INCREASE YOUR WORTH: Join the critical few

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. The goal of anyone involved in a project should be to be among the vital few who make the greater impact.

20 as we know is this critical few whose efforts result in 80% of the success an organization and/or project. Their presence and involvement raise the confidence of management, while their absence and/or indifference to issues, raises concerns.

80 on the other hand are the useful many whose efforts result in only 20% of the business enterprise. Their presence is equally desirable, yet usually contentious and somewhat distracting in the face of dwindling profit.

The good news is that everyone has the right of choice over where they belong in this divide. Moving from the league of useful many to the core of the critical few, is a decision anyone can take at any time. It may cost you something, however you stand the chance of re-writing your story in your organization, school or association as you choose to become of greater desirable value.