80% Rule (2024)

FAQs

What is the 80 percent rule? ›

The 80% rule was created to help companies determine if they have been unwittingly discriminatory in their hiring process. The rule states that companies should be hiring protected groups at a rate that is at least 80% of that of white men.

The 80/20 Rule

The Pareto Principle states that 80 percent of a project's benefit comes from 20 percent of the work. Or, conversely, that 80 percent of problems can be traced back to 20 percent of causes. Pareto Analysis identifies the problem areas or tasks that will have the biggest payoff.

Prioritize the vital few: Identify the top 20% of tasks that yield 80% of the results. Focus on these tasks and allocate more time and resources to them. This approach allows you to concentrate on the most critical and impactful activities that drive your success.

The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. In other words, a small percentage of causes have an outsized effect. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact.

What does this mean for decision making in the business world or personal life? This rule suggests that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results. We can take this 80/20 rule and apply it to many situations.

Put in stark terms, 20% of what you do matters, the rest is a waste of time. The key to success is identifying the crucial 20% of input and prioritizing it. The 80/20 principle permeates business: 20% of customers, and 20% of products, generate 80% of revenue. My firm has seen this play out hundreds of times.

80% of your weekly tasks affect 20% of your future. 80% of grief is caused by 20% of people in your life. 80% of alarms will be set off by 20% of potential causes. 80% of the energy in a combustion engine produces 20% output.

Applying the 80/20 rule helps you focus on vital areas of your business where you should be spending the most time. For example, if we apply it to sales: 20% of customers are responsible for 80% of sales. Therefore, your efforts should be focused on the 20% of customers giving you the highest sales.

The 80/20 rule states that 80 percent of outcomes are determined by 20 percent of input. For example, if your goal is to acquire 100 new leads, 80 leads would come from only 20 percent of what you did to get them. This is why it's important to know how and where your effort makes the most impact.

What is the 80-20 rule in psychology? ›

The Pareto Principle is a concept that specifies that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes, asserting an unequal relationship between inputs and outputs. Named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, the Pareto Principle serves as a general reminder that the relationship between inputs and outputs is not balanced.

When it comes to insuring your home, the 80% rule is an important guideline to keep in mind. This rule suggests you should insure your home for at least 80% of its total replacement cost to avoid penalties for being underinsured.

YOUR BUDGET

The 80/20 budget is a simpler version of it. Using the 80/20 budgeting method, 80% of your income goes toward monthly expenses and spending, while the other 20% goes toward savings and investments.