Barnabas File

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 p...