My 80/20 Girl!

So here is my first blog for the month of April. And while I had thought that April 1st would have been a perfect day to start one…it never happened! OK as always I find the need to explain everything I say and so I am sorry to say but you have to bear with me while I explain what I mean by that (sorry that was a confusing statement). Though I can almost hear this voice inside of me (read “Everyone I know”) saying “Rohini, Please stop”. But like I always say it’s a condition and I can’t help it. :P

I had thought I would dedicate my 1st April blog to a fictional story revolving around real characters and people and resemblance to anybody or anything living or dead would be purely intentional. I had thought of an interesting plot and an even more interesting selection of characters. But sadly, the day has passed and so has the moment. So there you go, I have given my explanation and will put an end to this discussion.

Hey but I wont let you off so easy. It’s not one of your lucky days ;-). Recently, I had come across an interesting book at a bookstore that caught my attention, “The 80/20 individual: How to achieve more by doing less”. And it was one of those eye-catching titles that I could not miss. I immediately decided I wanted to read the book. So I went and borrowed the book today. Of course, the book talks about Oprah Winfrey (something I discovered only after borrowing it) and that makes it win some brownie points. And mentioning her early on in the book is always good luck :).

What I find more interesting is how the author throws light on the fact that Pareto Principle of 80/20 fits into almost every aspect of our lives. So let’s evaluate:
1. In examinations, maximum questions are from the last few tough topics of the course. The ones previous to that were merely laying the foundation. (And if you doubt that, I am more than willing to show you my Macroeconomics test I took yesterday).
2. Most defects in programming are found in 20% of the code.
3. Any newspaper article can give the whole story in just 20% of the article. The other portions are like stitches, holding the story together. Don’t get me wrong, the stitches are the most important part but it’s the design and fit that most people look at.
4. This is something chocoholics may be aware of but fail to admit - two to three bites of chocolate is enough, it’s the remaining 80% of the bar that leads to the “chocholism”.

And I am sure I can find at least a 100 more examples in the next one hour. Basically, the book shows how we are all 80/20 individuals and its up to us to use our creativity and our strength to find what we are really good at and how we can use it in almost every aspect of our professional and personal lives. Now this is not a book review, I promise I will give one when I finish reading it. I am more amazed at the subject of the book. Richard Koch first wrote the book, 80/20 Principle, that revolves around how corporations and organizations use 20% of their employees strategically that contributes to 80% of the corporations success.

Same old topic. Whole new approach. It’s about keeping an open mind! Its creativity.

The other day a friend of mine mentioned about some book he wanted to read (I forgot the name) cause he thought “It sounds interesting”. This is where I passed a stupid comment “You a judging a book by its title?!!?”. But then think about it, why not?

Title of the book it our first contact with the book. It’s the first thing we read and so if the title can engage us, we can hope the book would to. If the title cannot, the book is pretty much DOA (Dead on Arrival). Creativity needs to flow through all the aspects of the book and the title is definitely a major component of it. So next time you like the title of the book, please go ahead and read it! ;)

And since we are on the topic of creativity, I want to take this chance to talk about my friend Tonje. Tonje is one of the most beautiful people I have met in my life and I admire her so much. My interaction with her started in a course at school and I am so happy to have met her. She is one super mother of four. She has this infectious “never-say-die” attitude that you can’t ignore. She is full of ideas all the time. But what is more amazing, that she believes in even most eccentric ideas of hers and if you doubt it she will question…”Why not?”. If you can’t answer that, well then don’t question it. She comes up with these canny drawings and theories and makes you believe that it has potential to be something BIG. She makes me believe that “WE are the masters of our own destiny”. She knows her capabilities and knows how to leverage it to its maximum potential and more. She is my 80/20 girl! :) Way to go lady!!