The Secret of Achieving more with less

"The 80/20 principle has helped to shape the modern world. Yet it has
remained one of the great secrets of our time—and even the select
band of cognoscenti who know and use the 80/20 principle only
exploit a tiny proportion of its power."
"Conventional wisdom is to not put all your eggs in one basket. 80/20
wisdom is to choose a basket carefully, load all your eggs into it, and
then watch it like a hawk."
"The 80/20 principle, like the truth, can make you free. You can work
less. At the same time, you can earn and enjoy more."

This fascinating book could revolutionize your life. Koch writes
about the well-documented but counterintuitive principle that 80
percent of effects or results come from only 20 percent of efforts.
Most sales will come from only 20 percent of the product line. 20 percent
of a carpet gets the majority of its wear and tear. And applied to
personal life, 80 percent of happiness comes from less than 20 percent
of your time.
While the specific ratios will vary, the principle aims to show us the
fundamentally unbalanced way the world works. This is the first book
exclusively on the 80/20 principle, and the first to apply it to personal
life. Originally pointed out by the Italian economist Pareto (and also
known as Pareto's Law), the principle has been the mainstay of strategic
management consultants and the secret of more successful companies.
Its results may seem like magic for those not aware of it, because
it defies conventional economic theory. Not surprisingly, it has also
been termed the "Law of least effort."
Yet the principle is not a theory but simply an observation of reality.
Unlike the spiritual or philosophical laws of many of the self-help classics,
the 80/20 principle, Koch says, works whether you believe in it or
not.
The 50:50 belief vs. the 80:20 rule
At an intellectual level, a ratio of 50:50 makes sense in relation to
effort put in and results gained. If you put in a "good" effort, you will
get a "good" result. If you "work hard," you can expect a certain level
of reward. This is the mentality that has driven society for generations,
and there is a certain merit in it in terms of maintaining societal coherence.
A clear work–reward equation creates a stable society, within
which mediocrity is accepted and conformity rewarded. Unfortunately,
as Koch illustrates, this is no longer the world in which we live.

The new world says that merely "keeping up" will no longer be
enough, that mere competence at something can no longer be rewarded
with success. You must do something that comes easily to you and that
you love, so that you have a tremendous advantage over others and can
rise to the top of your field.
Only this type of effort, which may not really seem like "work"
compared to what others do, will bring big rewards. In the 80/20
world, unlike the old one, those who apply its logic can expect exponentially
greater returns compared to input. However, that input must
be of a uniquely high standard and reflect the uniqueness of the giver.
According to the 80/20 principle, it makes perfect sense that
Michael Jordan could earn more than half a dozen basketball teams
put together, because of the supreme skills displayed and the corresponding
entertainment provided. Stars are earning much more now relative
to the past (look at the top actors), but this is almost beside the
point. Koch refers to them merely to demonstrate the applicability of
his principle to all of us, that "only by fulfilling oneself is anything of
extraordinary value created."
Becoming a time revolutionary
Most of what we consider valuable comes from only a fraction of how
we spend our time. In order greatly to increase our effectiveness, or our
happiness, or what we earn, we must expand that fraction beyond 10
or 20 percent to a much greater share of our time. Koch says that our
society's appreciation of time is poor. "We don't need time management,"
he says, "we need a time revolution."
Conventional time management is about increasing the efficiency of
what we do and becoming better at prioritization. Koch believes that
the failing of all types of time management is the assumption that we
know what is and what isn't a good use of our time in the first place.
Its second fault is the assumption that time is short, that we have many
important things to do and are constantly under pressure.
To get phenomenally better in our use of time, however, the 80/20
principle requires us to go back to our "priorities" and see if they really
reflect the best use of our life in general. Koch is blunt about it: "Most
people try too hard at the wrong things." Since the principle reflects
nature's imbalance in the way things actually operate, there is no use
thinking about time rationally. To seek improvements of 15–25 percent in our use of time (as time management organizers promise) constitutes
"tinkering around the edges." The unexpected and irrational reality is
that there is an abundance of time once we start spending it on the 20
percent that matters. Instead of being always short of time, the author
notes, the dangerous truth is that we are actually awash with it but
"profligate in its abuse."
It's OK to be lazy if you are intelligent about it
Do you constantly strive while not really getting anywhere? Koch introduces
us to the Von Manstein matrix. Von Manstein was a German
general who concluded that the best officers, those who made the least
mistakes and were the most far-sighted, were both intelligent and, by
inclination, lazy. Koch applies the matrix to today's economy, stating
that the key to becoming a star is to "simulate, manufacture, and
deploy lazy intelligence." Instead of choosing the difficult, or a generic
goal that we think will bring us respect, we should focus on what
comes easily.
Amazingly, capitalism allows a person to become successful and rich
just by being themselves: In fulfilling their highest expression, they
automatically create a very small but highly valuable niche. This is in
full accord with an information economy demanding ever-greater specialization,
because no one does what we do, quite like we do. This
applies even in markets where there appears to be endless supply and
small demand, such as acting and sport. There are hundreds of professional
tennis players, but only one is Andre Agassi, whose unique
appearance and attitude win him many times the endorsements of players
of similar rank. In all fields, the key to leadership is enthusiasm,
inveterate curiosity, and continual learning. Yet these things are not
work.
80/20 thinking is the combination of ambition with a relaxed and
confident manner. It involves reflective thinking (allowing insights to
come, rather than leaping into action), unconventional use of time, and
a hedonistic philosophy. Koch believes that in our "work equals success"
culture, hedonism has been smeared. Hedonism is not selfishness:
The more we love doing something the better we will be at it, increasing
the likelihood that it will benefit others.Final comments
The 80/20 Principle is a recipe book for getting out of the rat race and
living up to one's potential. It shows how trivia clogs up life and how
protestations of "busyness" often hide the absence of purpose. These
are familiar themes in self-help writing, but it is Koch's application of
one of the universe's "power laws" that gives these insights special
weight. Who could ignore a logic of action based on "working with the
grain of the universe instead of against it"?
The book is particularly good for understanding the alchemy of success
in today's economic world, managing to be both business book
and exciting life guide. Koch refers to Joseph Ford's statement that
while God may play dice with the universe, the dice are loaded. In
showing us how the universe is "predictably unbalanced," the 80/20
principle allows us to rig the odds naturally in our favor. Expressing
and finessing our unique talents, rather than pursuing "excellence" in
something we do not love, is the key point. The great rewards never go
to the merely excellent, but to the outstanding.