EVERYTHING MATTERS EQUALLY

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Equality is a worthy ideal pursued in the name of justice and human rights. In the real world of results, however, things are never equal. No matter how teachers grade two students are not equal. No matter how fair officials try to be contests are not equal. No matter how talented people are no two are ever equal. A dime equals ten cents and people must absolutely be treated fairly, but in the world of achievement everything doesn’t matter equally.

Equality is a lie.
Understanding this is the basis of all great decisions.

The best decision gets traded for any decision, and what should be progress simply becomes a trap.

“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants."

“The things which are most important don ’t always scream the loudest.”
—Bob Hawke

Not everything matters equally, and success isn’t a game won by whoever does the most. Yet that is exactly how most play it on a daily basis.

MUCH TO-DO ABOUT NOTHING

To-do lists are a staple of the time-management-and-success industry. With our wants and others’ wishes flying at us right and left, we impulsively jot them down on scraps of paper in moments of clarity or build them methodically on printed notepads.

Achievers operate differently. They have an eye for the essential. They pause just long enough to decide what matters and then allow what matters to drive their day. Achievers do sooner what others plan to do later and defer, perhaps indefinitely, what others do sooner. The difference isn’t in intent, but in right of way. Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority

To-do lists inherently lack the intent of success. In fact, most to-do lists are actually just survival lists getting you through your day and your life, but not making each day a stepping-stone for the next so that you sequentially build a successful life.

To-do lists tend to be long; success lists are short. One pulls you in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction.

JURAN CRACKS THE CODE

A small amount of causes creates most of the results. Just the right input creates most of the output. Selected effort creates almost all of the rewards.

The 80/20 Principle says the minority of your effort leads to the majority of your results.

The majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do. Extraordinary results are disproportionately created by fewer actions than most realize.Don’t get hung up on the numbers. Pareto’s truth is about inequality, and though often stated as an 80/20 ratio, it can actually take a variety of proportions. Depending on the circumstances, it can easily play out as, say, 90/20, where 90 percent of your success comes from 20 percent of your effort. Or 70/10 or 65/5. But understand that these are all fundamentally working off the same principle. Juran’s great insight was that not everything matters equally; some things matter more than others a lot more. A to-do list becomes a success list when you apply Pareto’s Principle to it.

 A to-do list becomes a success list when you prioritize it.

EXTREME PARETO

Success requires that you follow the 80/20 Principle, but you don’t have to stop there.

Keep going. You can actually take 20 percent of the 20 percent of the 20 percent and continue until you get to the single most important thing! (See figure 5.) No matter the task, mission, or goal. Big or small. Start with as large a list as you want, but develop the mindset that you will whittle your way from there to the critical few and not stop until you end with the essential ONE. The imperative ONE. The ONE Thing.

Now, again, stop and do the math. One idea out of 100. That is Pareto to the extreme. That’s thinking big, but going very small. That’s applying the ONE Thing to a business challenge in a truly powerful way.

The inequality of effort for results is everywhere in your life if you will simply look for it. And if you apply this principle, it will unlock the success you seek in anything that matters to you. There will always be just a few things that matter more than the rest, and out of those, one will matter most. Internalizing this concept is like being handed a magic compass. Whenever you feel lost or lacking direction, you can pull it out to remind yourself to discover what matters most.

BIG IDEAS

1. Go small. Don’t focus on being busy; focus on being productive. Allow what matters most to drive your day.

2. Go extreme. Once you’ve figured out what actually matters, keep asking what matters most until there is only one thing left. That core activity goes at the top of your success list.

3. Say no. Whether you say “later” or “never, ” the point is to say “not now” to anything else you could do until your most important work is done.

4. Don’t get trapped in the “check off” game. If we believe things don’t matter equally, we must act accordingly. We can’t fall prey to the notion that everything has to be done, that checking things off our list is what success is all about. We can’t be trapped in a game of “check off” that never produces a winner. The truth is that things don’t matter equally and success is found in doing what matters most. Sometimes it’s the first thing you do. Sometimes it’s the only thing you do. Regardless, doing the most important thing is always the most important thing.