Wanted: The Top 1%

I posted about the 80/20 rule and the impact that this principle can have on personal productivity.  Daniel Snell had an interesting comment that lead me on a little research project (thank you, Daniel).  What is the break-out between those who consume content on the web and those who create it?  Is it 80/20?

 Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, authors of Citizen Marketers and Creating Customer Evangelists (with Guy Kawasaki), believe the percentage to be very skewed, more like 99/1.  They contend that 1% of site visitors will create content within a democratized community.  Others like Bradley Horowitz (as of February 14th, formerly of Yahoo) contend that 10% of folks interact with or synethizes content.

The impact on these statistics can be quite profound, especially for a business whose product is primarily accessed online and for which there is a social network and democratic element.  It certainly raises the stakes about how good the application and concept has to be.  Not only does it have to be better than any reasonable competition, it has to fight with the distraction and busy-ness of people’s lives to get attention, and then when all of that is done…it has to find a 1% person (okay, perhaps a 10% person, but you know what I mean).  The kind of person that wants to create.  Wants to connect.  The 1% person.

 As a start-up business, I do hope that we find our usage rates above the 1% or even 10% range.  I will be interested to report on this as the business takes off and all of you have a chance to try it out.  If you haven’t already, sign up for a private beta in the coming months and declare yourself part of the 1%!

My Favorite Number

It may be a bit silly, but 16 has always been my favorite number.  Perhaps it was because I was raised on Disney heroines who always seemed to start their adventures at sixteen.  Whatever the reason, I always knew I liked the number, but now I have a new reason why.

 In Richard Koch’s book The 80/20 Individual, he discusses Pareto’s famous 80/20 rule.  You may recall this concept that states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.  It applies to good things like 80% of the revenue comes from 20% of the customers or 20% of the products. It also applies to things like 80% of crimes are caused by 20% of the criminals.  Although the actual percentages will be different, the principle is the same.  There are a critical few that make all the difference.  In this book, he applies the principle to individual performance and says that by focusing on our own critical few talents and abilities, we can accomplish more.

So, what does that have to do with 16?  Let’s do the math.  If the vital group of 20% produces 80% of the results, that is a 1:4 ratio.  In contrast, if the “trivial group” consists of 80% of the people, but 20% of the results, the ratio is 4:1.  The difference between these is 16.  Essentially, the vital group accomplishes 16 times more than the trivial group in any particular measure.

 I have written about this in the past and will be spending more time exploring the concept of strengths-based focus in coming issues.  After all, it is what makes you remarkable!

Working Like a Dog

I read an interesting article in O Magazine the other day that I have been thinking about.  It said that in order to avoid burn-out and enjoy success we should all “work like dogs.”  Said another, way if a dog is good at retrieving, he should retrieve.  If she is good at distinguishing things with our sense of smell, that is what she should do.  Bloodhounds shouldn’t worry about trying to be good pointers or cattle herders.  Dogs play to their strengths, and so should we.

 I loved Marcus Buckingham’s book on the topic called Now, Discover Your Strengths.  I have heard others like StrengthsFinder 2.0 for the same reason.  Both include an online survey that identifies your strengths (under the supposition that things you enjoy and are confident in are probably your strengths).  I believe you will find it very interesting!

 The development team for Remarkable has taken this and found a lot of complementary and diverse strengths.  I know it will lead to some great collaboration and in the end, a stronger business and product!