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Which type of case and situation where we could apply the Pareto Principle?

I'd like to know when and in what kind of situation or problem exactly we could using Pareto Principle to solve the case. 

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Top answer
on Sep 12, 2018
ex-Manager - Natural and challenging teacher - Taylor case solving, no framework

Hi,

Pareto is not a solution to solve the case but a way to focus on the key topics in order to be faster.

It can be applied to many situations weather it’s quantitative (eg. market sizing, revenue estimate, cost estimate) or qualitative (eg. brainstorming on root causes of a certain issue.

This is particularly useful when scope of engagement / case is unclear or too wide, and will help you justify why to focus on the priority topics that has the most impact on the issue.

hope this helps

best

 benjamin

on Oct 12, 2018
Thank you very much for your answer Benjamin. Really appreciate it.
Egor
Coach
edited on Sep 11, 2018
Collected McKinsey & BCG offers/ Ex-McKinsey consultant/Harvard/WBS/MSU

Hi Ben,

I am glad to see your interest in consulting.

80/20 is an approach, which we use in our daily work. Normally, the scope of the work is huge, while the timing is limited. Thus, we have to prioritize important "quick wins", which will make our client happy.
This principle is universal across industries. It can be used both work and personal life.

Example.
80/20 may be used in cases for any B2C or B2B business: normally 20% of customers generate 80% of revenue. Thus, we want to deep dive into their behaviour to understand, what they value in our business/service/etc.

All the best,

Egor

80/20 principle is not a framework. It's an approach to prioritization. For example if you are doing cost cutting - you would like to prioritize the biggest cost buckets.

Another example is marketsizing. E.g. if you are calculating the tire market, you'll need to calculate the major replacement and make a high level assumption about the other use cases (e.g. urgent maintenence replacement)

Best!

on Oct 12, 2018
Thank you very much for your answer Egor. Really appreciate it.
Vlad
Coach
on Sep 11, 2018
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

80/20 principle is not a framework. It's an approach to prioritization. For example if you are doing cost cutting - you would like to prioritize the biggest cost buckets.

Another example is marketsizing. E.g. if you are calculating the tire market, you'll need to calculate the major replacement and make a high level assumption about the other use cases (e.g. urgent maintenence replacement)

Best!

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