The majority of the effects come from the minority of the causes on average an 80 to 20 percent ratio. To optimize performance identify the top 20 percent and decrease or remove the remaining 80 percent. If no benefit comes from prioritizing, then the priorities need to be reevaluated. Any improvement beyond the 20 percent will only cause inefficient results.
The 80/20 principle also called the “Pareto Principle” is observed in areas of business, economics, management, manufacturing, and software development.
Business
Management
Software Development
In 1996 Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, the then CEO Gil Amelio in an attempt to save Apple from imminent collapse, purchased a company by the name of NeXT, a startup computer company started by Steve Jobs after his discharge from Apple. Gil Amelio needed to turn Apple back on track and NeXT had just what he needed, a state of the art operating system, and Steve.
As part of the deal, Steve would return to Apple as Gil Amelio's advisor. Under Steve, Apple went through a series of priority change. Steve immediately reduced the product line to four products focusing on quality rather than quantity and laid-off up to 3,000 employees. The following fiscal year of 1997 Apple earned $309 million in profit and Steve Jobs who was fired from Apple in 1985 returned to his rightful position as the new CEO.
Steve Jobs's brutal approach of simplifying and eliminating what is not necessary saved Apple from bankruptcy. In 2011 Apple became the world's most valuable company.
By following these steps, you'll be better able to identify the essential 20 percent to focus on and achieve success in your goals.
Write down precisely what you want to accomplish and be as detailed as possible. A clear and specific goal will help you develop a plan to achieve it. Written goals have a higher chance of being accomplished.
Once you've identified your objective, create a list of everything that needs to be accomplished. Organize the list by prioritizing or sequencing to determine what needs to be completed first.
After you've identified priorities, you can simplify the list by removing unimportant items. Cross out things that aren't important and delay tasks that don't need to be completed today. By simplifying the list as much as possible, you'll be able to focus on the 20 percent that matters the most.
Multitasking decreases productivity and increases the likelihood of errors. Limit yourself to one task at a time, and don't start working on any other items before completing the top three on the list. Eliminate distractions in your workspace and turn off all phone notifications.
The 80/20 principle is not a strict rule to live by since critical variables may vary between 10 to 30 percent depending on the complexity of the project. Improvements that go beyond the 20 percent will only cause inefficient results. Therefore, it is often best to settle for a satisfying solution rather than searching for an optimal one.