The 80/20 Principle

By: Richard Koch

Narrated by: Richard Aspel

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

Learn the secret of success by achieving more with less. Find out how you can tap the hidden potential of the 80/20 principle in your life.

Richard Koch is a highly successful entrepreneur and investor. His 80/20 Principle - that 80 per cent of results flow from just 20 per cent of the causes - is the one true principle of highly effective people and organizations.

In one of the decade's most original, provocative and powerful books, The 80/20 Principle shows how you can achieve much more with much less effort, time and resources, simply by concentrating on the all-important 20 per cent.

Astonishingly, though the 80/20 Principle has greatly influenced today's world, this is the first book which shows you how to use it in a systematic and practical way.

©1997 Richard Koch (P)2007 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd.

Critic Reviews

"Through multiple examples, and a punchy down-to-earth commentary, Koch offers the first really useful advice weâ¿¿ve seen in a management book for years." ( Business Age)

Long, but it worth the time

The idea of the book is worthy, but much too long explained and with a lot of hours without anything to do with Pareto principle. The narrator is quite to listen. Anyway, I think it deserves the time and money.

Tiresome to listen to

The topic is highly relevant, however the narrator is extremely tiresome to listen to, and it feels like it is a never ending listing of various examples of the 80/20 rule. I doubt that I will be able to listen through the entire book. I wish I got this as a normal paper book so I could flick through the pages instead.

Mindnumbingly Simplistic

This book is terrible. The entire thesis of the book can be stated in a paragraph, and yet somehow the author has managed to stretch it out into an entire book without providing any further insight.

long, very long

I wish the book was shorter, 20/80 rule would should be applied in book-writing as well.

Great book, questionable narration

Richard Koch's 80/20 Principle inspires the listener to cut out the meaningless waste of time, energy and activity in their life.

The narration, however, suffers from a rather irritating little problem. Narrator Richard Aspel's rendering of straight text is quite good. Unfortunately, Aspel makes caricatures of the numerous quotations that pepper the book, to the point of distraction, especially after the first listen, when one endeavors to study the material in depth.

Not worth the time...

First, I've learned nothing in this book. The principles that are describe are so obvious that I wonder why somebody wrote a book about it.
Second, let's say some people don't think those principles are obvious and needs further explanation, I'm convince it could be explained in detail in a maximum of 1 or 2 pages.
Because I do believe the 80/20 principles is important to apply, I would recommend not loosing 80% of your time to gain merely 20% of knowledge. To prevent this, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.

An essential read if you want to be successful

Would you listen to The 80/20 Principle again? Why?

I have listen to this book already two times. And I get a full load of information every time.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from The 80/20 Principle?

I love the business mentality that the 80/20 Principle suggest. Lazy but smart is definitely in.

Any additional comments?

It is a must have book or audio book if you are in business.

Brilliant Book and NOT Repetitive

If you could sum up The 80/20 Principle in three words, what would they be?

"Do not miss!" This audio book has opened my eyes to the vast and massive possibilities in my business by simply applying the 80/20 principle, from everything to advertising to people to products. I STRONGLY disagree with other reviewers who say the book was repetitive. Rather, the author does an outstanding job of giving endless and very varied examples of how the 80/20 principle has worked, which all sprouted more and more ways I could apply it myself.

What about Richard Aspel’s performance did you like?

I have to say I enjoyed how the English (as in UK) narrator would attempt to mimic the local accent of people quoted in the book - hearing his attempt at a Southern US accent was worth the price of admission!

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Simply that 80% of just about every aspect of my business - and my time - are waste. Sure, they generate a return on investment, but it's minuscule versus the 20% that produces a massive ROI and the waste needs to go.

Any additional comments?

I'm also buying the Kindle book to read it as well. This will go into my collection as one of those half-dozen or so books that I re-read at least once a year.

The 80/20 Principle

Rambles on and on describing applications of the 80 /20 rule.

Good message but not what I expected

This book was required reading for a terrific high performance development program. Everyone in the program found it impactful, liked it, and many rereading it. I think the message and focus is a good takeaway, but the book as a whole did not grab me. I am in the minority so I do not want to discourage others yet leaving an honest opinion. There are many examples so for some this could help application and for me it was too much.

An excellent book...worth repeat listens

I enjoyed the book immensely, and have returned to it often. But once I knew an audiobook version existed, I knew it made sense and that I had to have it. My MP3 player is more portable, and ironically takes up less than 20% of the space of the actual physical book, which I have since gifted to a friend. I now have Koch in my pocket to remind me to stop wasting time and effort. I would have preferred the author to have done the narration though, as I prefer to hear a story from the horse's mouth. Nevertheless, the philosophy of the book benefits from repeated listening. Some have argued that his philosophy could have been summarised in less than 20% of his book, a point I initially thought myself. But this criticism is acknowledged and addressed in the book itself. The point is not to eliminate 80% of everything, but to eliminate the majority of things you do not enjoy or that do not add value, and to multiply what does add joy or value. If you enjoy the ride, you should want the journey to last longer. I have wasted far more time on books and movies I did not enjoy and added nothing to my life. I would argue this philosophy is worth repeating, as becoming bogged down by trivial matters seems to be a deep human flaw. Merely flicking through the book or reading a summary would not likely yield results, or change your life, as it has mine. There are people who need to be smacked round the head with this book repeatedly. You know them. You've met them. They are those who watch mindless movies, trashy books, play point and click mini-games on Facebook for hours on end, etc. This book has made me constantly reassess my life and make massive changes. Sometimes the viewpoints are subtle. Sometimes they are blunt, even harsh. I have lost friends over this book. But all that showed was how weak those connections were in the first place. I have found a life/work balance as never before. Strongly recommended.

Highly repetitive

If you read the title of this book you already know the contents. Those words recur again and again. Save your money for something less toe-curling.

A good principle, but too much repetition

Using the theme of the book, I have to say that 80% of the content could have been covered in 20% of the time.

The 80/20 principle is a valid principle, but once you've got your head around what it's all about you don't need to listen to endless examples and a lot of repetition.

Terrible

Any additional comments?

The 80/20 rule is a fascinating concept, but this is lost within this book. It will send you to sleep. 80% of this book is rubbish - 20% of the population might find a nugget in here; perhaps that was the authors intension to prove the rule.....

80:20

An interesting take on using the 80:20 rule or pareto principle in business and for personal success, The author presents the idea clearly and shows its effectiveness and while I don't agree with all his ideas I got a lot from it.

Good ideas well presented and worth listening to again

Summary - Must read! Must Learn! Must practice

What did you like most about The 80/20 Principle?

I agree with everything Richard Koch wrote. However I would have changed the phrasing of what you should do with the rest of the 80 of your time.

He hits the nail on the head on how to prioritize and work on tasks that achieve your objectives. However I agree with what most of his critics say about trying to turn 100 percent of all tasks into personal gainers.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The 80/20 Principle?

The outlining of his critics points. I think that is the bravest and most honourable thing he could have done.

Which character – as performed by Richard Aspel – was your favourite?

none

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

getting more done with less effort

Any additional comments?

If there was any advise I would give to the readers of this book, follow his advise but remember. Life is for living. Simply use the 20% of action to achieve your goals and enjoy the rest of the 80 of effort in living and enjoying life.

For the time poor

This book puts meat on an expression I have heard many say but never implement It repeats the same idea but this worked for me in driving home the basic idea of the book. I now find myself seeing the 80/20 principle in action all over the place. A new window on the world.

sound

Good to mull over, but not earth-shattering in its content; lots of common sense. Worth having in the back of your mind