If you are not a fan of speed reading, do you know that 80% of the value in a book can be gleaned from 20% of its content?
Curious as to how to accomplish this? Follow the instructions below and give it a try and let me know how it went.
- Read the first and last paragraph of each chapter
- Also read the first sentence of each paragraph in that chapter
- The result to expect is that you will understand 80% of the message in the book.
Never heard of the Pareto Principle? Below is the definition from the Investopedia website.
What is the ‘Pareto Principle’
The Pareto principle is a principle, named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, that specifies an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. The principle states that, for many phenomena, 20% of invested input is responsible for 80% of the results obtained. Put another way, 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes. Also referred to as the “Pareto rule” or the “80/20 rule”.
Since I have discovered the Pareto Principle I enjoy looking at the world around me to see the principle in action.
- The discrepancies between the first and third world
- The clothes in your closet, you will find that you mainly wear 20% of your clothes
- Investing money, there are those 20% of your investments that give you the biggest returns
- 20% sales people generate 80% of the total sales
- A store knows that 80% of their sales come from 20% of their customers
- For a marketer it is important to establish a way to identify the 20% potential clients who will be the ones who will bring in 80% of your income.
For more information about the Pareto Principle check out the following articles and books.
- 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More
- Article from Forbes about Perry Marshall’s book.
- 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs
- This is a cool animated book summary of Kevin Kruse’s book which includes the Pareto Principle.
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