Do you belong to the ‘trivial many’ group?

Vilfredo Pareto, a 20th century Italian economist, observed that 20 per cent of his country’s population controlled 80 per cent of its wealth, while 80 per cent struggled over the leftover. He later found out that this applied to almost all nations as he realized that just a tiny fraction controlled the bulk of the wealth of most nations of the world. This principle was later expanded in the 1940s by Dr Joseph Muran, an American management expert, to cover other endeavours. Muran posited that 20 per cent of a set are responsible for 80 per cent of the result, while 80 per cent contribute only 20 per cent. In other words, 20 per cent of a company’s customers are responsible for 80 per cent of its revenue just as 20 per cent of its workforce produce 80 per cent of the result of the company. This is now regarded as the Pareto Principle.

As an employee, this principle is vital in determining whether you hold on to your job or you lose your place to another person. Your employer realizes that only 20 per cent of the employees produce 80 per cent of the resources of the company. He knows that those are the people that keep him in business and he cannot afford to toy with them. He panders to them and may sometime change the rule of the game in their favour. The remaining 80 per cent of the workforce are not that lucky because they constitute what Muran refers to as the “trivial many”. So, it is important that you work your way to becoming one of the “vital few” and not numbered among the “trivial many” because the “trivial many” are expendable and are easily replaceable. If there will be any downsizing or right sizing in the company, the first set of casualties will be the “trivial many”. For the company to let go of the “vital few” is indicative that it is in serious trouble.

So, what do you do to profit from Pareto Principle?

Do a self assessment

Anyone is at liberty to deceive you but you are the only one who is duty bound not to deceive yourself if you want to go far in your career. Regularly assess your performance on your job to determine if you are among the Top 20 or the Mass 80 in your company. If you are among the Top 20, that is quite good. But you should know that it could be temporal. It is not enough to make the list once, you must ensure that you remain on the list. Don’t forget that others will also want to join the group. To be a champion, you must not only win once, you must win and keep winning. So, do not rest on your oars, make sure you stay among the Top 20.

However, if you find yourself among the Mass 80, all hope is not lost. Gird your loins to work yourself up the ladder. First find out what you need to do to change your placement. What do those you rate better than yourself do that you do not do? What do they know that you need to know? What do you need to learn from them? Do you need to go for training that will make you more relevant in the workplace? Find out all you need to do to become a Top 20 person.

Do more than your fair share

Most employees undo their career by doing just enough. A person who does just enough remains an average person and will never become part of the “vital few” unless he changes. To be a Top 20 person, you must extricate yourself from the “do just enough crowd” and move to the group that stops at nothing until the job is properly done.

An employee who does just enough is sending a message to the employer that he is not strong on initiative. Every employer wants thinking employees, workers who are not waiting for instructions all the time, employees who are willing to take new challenges without prodding, value-adding employees. Such employees are the employer’s choice because they make his job easier. Usually rising on the job for such people is not herculean.

Again, be brutally honest with yourself, are you a “do just enough” person? Are you always checking the time to know when to leave the office, do you do just your fair share or you contribute more than is expected of you? To be a Top 20 person, you must be an outstanding contributor and that won’t happen if you fold your arms. You have to be diligent. Remember, you can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket.

Become a “cash cow”

A business will remain a going concern only if it keeps making money. In the 21st century workplace, every employee is supposed to generate revenue for the company. So, it is not enough to be on top of your game, whatever you do, whichever department you belong, it is in your interest that you also generate revenue for the company. This you can do in two ways. First, you can help the company save money on production or in any other way. If you save cost, your bosses will remember and you will be considered as a prime employee, meaning you are Top 20 person. The other way is to actually make money for the company through sales or by getting commission for it on its purchases. Remember, no wise farmer ever offers a cash cow for sale. So, if you are a revenue generating person, your employer will remember and rate you very highly.

Stay informed

You may not be very sociable but you need to relate well enough with your colleagues to get information. Information is critical to your career success. You need to know the direction in which your company is going so as to know what your contributions will be but sometimes such information is not accessed through the formal information channel. So, you need to have a way of getting the information you need to advance your career interest. So, whatever you need to do, get informed. Remember, you are only as strong as the information at your disposal. Therefore, you need to stay informed to improve your form.