Management consultant Joseph M. Juran
is credited with suggesting the Pareto
principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, and naming it after Italian economist
Vilfredo
Pareto. The idea is that roughly
80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes.
Pareto showed that approximately 80 percent
of the land in Italy was owned by 20 percent of the population; Pareto
developed the principle further by observing that about 20 percent of the peapods in his
garden contained 80 percent of the peas.
The idea has been applied to a number of situations. For example, a common guide in business is
that ”80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your clients.”
In churches and other volunteer organizations,
we might observe that 20 percent of the members do 80 percent of the work. If this true, what are the implications for
leaders?
For one thing, the principle would mean
investing your time and energy in the 20 percent. You might argue, “Well, if I spent more time
with the 80 percent, perhaps they would do more.” Possible but not likely. Find those who are teachable, dependable, and
enthusiastic and spend time with them. Jesus had hundreds of followers, but he
invested himself in 12 (and one of those fell by the wayside).
Another observation is that if you use 20 percent
of your time effectively, you can accomplish more than you do with the other 80
percent. As some asked, “How do you work
smarter rather than harder?” The trick
is in finding out where investing your time has the most leverage. Is it in
sermon preparation, pastoral care, or administration? Is it in budget management, people development,
or marketing? I have a feeling that this will different for each of us based on
our skill set. For example, I have found
that writing a blog gets more response from potential coaching clients than
making several dozen phone calls.
How does the Pareto principle impact you,
your church, or your organization? I
would welcome your feedback.
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