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From Amazon
Now in 1998, Richard Koch takes a fresh look at the 80/20 principle and finds that the basic imbalance observed by Pareto 100 years ago can be found in almost every aspect of modern life. Whether you're investing in stocks, analyzing company sales, or looking at the performance of a Web site, you'll find that it's usually 20 percent that produces 80 percent of the total result. This means 80 percent of what you do may not count for much. Koch helps you to identify that 20 percent and shows you how you can get more out of your business, and life, for less. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
The 80/20 Principle can and should be used by every intelligent person in their daily life, by every organization, and by every social grouping and form of society. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing,
By
This review is from: The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less (Paperback)
I heard of the "Pareto Principle" a long time ago -- the 80/20 rule which basically states that 80% of the results come from the efforts of 20% of the people. Koch has some ideas at the beginning of the book which show the value of the idea, and when he speaks about working "smart" as opposed to working "hard," I agree totally. His advice about zeroing in on the important "20%" is valuable -- provided, of course, that you know what that 20% is. However, when he tells us how we are to apply this to our personal lives, he has "left off preachin' and has started meddling." True, we are all social beings and we need each other in our interdependent culture. Family togetherness is wonderful, but having big family dinners each night and encouraging the warm, moist extended family suport is, in my opinion, overrated. I agree that the American family is often fragmented, but each family must work out its own way, finding the 20% that applies to that particular family, and not in one die-cut, predetermined way. "Nonconformity" is not my style, but I've made personal choices (such as waiting until late in life to marry) that don't always fit these predetermined ways to live, and my 20% may be different from the 20% of someone who has gone the "traditional family" route. (A "traditional family" can be as abusive and stifling as it can be supporting and loving.) I agree with the reviewer who said to read this book to look for the 20% that applies to you, and then ignore the other 80%.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 Star Satisfactory,
This review is from: The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less (Paperback)
This book is slightly overrated by the reviews on this site and I recommend reading one or two chapters of this book to get the 80/20 principle concept. Koch's application to business is fairly sound, but he runs into some serious issues when he writes briefly about Warren Buffet and even worse acts as financial adviser in chapter fourteen. Suggesting Warren became rich "not by working but by investing" is equivalent to suggesting Jordan became rich not by practicing but by dunking basketballs. Warren effectively worked as a portfolio manager researching on end the best companies to invest in so I highly doubt Koch read any books on Warren. In fact Warren spent so many hours on stock analysis that he neglected his family most of the time. There are so many other factors which relate to Warren's success that Koch's piece is misleading. Chapter 14 oversimplifies investing in general and even a mediocre financial adviser wouldn't give this advice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Explination of Concept; Don't Read Cover-to-Cover,
By
This review is from: The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less (Paperback)
In The 80/20 Principle, Koch proffers that 20 percent of what companies and individuals do generates over 80 percent of their positive results (a theory that he attributes to Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist around the turn of the 20th century). Koch proposes that by identifying the 20 percent of the activities that generate 80 percent of the results and increasing the effort put into those 20-percent activities you can dramatically improve results. To this end he provides an astute evaluation of the economic and social realities of business. Koch goes further, though, and tries to extrapolate the 80/20 theory to success, happiness and life in general. While some of what he suggests makes sense, his examples seem to get progressively weaker as he moves away from the world of business. The book's other main flaw results from its severe organizational problems. Koch seems to have a very limited number of examples - and because of their repeated re-use (and in many cases their limited pertinence to the topic at hand) the book seems to weave in and out of topics, making it somewhat difficult to follow for anything else than a linear read. The principal, itself, is almost a truism, which as Koch points out, is not thought about nearly enough. The books main strength is that he explains the concept quite well. Unfortunately, the extrapolation to life in general and the organizational difficulties make 80 percent of the book just not worth reading. Read the first two chapters - they explain the principal - and the last chapter (which basically explains all of the extrapolation theories) then put the book down - you will have read the 20% of the book that contains over 80% of the value!
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