Life is predictably unbalanced

From the desk of Caspar

Perhaps you’ve noticed this too - that things you’ve learnt before, you sometimes mislay for a little while, and then consciously discover them again.
And when you re-discover them you uncover and find new insights and truths.

I had one such event this week. My son, in asked me which of the books on my shelves he thought he should read.

We sat down and scanned the titles and authors…Napoleon Hill, Seth Godin, Richard Dawkins, Carol Dweck, Chip and Dan Heath and many more. What one book to start with - so many choices.

He pulled one out that was hiding in the corner, tucked away and its dog eared corners telling it’s own story of having been pored over and scribbled on. A book I’d not picked up for some time and was waiting to be rediscovered. I remember the first time I found the insights on these pages before and it was as though many light bulbs were pinging together as it ran against the grain of many truths I’d held up until then. It was perhaps the first book which really got me thinking again as in my mid 30’s I sought to find break through thinking on how to build and lead my teams to tackle the challenges I’d set myself back then.

Perhaps you’ve found this book or have applied it’s very powerful principles? It’s The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch. 

The notion is that life is predictably unbalanced and explores the application of Pareto’s law. Life is not linear and indeed is massively disproportionate. 

The book selected itself for him as it was such a game changer for me. Roll forward a week and having dipped into some of the pages, he’d picked up the gist. We kicked ideas and applications around…

  • 20% of the apps on his phone he used 80% of the time,

  • 80% of his clothes he work 20% of the time

  • 80% of the worlds wealth owned by 20% of the countries.

  • 80% of his results from 20% of his work.

Aside from the fun of exploring this together, it reminded me of powerful truths I once used to action and had somehow forgotten from being front of mind along the way. Perhaps they had always stayed there unconsciously, but reminding ourselves of important truths is a good thing.
The recollection that roughly half of what we do every day is by habit and therefore we do unconsciously. And how my understanding of 80-20 thinking used to prompt me at the end of every day to review what I’d done that day and to note down all the activities that had my time and attention. And to then ask it that had activity had been worth the time investment remembering that 80% of our results come from 20% of what we do and the reverse being true that 80% of what we do only contributes to 20% of what we do. 

What’s in that 80% that can looked at and better uses for that time found. Time of course being perhaps the most valuable asset any of us have. 

What principle that you once lived by has fallen by the wayside and would serve you well to re-kindle it?