The Myth of the 80-20 Rule in Life

We have all heard of the Pareto principle right, which states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. This rule has been used in various situations, including business and life.

Dr. Joseph Juran coined the Pareto principle, named after Vifredo Pareto, the economist who discovered this. Dr Joseph also coined the terms 'vital few' and 'useful or trivial many' to explain the importance of the 20%. Wouldn't we all like to focus on the 20% causes to be more efficient and productive in life and business?

My issue with this approach is that it uses a postmortem approach to dissect results, based on which it suggests a course of action. This approach feels like the last touch attribution model in marketing analytics, where you give 100% credit to the last interaction channel before the customer converts. Because that's the only factor that influenced his decision to purchase? It seems so logical that you must question it, as humans are not all logical or linear. What about all the other causes in life's non-linear journey that resulted in that outcome?

I started my exercise routine last year with daily walks. My goal was weight loss, yet my weight didn't budge. Walking was a fun way to get some steps in but didn't contribute to weight loss. So, I added gym and weight training to my routine and saw some results. Then, finally, with the addition of yoga this year, the results were immediate. So, yoga was the clinching factor, the 20% cause. I stopped my walks in September as I had other things going on, but I continued what I believed were the more effective exercises. Slowly, I found my energy dropped, and I started to make excuses as my exercise routine became erratic. My weight started to inch up. My walks and daily routine gave me the mindset and motivation to do more and push myself more.

The 80% of life moments, the 'useful and trivial many', are the foundation for the 20%. It's the part where we do many little things that may not seem productive but are the bedrock on which 20% of 'productive actions' are based. These 'trivial many' open our minds, fill our hearts, and propel us to find the routes to success.

It's the small, everyday actions that set us up for success. The 20% myth is that you are all set if you find the 'critical tasks' and focus on them. Cause and effect with humans is rarely so simple and linear. To understand how little things can have unexpected and significant outcomes, check out these interesting reads on how life doesn't follow a linear pattern. Let me know what trivial things you do that help you succeed.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell:

The first story, 'The Roseto Mystery', explores non-conventional factors influencing an individual's health. With this, the book's tone of looking beyond the obvious and conventional factors determining success is set. Malcolm Gladwell debunks the myth of self-made success to explore how factors like family, culture, opportunities, disadvantages and timing matter in success. These 'trivial many' factors, which should be discussed and are often just explained as luck, play a significant role in determining success and failure. Malcolm Gladwell examines situations as diverse as what contributes to a successful individual or group, what causes plane crashes, and why Asians are good at math, using real-life people and incidents to make his points. What stood out most for me in this book is that despite the observations made on all the factors influencing success that are outside the control of individuals, this book does not present a person's life as a fait accompli. Instead, it looks at ways to address the differences in circumstances, cultures, privileges, and mindsets to find actionable ways for society to build a more egalitarian world that addresses the existing success gaps.

Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner

Debunking the conventional causes for issues ranging from the fall in crime in the US in the 1990s to whether what a parent does matters in a child's success to comprehending the actual impact of incentives and penalties to proving the truism of whether money buys elections. This book looks at the 'hidden side of everything' and debunks the linear and conventional way cause and effect works to showcase the many factors influencing behaviour and outcomes. The introduction refers to the butterfly effect, which is how a small action can cause or dramatically alter events. As we look at the author's conclusions, we see how difficult it is to identify those many little causes and how we end up trying to find explanations after the event that are considered more obvious.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

How do we measure our impact on the world? What does our life mean, and do we understand how we are all connected? This book seeks to answer these questions through the life of Eddie, the head of maintenance at an amusement park. The story of Eddie's five people whom he meets in heaven is a story of random encounters, damages inflicted by loved ones, and hope lost and found, but mainly of the power of redemption. This story provides the comfort that everything that happens is for a reason, and while we cannot see that during life's journey, there is a time when we will understand why it all happened. What if your most significant impact was showing up daily and doing the little things no matter what life threw your way? In Eddie's story, we find the value of 80% of our life, little things like showing up, doing the work, and its impact on countless lives.

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