Recently I was listening to an interview about the application of the eighty twenty principle by Richard Koch.
http://www.the8020principle.com/
Essentially, the 80:20 principle says that:
20% of our activities will produce 80% of our results.
All we have to do is know which 20% yields the 80% of the results.
It implies that if you can define this with certainty, we could do the top 20% of all our productive work in 1 one day a week and get a four times the return (80%) on our efforts - as 20% effort yields 80% of the results.
It also implies that we currently spend 4 days a week out of 5 doing stuff which is of little or no value - e.g. 80% of our time yields only 20% results.
[There are even some people who talk about the 120:20 rule, where some unfortunate people are putting in 120% effort and only getting 20% of the results!]
It has since occurred to me that an eightball is a good symbol to represent how we should apply the eighty twenty principle in our lives. The black part of the eightball represents the 80% we don't have to bother with - those things we need to consciously avoid doing or filter out.
The white circle with the "8" on represents about 20% of the total surface area of the ball. It even has a "8" in the middle of it to remind us that we stand to benefit by getting 80% of the rewards by concentrating on 20% of our activities.
Focusing on the white dot in the middle of the ball suggests to me that by focussing on our target, our core activities and priorities we stand to yield the greatest results - as long as 1) we know what we are aiming for and 2) that we don't allow ourselves to get off track and end up "majoring in minor things".
In "First Things First" and "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People", Stephen R Covey describes 4 time quadrants categorised by urgency and importance.
He puts forward that the most important quadrant is that which is Important, Not Urgent (Quadrant Two = QII). This also happens to be the most difficult quadrant to spend time in, as you have to make time to stay in there - it does not demand your attention.
You have to act on QII, it doesn't act on you. It's not urgent. We all have a tendency to fall prey to "the tyranny of the urgent".
I would like to suggest that the white area on the eightball represents our Quadrant II Activities, our most important roles goals and targets.
Let's look in a bit more detail at the implications of the 80:20 principle.
Let's explore the principle that the top 20% of people in a particular industry or calling get 80% of the financial rewards. Mathematically, the rewards from being in the top 20% are staggering.
For our first scenario, let's take £10, and distribute it equally among 10 people. Each person would receive £1. All the rewards have therefore been distributed evenly.
Now let's apply the 80:20 principle to the same pot of £10.
Suppose you are in the top 20% and you get 80% of the Reward.
That means that in this example, 2 people would end up with a total of £8.
That's £4 each.
Now let's look what the remaining 80% get. 8 people share £2. That's 25p each.
So in conclusion, if you get into the top 20%, your £4 is 16 times greater a reward than the 25p you would get if you were in the 80%.
SIXTEEN TIMES GREATER REWARDS FROM BEING IN THE TOP 20%.
WOW!
Richard tells us this a scientifically proven principle and it appears to me that capitalism depends on it.
e.g. The US has 80% of the world's wealth.
The top 20% of people in the US own 80% of the wealth in the US, and so on.
The other thing to consider with an eightball is that it is the most important ball in the game of pool. Potting it automatically wins you the game, or loses it for you, depending on the circumstances.
To win the game of pool, you need to nominate your pocket, that is, you have to name the specific pocket you are going to put the eightball into before you play your shot.
If it accidentally goes in the wrong pocket, or you forget to nominate it before playing your shot, then
YOU LOSE!
Similarly, to win the game of life, you need to nominate your pocket as the pocket that wealth flows into and stays in, as opposed to allowing somebody else to nominate their pocket at your expense.
If you allow your wealth to flow into the wrong pocket (e.g. somebody else's)
YOU LOSE!
It therefore logically follows that we have a compelling argument to apply the 80:20 principle as often as we possibly can, and to strive to consistently be in that top 20% of people (or above) in our industry or calling.
Game on!
Neil Paddock
http://dareiidream.co.uk
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