meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Indicator from Planet Money

Putting the 80/20 rule to the test

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.79.5K Ratings

🗓️ 29 November 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A favorite of productivity hackers, the Pareto Principle, aka the 80/20 rule, has taken on a life of its own since it was first observed by an Italian economist over a century ago. The concept states that a small number of causes generates a large number of outcomes. Today on the show, the origins of the Pareto Principle, why marketing and business-types love it, and whether it holds up under scrutiny.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by
Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

NPR This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Darien Woods.

0:14.6

And I'm Whelan Wong.

0:15.8

Darien, do you consider yourself a productivity hacker?

0:19.2

Uh, no.

0:20.2

Do you?

0:22.2

I do not, but I have been just through osmosis exposed to all this

0:27.0

advice out there about how to get more done and be super efficient. You know tips

0:31.1

like set a timer for 25 minutes to do focused work or make all your

0:35.2

meals for the week on Sunday. Okay I like to get a good night's sleep that's my

0:39.4

very vanilla productivity hack. You cannot go wrong with a good night's sleep and you know there's

0:45.4

another tip that is also pretty evergreen it's called the 80-20 rule and if you

0:51.0

go online you can find people touting this rule for all kinds of personal

0:55.3

improvement.

0:56.3

20% of our time in our business accounts for 80% of the revenue.

1:00.2

That is the 20% input that will give me 80% of the results.

1:06.0

You regularly wear 20% of the clothes you have for 80% of the things you do.

1:10.4

Great advice for you is in half your closet to do podcasting in.

1:13.0

I was going to say.

1:16.0

So the 8020 rule is also known as the Parado principle,

1:20.0

and it traces back to the work of an Italian economist who lived over a century ago.

1:25.0

And before it became this rallying cry for productivity influences, the Prado principle took hold in the business world.

1:32.0

For decades, it's shaped how companies manifest. principle took hold in the business world.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.