An equation to make life work better for you.
We work not just because we have to but also because we may genuinely enjoy our job, it gives us a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, we like the people we’re working with, and it provides good money for us to live on.
But sometimes, it may feel like you’ve hit something of a dead end. Yes, you’re still working and earning but just not seeing the full benefits in comparison to the hours and effort you are putting into it. If you feel like you’re working increasingly longer and longer hours but don’t feel that your salary or lifestyle are improving as a result, then never fear, we just might have a solution. Changing your thinking can actually help you excel further.
There is an observational measure known as ‘the Pareto Principle’. Popularized by engineer Joseph M. Juran in 1941, basically what it observes is that in whatever field of study you care to choose, 20% of a particular factor will invariably determine 80% of the result. Juran commented on it as “the vital few and the useful many”.
How does this relate to improving my productivity, you might ask? Well, in the field of commerce it has been observed that 20% of client sales ultimately determine 80% of profits, or equally that 20% of marketing messages determine 80% of result. Once you notice this trend across various streams of business, you can utilize and adapt it to suit your own individual goals. For this article, we provide a guide to how you can use the ‘Pareto Principle’ to further your career objectives.
1. A Matter Of Principle
The first step in using Pareto in your work life is determining where exactly you should apply it. This, of course, depends entirely on what kind of profession you are working in, but the general rule is that you look at where the 80% is being generated from – whether it be sales or profit or whatever – and specifically target the likely 20% source of that result. If you focus on that 20% and delegate the rest to other people, you can not only increase your overall productivity but actually decrease how much time and effort you spend working.
2. Delegate And Divide
Further to delegating tasks as mentioned above, it’s not just about passing off less important tasks to other people but also prioritizing those tasks so everyone can maximize productivity. The Pareto Principle assumes that even if everyone gives equal time to each task, only two out ten of those tasks will carry the bulk of the results desired.
What this means, by extension, is that it’s important to prioritize tasks not just in terms of size but in impact. Some of the tasks we might pass off as lower priority because of their size may in fact have the highest impact of all. In delegating tasks to other people, ensure first that everyone knows in advance what tasks are most important in terms of impact not size and that those tasks are the ones handled first.
3. Getting Down To Business
If you are in a managerial position and have to make tough business decisions, the Pareto Principle can actually help you in this endeavor. If, for example, you have many clients but limited time, then Pareto assumes that you focus on the 20% that make up 80% of profits for the business.
That’s not to say that you treat some clients less respectfully than others, but at the end of the day, there’s only so many hours in a day and only so much of you to go around. Using Pareto in this context allows you to prioritize those clients that are most consequential to your business while still making time for others through possible delegation, ensuring that all clients are handled equally well in a targeted and fairly proportionate manner.
4. Avoiding The Pitfalls
Pareto, it has to be said, is more of an observational measure than a mathematical equation. Not only will you encounter exceptions to the rule but there are also potential pitfalls to avoid in the application of Pareto to everyday tasks.
When saying Pareto will help you work less, it doesn’t necessarily envisage you working less hours, but rather in working on tasks less important to the overall outcome and increasing productivity and profits as a result. Equally so, if 20% of employees determine 80% of a company’s productivity, it doesn’t mean you fire the remaining employees, but rather you use your team in a prudent manner, delegating high-impact tasks to the 20% and lesser priority tasks to others.
In the final analysis, the Pareto Principle is not a hard and fast rule to be dogmatically adhered to but instead a useful guide to help you in shoring up your priorities in a manner that has you working less on tasks not as consequential while utilizing the talents of your workforce to judiciously handle other tasks that will ensure your business continues operating smoothly and efficiently.
