Reader feedback: How one manager views Pareto's 80/20 rule

摘要

In March, Hydrocarbon Processing obtained feedback on its 'ebruary "Reliability" column. In this column, we had opined hat Pareto's 80/20 rule can be applied to the reliability engi-Leering profession. One of the top managers at a large enterprise thought it was n excellent article, and we believe his experience-based obser-ations deserve to be shared with readers. The manager wrote: It may surprise some, but I almost invariably use the rule to determine not just how I use my own time, but also the time of my colleagues. In essence, I always like to look at the big numbers before I look at the small numbers. I deliberately try to identify the big rocks, but then I use my judgment to understand more about these rocks. Some, I quickly realize, will be impossible to shift or too difficult to shift at this point in time. After analysis, however, I feel that I have no right to my job if I cannot come up with some positive actions to potentially shift some big rocks, and I then deploy myself and others to accomplish the task.