Strategic Thinking 5: The 80-20 Rule
Posted by Liz Strauss · 4 Comments
The 80-20 Rule: in any enterprise or plan, 80% of the success is realized by 20% of the investments. The 80-20 rule is considered to be common wisdom about groups of people–80% of sales will be made by 20% of the sales force; 80% of the parents’ participation in the schools will be by 20% of the parents of kids who attend them; and so on. I wonder whether this couldn’t be reversed in a knowledge enterprise at the Application/Analysis level.
In the world of business, this level is called execution. In education, we call it teaching.
Every organization or enterprise that I have had the privilege of interacting with on any level has been filled with people who wanted to understand and know more about what they do. It was only after their attempts at trying to find out had been too often shut down, that the individuals in question chose a strategy of not caring to know–do the work and go home.
It seems that a knowledge enterprise that had brought a significant size team through the process that I outlined in Strategic Thinking 1, and 2, and 3, and 4, would be able to offer 80% of the inidividuals within the organization the tools they need to Apply and Analyze in the true Bloom definitions of the terms.
What would this mean to a knowledge enterprise?
It would mean
- teachers who knew how to teach kids to read and analyze what was working and what wasn’t.
- sales reps who knew how to help customers choose the right products and analyze their unspoken needs.
- every variation of those two examples in every job in the enterprise.
- people who are engaged and performing because they are doing what they know how to do well.
All solid strategy is based in humanity, knowledge, and common sense.
Liz Strauss
Unfortunately, many times the 80/20 rule finds its way into the management ranks (including upper management) where the 20 percenters have been lulled, by the 80 percenters, into a place where they have given up.
In my opinion, it starts at the top.
Hi Gary,
Therein lies the problem. The culture of any organization sits in the top office. Put someone insecure there and the whole company will be the same way. Put a leader with vision there and you stand a chance at a visionary company.
Unfortunately, the one at the top often choses the one who succeeds. When it’s lull-er, then the company stays asleep.
Liz
Liz –
Yes, the self perpetuating “lull”. I’ve seen it too many times. At one time, my rule was that if I noticed a lull at the top, I headed for different pastures. Unfortunately, “no man is an island” and I found it very difficult to be “self contained”. Most families like to eat and sleep inside, so you endure.
- Gary
Yeah, Gary,
i hear you. There are more sleepy organizations. I guess sleeping seems easier.
My experience is, though, that you can get really smart, vivacious people to work their hearts out for you . . . if you just let them do what they minds are capable of doing. People like to be useful, and they love to use what they’ve got.
Liz