Ratio - 20:60:20

I believe you've heard and read about pareto 80:20 principle. Today, there are variants of the principle such as 70:20:10 and mine: 20:60:20.

There are the top 20%, they are the great performers. You have the bottom 20%, these people are looking for a free ride. Then, you have the middle 60%.

Here is what the problem, leaders and managers spend their time trying to motivate, inspire and correct the problems of the bottom 20%. They drain all their energy and income trying to make them better, they are not going to get better, they don’t want to get better. You may need to be let go of these people...

The top 20%, stay out of their way! These people are the best! They will do their job because that is the kind of people they are. If you didn’t show up, they would still do their job. If you weren’t there and didn’t tell them what to do, they would figure out what to do.

The middle 60%, that is the job of a real leader in my opinion. Here is what you have to understand about the 60%, the minute you dump your bottom 20% you will have a good portion of the 60% who cannot wait to drop down into that category. That’s right. They are just looking for room. You will create a vacuum and they will immediately go down there. Now, understand this about the top 20%, they are going to leave you eventually. They are always looking for bigger and better opportunities, they will leave and there is nothing you can do about it. But, a portion of the middle 60% can’t wait for the people at the top to leave and make room for them---they are ready to step up. Your job as a leader is to set that vision, challenge, scare, motivate and inspire them with the strength of your conviction.

Leaders have to understand the middle 60%, they can go either way and it’s the leaders job to constantly give them the opportunity to go either way, out the door or up the ladder.