Monday, September 20, 2004

80:20, the way of things

I have been reading a book which discusses in detail the principle of 80:20 as a found principle in the way that things work. It can be interpreted as "twenty percent of your business will give you 80% of your profit." Or as, "80% of your problems will come from 20% of your people." Or, twenty percent of your work will be 80% of the important things in your job.

And I go back to what my teacher said: "What do you want in your life?" In my previous little priorities, I had wanted to become a physician, become a scientist, be famous, and all those things that lead you to supposed happiness. Heck, I even thought working till in the wee hours of the morning was romantic. As I have grown older, either the lazy gene has been upregulated or common sense has kicked in.

Why would I work so hard for so little money? Being famous doesn't make you happy. Why pursue it? Working late into the wee hours means that someone majorly screwed up and did not do any planning for the project. You should be able to finish your job in the 8 hour time slot or else your company does not give you enough resources to finish the job.

I had always trusted on the postulate that companies will do what is best for themself. Ha! Now of course, I know better. Companies will fail because of the people who are humans leading the company. When humans do not know, they will inevitably fall because of their clay feet.

With that in mind, then one must work within the parameters of one's job. Accept the clay feet and do your best with what you have. Don't be lazy, but don't be stupid.

This is the word of God.

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