Byron Udell, Founder and CEO of AccuQuote, recommends a new book that offers profound personal and professional life lessons. To find out more about the 80-20 Rule.
Every heard of the 80-20 Rule?
It’s not that I don’t believe in education—I have a law degree and all three of my kids are college educated. It’s just that I feel strongly that you can absorb the same information – and more – by reading the right books.
Hey, it’s worked for me. I’m always reading (usually two or three books at a time), and much of what I read is with the intention of bettering myself, my company, and my ability to do business and make a profit.
With that in mind, I want to start sharing book recommendations with my blog readers. I’m not sure how often I’ll post about books, but stay tuned. There are so many that I think you’ll find useful.
Note: The entries will be book recommendations, not reviews, meaning you’ll have to read the book to learn the lessons!
These won’t be books about life insurance. After all, that is MY passion. You’re probably passionate about something else.
Perry Marshall’s 80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More is a great place to start.
Here are a few high-level takeaways to pique your interest.
The gist is this: The 80-20 Rule states that a small minority of your activities produce the majority of the outcomes.
For example:
• 80% of sales are made by 20% of the salespeople on your team
• 80% of traffic drives on 20% of the streets in your city
• 80% of the profit you earn is the result of 20% of the tasks you perform
You may not have thought about it this way before, but you inherently know it’s true.
This is not a new concept. Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto described the 80/20 Rule over a century ago. This book will make you think about how to implement it in new ways.
To that end, Marshall takes the 80-20 Rule even further; he explains that the top 4% (20% of 20%) produces 64% (80% of 80%) of the results.
Simply put, there are a few key activities that you can focus on to become much more productive, profitable and happy. It’s up to you to figure out what those activities are and put your efforts there.
There are a few key individuals who can have the greatest impact on your life and business. It’s your responsibility to discover who those people are and give them the appropriate amount of attention.
1. YOU get to decide what gets your focus, time and resources; if you spend your time, energy and money on the 20% stuff, you’ll greatly increase your productivity and decrease your stress levels (caused by working outside of your strengths, on things that matter very little and could better be delegated or outsourced)
2. Concentrating on those things helps you move forward (faster, easier) toward your goals, no matter what they are
3. You can stop doing things that don’t “move the needle”
One last thing: The majority of people (80% or so) will never do anything with this information. But the 20% who do will be much better off.
I encourage you to be part of the minority.
Interested in reading this book? You can find it on Amazon here.
