The 80/20 Rule

In business, there’s a quick rule known as: The 80/20 Rule and I know it as:

• The first 80% of the result will take 20% of the effort.
• The last 20% of the result will take 80% of the effort.

It’s a hand wavy rule that I do see more of, especially in my own work.

Because of this rule, I would recommend to myself and team members:

• Deliver what you have now and deal with the rest next. Continuing where from you are now to 100% will take more than 80% of the effort you just put in.

The idea is, by delivering the first 80%, one can tackle the last 20% by applying the same rule. Essentially - asymptopically reach 99.2% within three iterations (80 + 16 + 3.2) - in an ideal sense.

In some cases, the next 20% is not even needed OR another issue/solution comes up that is better.

From my experience doing creative work like blogging, the last 20% definitely takes more effort than the first 80% (the last 20% is usually editing while the first 80% is writing). The last 20% also feels forever as there can be no end in sight without a deadline.

So - deliver 80% now and iterate on the next 20%.

If you want more information on the 80/20 rule - or the Pareto Principle, check out investopedia.com’s article