The Pareto Principle states 80 percent of “effects” are caused by 20 percent of the “causes”. Businesses use this principle to great effect when they discover 80 percent of their business comes from 20 percent of their clients. In sports we see about 20 percent of the players account for about 80 percent of the wins. In classical music about 20 percent of classical composers account for about 80 percent of the music that orchestras choose to perform.
The more you look into it, the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, is able to model a shocking amount of real world causes and effects. Can the Pareto principle be a guide to how we should be leading and strategizing in Christian higher education?
The Pareto Principle and Enrollment
“Focus on doing the right things instead of a bunch of things.” -Mike Krieger
Enrollment should be on everyone’s mind right now. Christian universities need new students to survive, we need new students to grow, we need new students to accomplish our Christian mission. Some say the pool of students wanting our services will be shrinking soon (or already has). So how do we as Christian universities and colleges win in enrollment given the coming student scarcity crisis? First, we must be focused on the right things – excessively so – obsessively so. There are only a certain number of things a university can realistically change each year in enrollment. It is not viable to reinvent the wheel every year. So, focus needs to be put on the things that will make the most difference for the students.
Here’s the question you need to ask: “What enrollment causes do we need to focus on to get the effects that we want? We can imply from the Pareto Principle that 80 percent of the work that we could do will move the needle a pathetic 20 percent. We need to quickly discover and align around the key causes that could lead to massive results and focus our efforts on the 20 percent.
Working hard on everything equally is a losing strategy – even if all of the things being worked on are good!
The Pareto Principle and People
“Talent is like electricity. We don’t understand electricity. We use it.” -Maya Angelou
Hiring excellent faculty and staff is central to the mission of being a Christ-centered institution of higher learning. It might be the most important function. The Pareto Principle tells us that 80 percent of mission critical “effects” will be generated by 20 percent of your people. Hiring great talent isn’t enough. You must recognize your talent and use it.
- Do you have the right people in the right seats at your institution?
- When you put together a mission critical task force how do you populate it?
- When you are hiring for a mission critical job do you ask the question, “Does this employee need to be a twenty-percenter in their field?”
Albert Einstein worked in a patent office for seven years. What an unbelievable waste of time and talent! Do you have twenty-percenters sitting on the sidelines at your institution? Get them in the game!
The Pareto Principle and Strategic Planning
“Strategic planning is not strategic thinking. Indeed, strategic planning often spoils strategic thinking, causing managers to confuse real vision with the manipulation of numbers.” – Henry Mintzberg
Every Christian university and college has a strategic plan. Often they consist of five strategic pillars, seven goals for the future, etc. What if I told you that only one or two of your strategic goals will truly have a massive effect on the future of your organization? Is it possible that the other strategic goals really don’t deserve any time being talked about at an executive level?
The Pareto Principle says that 80 percent of what you are trying to achieve is in 20 percent of your work. So you should be spending (at least) 80 percent of your executive leadership team meeting and effort focused on 20 percent of your strategic goals – which is often just one or possibly two goals. Everything else should be aggressively moved down the org chart. How much of your executive meeting is spent on your most important goal? Is it 80 percent? If not, you may have some thinking to do. Stop strategic planning. Start strategic thinking.
“Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” -Peter Drucker
Take a Moment and Focus
Before you start your planning this year, take a moment to pause and think about the Pareto Principle. How can it focus your work to bring in students? How can it focus your human resources? How can it focus your institutional strategy? The ability to give your focused attention to the key problems may be the path to massive breakthrough at your institution.
“Attention is no more than this – the power of giving your mind to what you are about.” -Charlotte Mason
Need help with your strategy?
Reach out to Nick Willis. TG Three helps colleges get from where they are to where they want to be by developing strategies that create clarity, focus and alignment.
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