In the last 6 months, Richard Koch’s books on the 80/20 Principle, The Star Principleand Simplify have crystalized my thinking.
Many of us have heard about the 80/20 rule — 20% of our inventory generates 80% of our sales, 20% of our sales team generate 80% of our revenue, 20% of our customer generate 80% of our profit, and so forth.
Even so, I have never had anyone so thoroughly make the case for the 80/20 principle as Richard Koch. Or articulate it so well.
This 10 minute video easily summarizes key concepts in 5 of Richard’s books:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiaphjqNykY
Try To Limit Activities To Those That Make A BIG Difference
Companies that limit themselves, like Apple and Google, to only a few but key activities and replicate those make extraordinary profits. So, the key is to identify those few activities in our work that make the biggest contribution…and DO THOSE.
Then we can be much more effective because we are leveraging the most powerful causes in our work and our lives.
So try to think of the most ambitious goal or achievement attainable …AND, how to do so in a way that does NOT use up a lot of resource, money, energy, time or hard work. What matters most is the creativity of the mind to increase our productivity.
Increased Focus Increase Profits And Lowers Costs
If you focus on the relatively few most profitable activities, you can increase the average profitability and lower your average cost of your activities.
People You Rarely See Provide More Information And Insight Than Your Close Colleagues
Here’s an unlikely consideration. Who do you think is most likely to help you in your work and your life…your close friends and family, or people you rarely see (the “distant part of our social system”). Well, your close friends and your family most likely share most of the knowledge you already have but not much more. SO…it is the people you rarely see that will most likely give you NEW and VALUABLE information and insights you currently don’t have. These are people who move in different worlds than you.
This is the process of making more from less.
Most life activities are trivia…so avoid the trivia.
Productivity is not related to hours.
Value is not related to time.
So, a hard-working person is often too busy to spot what is really important.
What Is The Most Important Thing I Can Do Today – And Focus On That
You need to maximize your discretion to work how you want. So, select one priority each day and tackle it first. What is the one thing I can do in a relatively short period that will make the biggest difference.
How do I achieve much more with much less?
What constraint is most holding me back?
Be curious and ask questions.
You are trying to find the very few powerful causes that really work well and avoid the many activities that make little to no difference.
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