Introduction
The Italian engineer cum economist Vilfredo Preto had an observation in 1896 that he named as The 80/20 principle.
He observed that 80% of Italy’s wealth belongs to 20% of its population while the rest 80 percent population was only contributing to the remaining 20 percent of Italy’s wealth. He observed a similar case with pea pods. Which was like 20% of pea pods in his garden produced 80% of peas. While the remaining 80% percent was not even in a condition to eat.
Thus several names are referred to this principle such as as the 80/20 Principle, the 80/20 rule, and Pareto Principle.
Examples of 80/20 Principle | Pareto Principle Examples
Pareto’s observation was constrained to Italy but it was widely recognised by various people all around the world.
If we take a closer look even in today’s world. We can easily say
- 80% of wealth belongs to 20% of people around the world.
- 80% of success belongs to 20% of people.
- 20% of countries rule 80% of the world
- 20 % of Mobile brands such as Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, etc rule 80% of the Mobile Industry.
- 80% of girls are attracted to 20% of Guy or Vise versa 80% of Guys are attracted to 20% of Girls.
- 80% of Land belongs to 20% of Countries.
These are just a few of the many examples we can observe in the world. And this makes the principle so withstanding and realistic in life.
Applications of Pareto Principle
Pareto’s principle can be applied in a wide variety of areas that we can’t even think of. Including but not limited to business, personal development, economics, life and much more.
Pareto principle in Business
Pareto’s principle in business can help to improve effectiveness and efficiency of business.
Tasks such as Goal setting, and prioritizing the goals and tasks based on their overall impact can be a golden rule for the business processes. This is because not every task and goal is equal. So tasks and goals might have a huge impact and be a lot more beneficial than most of the other ones.
Then comes the defect and error detection strategies. 20% of the overall processes are responsible for 80% of the defects and errors. So if we are able to detect the 20% of the process that is responsible then it can directly increase the efficiency of the overall process to a great extent.
Resource allocation, development and customer support can also be optimized using Pareto’s 80/20 rule. Such as 80% of the company’s revenue comes with 20% of its product and services. So the company could spend more on optimizing that 20 percent area be it in product and services or in training and development.
80/20 rule in Time Management
Time management is a skill that we need to develop to focus on the tasks that matters the most and comparatively less on parts that didn’t much.
For example, If you know 20% of your work will account for 80% of your outcome, why not focus more on those work than evenly distributing the entire time for each task? Such planning will be a more beneficial way to manage time and will result in quicker outcomes.
Benefits of Pareto Principle
The principle has several benefits in several ways such such as
- Accomplishing more with less – The Pareto Standard can assist you with getting the most value for your money by zeroing in on exercises that will yield the best outcomes. For instance, in the event that you’re attempting to lose weight, you will get improved results by practising and eating healthy most of the time rather than regressive working out or dieting.
- Improving concentration and efficiency – When you realize 80% of your outcomes come from 20% of your work, you can rapidly recognize which tasks are most significant and worth your most of time. This way you can focus less on low-impactful tasks and more on that is important
- Recognizing and taking care of issues rapidly – 80/20 rule can be utilized to investigate issues by distinguishing which regions
- Amplifying limited resources – We as a whole have limited time, cash, and energy, so it’s vital to plan its utilization. The Pareto rule can assist you with utilizing what you have by recognizing which exercises will give you the greatest profit from your speculation.
Drawbacks of Pareto rule
Like everything in life, Pareto’s principle also comes with certain limitation and drawbacks which includes
- The 80/20 rule isn’t generally exact or material in each circumstance.
- Could prompt misrepresenting complex issues and overlooking other significant elements.
- It can be blamed for not including all parts of an issue.
- At some point things could be more challenging to distinguish the main regions that we can zero in on.
- It can prompt a limited concentration and a lopsidedness in assets on the off chance that not applied as expected.
Conclusion
The Pareto Principle is a simple yet very influential concept that gives a very clear picture how things work in life. A simple fundamental says that 80% of the impacts come from 20%. Now its upto us to understand how can we utilize this concept and apply in our life to evolve and achieve success in life.
Most people complain they are not fortunate enough to be in the 20% category. But it’s important to understand that people in the 20% category are not there only because they are just fortunate enough. It involves their efforts, hard work, and most important smart work.
Another point to understand is that it’s not necessary to be in every 20% category e.g If you live in a country which is very small in size then do it should bother you? No. But you should definitely be focused on things that are progressive in life.
Credible Reference and Sources
