Book Review - the "80 / 20 Principle" by Richard Koch

Executive Summary

Patero is the starting point in aiding people with their daily routines and understanding the basis of the 80/20 principle in which Koch spends his time explaining thoroughly the implementation of the concept in all walks of life which includes business, investment and even relationships. The main concept that resonates in the book is that less is more and that individuals should make their life clutter free by taking away the focus of 80 percent of activities that are clutter-some but do not produce enough outcomes. Instead, individuals are taught to focus on the few activities that are vital and give maximum productivity. The book is an interesting read which provides key insights and strategies for implementing the 80/20 principle into a person's everyday life.

The 80/20 principles is more than a common self help book. Instead it is exciting and challenging in striking down traditional business means of capital and corporation. It focuses on the individual's creativity which is no in this time is a very valuable component, more than capital can ever be. The book by Koch givens insight into the power that lies unearthed in all individuals. The book and the various notions asserted by the author are those of common sense but the portrayal of those concepts allow readers to better visualize it and implement it. The author provides practical and authentic examples of methods that can be used to implement the 80/20 principle and then reap its benefits.

The theme continuously reoccurs throughout the book in order to ensure that the reading audience understands the main theme that Koch is trying to put forward, which is "pursue those few things where you are amazingly better than others and that you enjoy the most", which alludes to Koch concept of having everything or almost everything outsourced. Some examples that allude to the New York City Stock market are too broad and do not provide proper insight.

The book report looks to scrutinize the concepts of Koch that are presented in the book. The majority of the concepts were examined and scrutinized to understand the author's point of less and more. Many of the examples that Koch uses are generalizations but they can give enough insight to fully comprehend the concept that the author is trying to put forward.

Book Review- The "80 / 20 Principle" by Richard Koch

Peter Drucker author of the book, The Effective Executive, once stated that, "efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things". This quote largely reflects the main theme in Richard Koch's book The 80/20 Principle: How to Achieve More with Less which is surrounded by the Pareto Principle which explains that small is beautiful, more is worse, and simplicity is power. Many great leaders and even greater organizations have known this to be a fact and have lived by this principle throughout their daily lives which shows that they have been living and breathing the 80/20 principle. From this principle, many leaders and organizational heads have comprehended that their ability to focus on a hand full of things that really are important in their lives and business are the key determinants to their personal success and resulting in such a way to impact the rest of the world. The author Richard Koch, is an expert on organizational strategy, consultants and business leader (Lloyd & Koch, 2003). Koch has basically proven his methods through personal implementation and has proved that these are beneficial methods. Koch's personal company is worth to have a net value that reach millions and has also invested in companies like Betfair by implementing the 80/20 principle.

In Koch's book, The 80/20 Principle the author asserts that 80/20 revolution is designed in such a way that it encourages individual to come to realization about their individual powers and realize that they have creativity in them which can aid them in reaching towards a greater extent (Koch, 1999). The book also examines the various reasons on why things have a tendency to change and what individuals should do in practice to keep up with the continuous changes. The book has an in depth discuss on the key role that outsourcing can play in a business to aid in its success and the continuously changing relationship that is help between a corporation and the individual person. Koch asserts throughout the book and in the concluding chapters of it for individuals to begin to take control of their own lives. He asserts that every person needs some sort of meaning and happiness from their life and the things that they do for other people that makes them feel good about them self (Koch, 1999).

The book recognizes five trends that have recently emerged which include: the decrease in capital and the increase of individuals; the decrease in emphasis on the organization and increase on the individual; the increase in ideas; the increase in independent people who believe they are responsible for their own success and not just having to be part of a group; and the success of the 80/20 principle (Koch, 1999). The author argues that there is more weight and power in an idea than there is in capital requirement by using the example of Microsoft. Koch asserts that these five identified trends along with the 80/20 revolution is the new method that an individual can use to create and accumulate wealth (Koch, 1999). This can be accomplished due to the increased emphasis being placed on the creativity of individuals than the reliance on power of capital or a well reputed organization. With the trends emerging from the new age, Koch argues that creative individuals are no longer at the service of capital or corporations but instead the relationship has turned with money and corporations being at the service of individuals that display high levels of creativity. The revolutionizing idea that Koch presents to the audience is solely based on the 80/20 principle. With this principle the author of the book asserts that success can only be resulted from focusing on the few powerful factors that are known to