The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less The
80/20 Principle - that 80 per cent of results flow from just 20 per
cent of the causes - is the one true principle of highly effective
people and organizations. In one of the decade's most original,
provocative and powerful books, The 80/20 Principle shows how you can
achieve much more with much less effort, time and resources, simply by
concentrating on the all-important 20 per cent. Astonishingly, though
the 80/20 Principle has greatly influenced today's world, this is the
first book which shows you how to use it in a systematic and practical
way. The pattern of predictable imbalance underlying the 80/20
Principle was first stumbled upon a century ago by Italian economist
Vilfredo Pareto - roughly 80 per cent of the wealth went to 20 per cent
of the people.
The pattern of predictable imbalance crops up
throughout life. In The 80/20 Principle, Richard Koch opens our eyes to
the odd way the world really works. He drives home the truth and power
of the Principle through a wide range of examples from business,
personal and social spheres. Generally, 20 per cent of products account
for 80 per cent of sales value and profits; so do 20 per cent of
customers; 20 per cent of criminals account for 80 per cent of the
loot; 20 per cent of motorists cause 80 per cent of accidents; 20 per
cent of your carpets get 80 per cent of the wear; and 20 per cent of
your clothes are worn 80 per cent of the time.
The 80/20 Principle is the key to controlling our lives. If we can
latch on to the few powerful forces within and around us, we can
leverage our efforts to multiply effectiveness. Most of what we do has
trivial results. A little of what we do really matters. So if we focus
on the latter, we can control events instead of being controlled by
them, and achieve several times the results.
"Through multiple examples, and a punchy down-to-earth commentary, Koch
offers the first really useful advice we've seen in a management book
for years." -- Business Age
Richard Koch is a successful entrepreneur, investor and strategy
consultant, who has based his own success on the 80/20 Principle. He
has built multi-million profit businesses from scratch in consulting,
restaurants and hotels and has written and co-written eight highly
acclaimed books, including Managing Without Management and his new
bestseller, The Power Laws, (also published by Nicholas Brealey). He is
non-executive director of many quoted and unquoted corporations,
including Filofax, which has prospered greatly since he originated its
rescue, and his business interests also include Belgo, the innovative
Belgian restaurant chain, MSI, a hotel company and Plymouth Gin, a
distiller dating back to 1793.He is now a non-executive director of
four quoted companies and advises venture capital groups in the UK and
South Africa. He is also a founding investor in WebAngel.com, the
Internet 'accelerator', and a shareholder and director of Gemini SA,
one of South Africa's largest consulting firms.