The 80 % Rule

I was intrigued with the title of this book and enticed by its brevity. 

I quickly learned that Dan Sullivan is asserting that when we ship our work, we should be guided by hitting the 80 percent mark.  To strive for 100 percent perfection is to forgo the opportunity of achievement.

The 100% rule unlashes two demons that dog us on our quest for achievement: perfectionism and procrastination.  We develop a fear that we can never hit a 100% but let our minds disguise that through perfectionism.  “We want to be a 100%” is the pseudo-lofty story we tell ourselves.  Unfortunately, that forces us to procrastinate releasing our work.

This robs us the opportunity to place our ideas in the marketplace of our chosen field and get feedback quickly.  As a result, we do not grow and become the best versions of ourselves.  We shortchange ourselves and possibly live a blasé life of mediocre achievements while our perfect self is dressing up to meet the world.

Eighty percent rule, on the other hand, gives us the courage to ship out imperfect work.  Think of  this in terms of another model from Dan Sullivan – the 4Cs.  The Cs stand four commitment, courage, capability, and confidence.  When we procrastinate, we usually have not even hit the commitment stage, and if we did, we will never cross to the courage step.

The 80 percent rule allows us to commit.  Even if we do not have the skill and wherewithal to achieve our goals, we act in courage and start working.  As we work we grow or bring forth new capabilities.  With our imperfect work done and dusted, we are now confident to start a new task.

Using personal examples, he tells us captivating stories of what the eighty percent rule has done for him.  Besides showing us how his projects got on accelerated tracks, he puts an illuminating argument that all great thinkers can be modelled as eighty percent thinkers.

This idea came to him because he attended a St John’s University in Annapolis, Maryland. It isknown as “the Great Books School”.  The school gave him the opportunity to read and internalize works from Homer to Einstein. 

He completed his education, emerging as a better reader, thinker, and speaker.  However, he noticed that those with perfectionist mindset convinced themselves that they could not attain significant achievements.  They remained loyal and ardent disciples of their treasured great thinkers.

I think the Bible gives us an eloquent metaphor for what Dan Observed (Luke 19: 11-27).  A master gave 5000, 2000, and 1000 coins to his servants before departing on a journey.  The servants with 5000 and 2000 coins doubled their take when he came back.  The servant with 1000 coins hid the coin and only had the exact amount to offer upon his master’s return.

The eighty percenters help adapt and grow curated wisdoms of ages.  The perfectionists hang on to what they have, neglecting the implied responsibility our sages handed to us when they took the pains to communicate what they know.

Deeply grateful to this book – looking forward if it changes the way I handle personal and company projects.