The 80/20 rule

In the world of economics, Pareto’s Principle is often used to guide decisions. Pareto’s principle – also know as the ’80/20 Rule’ states that 80% of the returns are gained from 20% of the actions. Interestingly enough, Pareto’s Law has found application outside of economics; for example, in development biology, computer science and even weight training.

So – what does the 80/20 rule suggest in terms of GOMC? Basically, it suggests ‘find something that works and milk it’ rather then ‘throw lots of sphagetti at the wall and see what sticks’. Apart from being outright inefficient (time wise), the ‘sphagetti method’ can often bury good, useful trends under conflicting data – did the new ad really work, or was it….?

In the end, it’s a lot like cooking; when experimenting, only add a few ingredients at a time – and only on the grounds of ‘makes sense’ or ‘makes life easier’

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