How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learning how to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known, unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts.

The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.

Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accounts for 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle shows how we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, and resources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20 percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has long influenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals how the principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic and practical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve our careers and our companies.

The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 principle is that little of what we spend our time on actually counts. But by concentrating on those things that do, we can unlock the enormous potential of the magic 20 percent, and transform our effectiveness in our jobs, our careers, our businesses, and our lives.
In 1897, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, in his study of the patterns of wealth and income, observed that the distribution of wealth was predictably unbalanced. He first discovered this pattern in 19th-century England and found it to be the same for every country and time period he studied. Over the years, Pareto's observation has become known as the 80/20 principle.

Now in 1998, Richard Koch takes a fresh look at the 80/20 principle and finds that the basic imbalance observed by Pareto 100 years ago can be found in almost every aspect of modern life. Whether you're investing in stocks, analyzing company sales, or looking at the performance of a Web site, you'll find that it's usually 20 percent that produces 80 percent of the total result. This means 80 percent of what you do may not count for much. Koch helps you to identify that 20 percent and shows you how you can get more out of your business, and life, for less.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Solid Principle and a Solid Explanation
Comment: There are few self help/achievement books covering only a single topic that provide as in depth an analysis as the 80/20 Principal. Koch does an admirable job explaining the principle from many perspectives, providing convincing rational regarding the impact of the 80/20 principle and its ensuing significance.

The 80/20 principle is not overly complicated; however, it has profound affects substantiated by numerous samples and situations. Knowing that the majority of results come from the minority of causes is merely the beginning; identifying those causes in every area of your life and making adjustments to take advantage of this principle is the genuine message offered in the book.

Koch also provides as a bonus a chapter on negotiation describing in detail the implications of the 80/20 principal. True to his message, 80% of the value in this book is found among 20% of its pages...happy hunting.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: 80/20 for beginners
Comment: Hello. My name is Gary Shane McGill and I have an MBA from Wilmington University in Delaware (I also sell patented ice cream and milkshake dispensers internationally), so I have heard of The 80/20 Principal both academically and professionally, which is why I bought the book. It is something mentioned, but not really elaborated in any great depth at graduate school, so the ideas are so simple that we sometimes overlook the obvious.

I cannot say that I personally like Richard Koch's writing style though, since there appears to be some repetition with examples overly used in several areas, plus it was not an easy transitional flow through the first couple of chapters to the main body of the text. I would have given up on the book at the early stages if it were not for the simple fact that I wanted to examine the main points that he makes.

Putting his writing style to one side for one moment, I personally felt that the ideas that he put forward are in some respects were very good guides, but for a book called The 80/20 Principal I suspect that it could have been more direct and to the point. I personally had to rummage (like some overly wordy university level technical book) through the chapters to find the essential points that really appeared to matter.

The idea of pruning down business lines are pretty standard graduate school recommended business practices, since we are so often enamoured by our marketing mix that we tend to lose sight of our margins, although be quite careful about what you read because there are undoubtedly some loss leaders that you do have to maintain (something that I did not notice illustrated with any great emphasis).

You must also ponder his ideas about relationships with the few good friends that you can make in life (and how you can leverage them). Life is unfortunately a great deal about who you know, since knowledge unfortunately does not always carry the day, but if you can leverage what you know with your networking attributes that becomes an entirely different proposition altogether. Maybe a future updated edition should discuss the addition of personal branding for plugging into marketing a company's product.

His idea about the stock market is also quite interesting with the obvious concept of riding on long-term higher returns from the market (buy low and sell high philosophy). It is really a question of what level of risk you are prepared to stomach because in this current credit crunch the markets are not necessarily for the faint of hearted. The thing about the markets is caution because even the best financial advisors (or media news articles) may not necessarily give you the best advice (careful consideration is always required).

At the end of the day the arguments presented in this book are perhaps overly simplistic to create overall happiness (and in some areas possibly naïve). That is not to say that you should not read this book, since I might not necessarily agree with everything that Richard Koch has to say, but I do at least highly respect him as a business professional and this is a philosophy that has worked well for him. I would certainly like to meet Richard Koch in person one of these days to discuss in greater detail his perspective on The 80/20 Principal.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Change the way you look at your life!!!!
Comment: After reading hundreds of business books.....80/20 is one of the five I recommend. The book is based on the Pareto principle also know as the 80-20 rule. While telling the tale of success in big and small business the reader begins to understand it isn't just a concept....it is a lifestyle. If you are sick of things being the same....chasing your tail in life and business....this is the book for you. In keeping with the principle, after the first few chapters, there isn't much use in finishing the book....but that doesn't denigrate the inherent value of the message. The sequel books are more of the same (don't waste your money)......once you get the concept.....put the book down and apply to your life and business.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: THE 80/20 PRINCIPLE IS 90% ACCURATE
Comment: There are a lot of great reviews on this book but none of them state this fact: 80 percent of the real content in this book can be found in twenty percent of its pages. While I certainly appreciate context, the use of examples, illustrations, and hypothetical diagrams, most of the information could have been condensed to make it much shorter; in particular, the end of the book that deals with relatiohships and happiness? Aside from that, it's a must have book - even for MBAs who may be familiar with many of its concepts.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Book top 20% of books I've ever read.
Comment: This is a great book. Totally changed how I see my business.

It seems that I have always known of the 80/20 rule, but now I can see how to really use it in my life and business.

I've only read "Part One" of the book, but already I am forever changed and so is my business.

I'm so impressed that I am planning to buy the $80 audio program from Nightingale Conant because I really want to cement these great ideas into my thinking.

To sum up the book's main point in a few words would be, Spend 80% of your life and time on the "vital few" and forget or let someone else deal with the unimportant bulk or junk.

I know that that is really an over simplification. And is what I have always heard about the 80/20 rule, but the book is really an exponent to your thinking and understanding about the rule.

I know it changed how I see things and I fore see it having a good impact on my life and business.

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