What is it?

This is a focused 60-minute session where your team uses the Pareto Principle to pinpoint the few tasks, issues, or priorities that drive the biggest impact.

Why is it useful?

This workshop helps your team quickly identify where their time and energy actually make a difference so they can stop spreading themselves thin and start focusing on what really works.

The Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) was observed by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1896 when studying wealth distribution, later generalised by management consultant Joseph Juran in the 1940s.

Objectives

• Get a clear picture of the few activities that drive most of your results.
• Secure agreement on where to focus as a team and where to cut back.
• Establish practical ways to shift energy from low-impact work to high-impact work.
• Develop a shared language for spotting the “vital few” in the future.
• Create commitment to specific actions that will make a difference.

Resources Required

• Time: 1 hour
• Flipchart or whiteboard
• Sticky notes
• Markers
• Timer
• Coloured dots or stickers for voting

Process

Introduction (5 minutes)

1. Explain the Pareto Principle: 80% of results often come from 20% of efforts.
2. Give a simple example (e.g. 80% of support requests come from 20% of customers).
3. Emphasise that the numbers are a guide, not exact.

Brainstorm (10 minutes)

1. Ask: What activities, projects, or issues do we spend most of our time on?
2. Each person writes one idea per sticky note.
3. Place them on the wall or board.

Group and Clarify (10 minutes)

1. As a group, cluster similar notes.
2. Clarify meanings and merge duplicates.
3. Ensure everyone understands each item.

Identify High-Impact Items (10 minutes)

1. Ask: Which of these give us most of our results, impact, or headaches?
2. Give everyone coloured dots to vote for the top 3–5 items.
3. Highlight the clusters with most votes.

Discuss Focus Shift (15 minutes)

1. For each high-impact item, discuss:
   • How can we give this more attention?
   • How can we reduce time spent on low-impact work?
   • What could we stop, simplify, or delegate?

Agree Next Steps (10 minutes)

1. Capture specific actions the team will take (minimum 2-3).
2. Assign ownership and timelines.

Facilitation Tips

• Keep the energy high during the brainstorm by encouraging quick note writing.
• Remind people to think about both positive impact (results) and negative impact (problems).
• Watch for “pet projects” that might skew voting and refocus on the team’s shared goals.
• In the discussion, push for actions that are realistic and can be implemented quickly.
• Summarise agreed actions at the end and confirm commitment from everyone.