A Triple Play - Increase Your Personal Effectiveness 15%

DOUBLE YOUR BUSINESS

This week we continue on the topic of doubling your business by bringing 4 more strategic focus areas that can each be improved at least 15% - which, when combined together, will yield a doubling of your bottom line.  
 
These add to the strategy discussed in detail last week, which was to increase your prices 15%.

A Triple Play - Pareto + Parkinson + The Rule of 90%
A couple months ago, I shared with you the wisdom of “Two Smart Dudes on Time Management - Pareto and Parkinson” - which I will review in brief for you today.  In addition, I share, and add to the mix, the Rule of 90%.  To increase your personal effectiveness 15% you simply need to integrate and implement a triple play of Pareto’s Principle + Parkinson’s Law + The 90% Rule. 
 
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule, and the law of the vital few, states that, for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  Alternative ways to phrase the law include: 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the input; 80% of company profits come from 20% of the products and customers; and 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort and time.
  
Parkinson’s Law states hat “work expands expands to fill the time available.”  Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in perceived importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.  If you are given 1 day to complete a task you will take most the day — if you are given 1 week to complete the same task, you likely won’t finish it until near the end of the week.  The intriguing discovery though, is that the end product of the shorter deadline is almost always of equal or higher quality due to greater focus.
 
The Rule of 90% is an intriguing addition, and critical component to this triple play of personal effectiveness.  Have you ever said anything like:
“I must find the perfect gift for my sister’s wedding.”
“This project report has to be perfect before I turn it in.”
“I have to make sure my presentation is perfect before I meet with this client.”
 
The sad truth is, nothing is perfect. Striving for perfection is foolish - and it’s impossible to reach. So trying to make things perfect can prevent you from ever achieving the things you want to accomplish.  The other dangerous thing about perfectionism is that it can stall you - keep you treading water instead of progressing. In other words, if you’re always trying to make your novel perfect, you’ll never get it published.
 
Beating perfectionism is tough work. And sometimes the very thought that you aren’t doing something “perfectly” can stop you in your tracks and destroy your motivation.  Don’t let perfectionism be a trap or hold you back from working toward your goals.  Apply the Rule of 90% to every task you take on. 
 
Learn to ask yourself, “Have I achieved 90% of what I was aiming for with this project or task? If not, then continue to work on it.  However, if the answer is yes, then call it good enough and move on.”  Now this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pour 100% of your energy and attention into important tasks. It just means that you stop trying to perfect every tiny detail.  Commit today to stop striving for perfection because it really is way too time-consuming and limiting.
 
Don’t waste time and energy striving for perfect. Do the best you can. Then take time later to fine-tune your work. Let 90% mean - it is good to go!
 
Therefore, taking together the triple play of Pareto’ Principle + Parkinson’s Law + The Rule of 90% means that you need to:
1) Identify the few critical tasks that contribute most to the outcomes you desire;
2) Schedule them with very short and clear deadlines; and
3) Make the goal - 90% is good enough - you can’t be perfect, you aren’t perfect!
 
The Story of the Cracked Pot
A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.” 

Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.  But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaws.  We’re all cracked pots.  But if we will allow it, our flaws will be used to grace the Master’s table.

DAILY PRAYER  
Father, give us comfort that perfection is not your call on our life.  Rather, we are to continually grow and move closer to the way and the truth and the life of Your Word.  Help us to move from knowledge to wisdom to understanding on how to be most effective in the pursuit of the purpose you have for us, and to commit to at least a 15% increase in that personal effectiveness. In Jesus name, Amen.

More than enough for today! 
Grace and peace multiplied to you.