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Warren Buffett stated once that business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective. Perhaps this is our problem in understanding the Pareto Principle – it seems too simple. After all, how can 20% of anything yield 80% of the results. A Wesleyan professor stated it this way;

• 80% of traffic jams occur on 20% of the roads
• 80% of classroom participation comes from 20% of the students
• 80% of the time you wear only 20% of clothes
• 80% of your problems are generated by 20% of your employees
• 80% of all decisions can be made on 20% of the information

How do you discover the main thing? Where so you begin? I want to offer four suggestions as a starting point of reflection.

Determine To Not Know Everything

Some believe that great leaders have to have all of the answers.Not True. Successful leaders do not know everything, however they know people who do. This is the power of having a great executive administrative assistant. If you do not have a great administrative assistant, you are headed for trouble. You cannot possibly know everything you need to know.

Determine Not To Know Everything First

We all have a tendency to “be in the know.” No leader enjoys being blindsided.

However, good leaders cannot afford to get caught up in every detail of an organization. If they do, they lose their perspective and their ability to lead at all. That is a high price to pay! In any organization, problems should be solved at the lowest level possible. What is the solution to this dilemma? Deciding that it is okay not to be first to know everything. For leaders it best to know the most important things than to know everything.

I Determine To Stay With My Strengths & Not Work On My Weaknesses

Half the battle of being smart is to understand what you are dumb at. The old adage is true – “Know thyself in order to lead thyself!” Gallup Research stated the most revealing discovery about great leaders is they have an acute sense of their strengths and weaknesses. They know who they are and who they are not.

I Determine To Take Charge of What Took My Time & Attention

This starts by taking control of your calendar. The question is not will my calendar be full rather, who will fill my calendar? It has been said that genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple! NFL Hall of Fame Coach Vince Lombardi would begin training camp by holding up a football and stating to his team – “Gentlemen, this is a football!” Simplicity works!

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Music:  “Canal 3” by Quinicas Mooreira