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6 Common Misconceptions about the 80/20 Rule

Since I specialize in teaching the 80/20 Principle to Corporates, I find that there are some common misconceptions, that people carry in their head. I thought I would share some personal thoughts on it.
  1. Myth # 1 : 80/20 means eliminating all unimportant tasks. Not true. Some tasks are low value but need to be done. For example, washing laundry, paying the bills. Not doing them will create a negative downside. The 80/20 rule is about spending more time on the important tasks, spending less time on the unimportant (by delegating, batching) and eliminating the tasks with almost no value (not doing them will not make a difference.
  2. Myth #2 :  It must be precisely 80/20. Not necessarily. As I mentioned in part 1, it just happened that Pareto’s observation was 80-20 (rather than 70-20). So let's say you have 10 tasks on your to-do list. It doesn't mean that there must be precisely 2 tasks (20%) with high value. Maybe you have 3 tasks that contribute to 80% of the value. Maybe 4 of the tasks contribute to 90% of the final impact. The point is that a small %age of inputs lead to a large %age of results.
  3. Myth #3 : 80 must add with 20 to be 100. 80% represents the effects while 20% represents the causes. When Pareto made the connection, it was regarding the distribution of wealth in Italy, where 20% of people owned 80% of wealth. The reality is that it can be 70/20, 90/30, etc. The %age of causes don't have to add up with the %age of effects to be 100. 
  4. Myth #4 : 80/20 is about being lazy. No. 80/20 is about being effective. When you use the 80/20, you think about the areas where you can make the most impact so that you can focus on them. It's about using your limited energy to create the maximum impact, rather than being haphazard and unstrategic in the way you do things. 
  5. Myth #5 : It only applies to business. While 80/20 gained popularity in the business world, it can be found in almost everything in life. It can be found in sports, science, software, medicine, and more. It can be found in our relationships, beliefs, goals, habits (20% of habits will make the biggest difference), and health (20% of actions will make biggest difference to our health). It's really a way of life. 
  6. Myth #6 : 80/20 is about being mercenary. Some people may resist the 80/20 because they don't want to choose. They are uncomfortable about saying no. They want to do everything. But when you don't apply the 80/20, you are already choosing — you're  choosing against the high-impact tasks that could benefit enormously from your attention, focus. 80/20 is about choosing to make the most impact with your limited time.
We can work together on this, if you like.

About the Author 
Dr. Sunil Pevekar is a PGDM from IIMA and  a PhD from USA. He is an expert on  10X Business Growth and Non–Traditional Marketing Tools & Techniques. He can be contacted on marketing@drsunilpevekar.com or +91 7983826309.

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