This is my ongoing series with notes as I explore the concept of Essentialism.
Many of us have been taught from a young age that hard work is key to producing results, and many of us have been greatly rewarded for our productivity and ability to muscle through every task or challenge. Yet, for capable people who are already working hard, are there limits to the value of hard work? Is there a point at which doing more does not produce more? Is there a point at which doing less (but thinking more) will actually produce better outcomes?
Working hard is important. But more effort does not necessarily yield more results. “Less but better” does.
The Pareto Principle, coined for Vilfredo Pareto who observed the notion in the 1790s, states that 20 percent of our efforts produce 80 percent of the results. This concept is sometimes referred to as the “80/20 Rule.” It makes sense to distinguish the “trivial many” from the “vital few” to narrow down to that 20% that is going to make the biggest difference.
Some believe that the relationship between efforts and results is even less linear, following what scientists call a “power law.” Power law theory suggests that certain efforts actually produce exponentially more results than others. An example comes from Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft. “The top software developers are more productive than average software developers not by a factor of 10X or 100X or even 1,000X but by 10,000X.” It may be an exaggeration, but it still makes the point that certain efforts produce exponentially better results than others.
The bottom line is that we live in a world where almost everything is worthless and very few things are exceptionally valuable.
You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything. –John Maxwell
Nonessentialist
Thinks almost everything is essential
Views opportunities as basically equal
Essentialist
Thinks almost everything is nonessential
Distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many.
An Essentialist takes the time to explore all his or her options. The extra investment is justified because some things are so much more important that they repay the effort invested in finding those things tenfold. An Essentialist discerns more to do less.