Applying The 80/20 Rule for a Winning 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland

Today I am talking about a great principle you should be applying to your business for the coming year. I’ve been using the 80/20 rule for years and regularly suggest it to my clients, and although most of you may already know of the 80/20 rule, very few know where it comes from and how broadly it applies.

 

In 1897, an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto identified that 80% of the wealth was owned by 20% of the population. This may seem too broad, but listen in for a breakdown and actionable tips on how this rule applies to different aspects of your business and how you can put it to use for the new year.

 

All of the 80/20 rules are mentioned in Karen’s book.

 

Tips

 

• 80% of your goals are driven by 20% of your tasks — identity which items on your to-do will take you closest to those goals.

 

• 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results — learning which of your labors make the most effective use of your time is important.

 

• 80% of the value you receive from your business reading comes from 20% of the material that you read — carefully select the publications that consistently produce the most value for your time.

 

• 20% of your business relationships give you 80% of the support you need — identify who has your back and return the favor in kind: make it a priority to maintain your relationships with the people that make your life easier.

 

• 80% of the value your clients receive is a direct result of 20% of what your company does — make sure to know what that 20% is and improve it at every opportunity.

 

• Find more information on this last tip in my new book: 20% of your time management habits cause 80% of your productivity problems — most of your productivity issues can be boiled down to a few bad habits, identify the worst of them and make a commitment to work on those in the coming year.

About Karen Tiber Leland

 

Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

 

She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

 

Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

 

Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

 

Resources

All of the tips mentioned above are available in my 10th book — No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done — which will be out on December 31st through Career Press. It’s a practical book about being more productive and achieving better time management in an age where many of us are working from home.