Nowadays, mobiles or cell- phones have become the need of society. They no longer fall in the category of luxurious items, rather have become a necessity. However, have you noticed a fact related to them. It is that 80% of the phone calls are made only to 20% names in the contact list. If we have 50 names in our contact list, then 20% of 50 is 10. That means, most of the time we call only these 10 people, even though there are 50 names in the list. Let's pick up another example. Nowadays newspaper are getting bulkier. With what? With news, with info?...No, with ads! 80% of the news is compiled in 20% of the paper. The rest of the paper is just packed with advertisement.
Likewise,
● 80% of the time we wear 20% of the clothes in our closet.
● 80% of the traffic is on 20% of streets.
● 80% of the happiness comes from 20% of relations.
● 80% of the firm's profit is generated from 20% of the customers.
● 80% of the results are achieved from 20% of the activities....
...
This list is endless.
Are you amazed? However, dear friends, this is the truth! A validated truth! The figures may not be exactly 80/20 all the time, they may be 75/25,70/30,85/15 or 90/10. But the point of consideration is the striking imbalance. The cause and effects are not in the ratio of 1:1. A small percentage of all the possible causes account for the major percentage of the results.
On the basis of these observations, came into existence the 80/20 rule or the Pareto's Rule. It States that 80% of the results are the outcome of 20% of the activities.
This rule can be widely applied in workplaces as well as our personal life. Reason being, we all have limited time and energy. Hence, we cannot always do all the work that is expected of us. Likewise, we cannot shell out time for all the relations. This rule teaches us to be discriminative, to focus on those 20% activities and relations which contribute to 80% of our success and happiness. It asks us not to stretch more, but to focus on the important and urgent things.
This gives rise to a question. If the 80/20 rule is so beneficial, then why don't we apply it in our personal life? ...
To know the answer to this question and furthermore, read the complete article in Mar'16 edition of English Akhand Gyan Monthly Magazine.
