.pdf