The 80/20 Individual

The most formidable weapon for growth in business is the 80/20 principle, creatively applied by individuals and small teams of individuals. With the 80/20 principle, individuals can leverage the most powerful forces around them—tangible, but especially intangible ones—to dazzle the world and provide customers with much more of what they want for much less of what they wish to conserve (money, resources, time, space, and energy).

1997 I wrote The 80/20 Principle,2 the first book on the subject. I showed how the principle could be applied not merely to help corporations drive business results, but also to help individuals improve their lives. To become effective or happy, realize the importance of just a few people or things. If you concentrate on the few things that work best for you, you can get what you want. You can multiply your effectiveness, and even your happiness. This was new ground, since nobody had previously linked the principle to individual fulfillment.

Most of the universe is meaningless noise, yet a few forces are fantastically powerful and productive. Isolate those powerful, creative forces, within and around us, and, hey presto, we can exert incredible influence.