Training article: the Pareto Principle (or the 80/20 rule)

The 80/20 rule, which should be more of a guideline anyway, is useful.  It was suggested by an Italian economist who observed that 80% of production derived from 20% effort, and the other 20% of production would take, therefore, 80% of the effort.

It was later suggested that for efficiency, determination of the cut off point of 20% effort would mean less energy would go into the last 20%, so long as we are happy with 80%.

In my last training article on mentoring and learning techniques I mentioned this principle. 

My key thought is this: that when we train people in our teams we should be careful about over training them.  Often our own standards are far higher than perhaps they need to be - as they say, we are often our own worse critic.  Of course we do have our blindspots, and for that reason we need to bear in mind the Johari window model but that can be of great benefit as we will need to be in a humble relationship with one another for it to truly work well.  The implementation of the Johari window model would be during phase two to three of the learning model.

Returning to the original Pareto principle thought, if we accept that for a person to undertake a task well we should then:

• consider at what point we have given 20% of the vital information
• stop training, and move instead to a co-creation methodology.

This will bring about far better tacit learning, as well as encouraging evolution of the methods involved in production – or in terms of ministry, ministerial engagement with the project.

So why should we have to give the 20% input?  Simply put, to gain knowledge you need a certain amount of seed knowledge.  There is great fear in many people of asking questions in case they should make a fool of themselves, particularly in a group situation.  Giving people some knowledge is useful as they are now more sure of what they don’t know, and have the words, perhaps, to express their ignorance.

Secondly, in my own experience with working with different people in roles from church management, to youth and children’s work, and even dabbling with entrepreneurial endeavours, a little knowledge is far from a dangerous thing!  Instead, a little knowledge can be more useful than a great deal.  If you know a lot about a subject, you will likely pursue that which you know and follow lines that are already well trodden.  You don’t make mistakes, but that also might mean that you don’t grow as a person!

On the other hand, knowing little means you have much more freedom in creating an interesting solution.  Sometimes that solution is the longer way around, and there is a better way, but that can be evolved.  More recently businesses have been crying out for creative problem solvers rather than college graduates who can simply churn out the right answers.  Of course, that might mean failure.  As a team leader, are you willing to accept that?

So, my call is for us to train people less. 

• To identify the magical 20% necessary. 
•  To engage in co-creativity. 
• To employ humble mutual accountability. 
• And to find and encourage both creative solutions and permission to fail.

Shortlink:  http://wp.me/pDlJe-4n

Creativity – God’s and ours

Aim: to help consider the creativity of God and being made in the image of God.  To celebrate our own creativity

Equipment:  plasticine/sculpy/playdough (or similar); 3 random objects that can be used creatively like on ‘whose line is it anyway’; bible; optional images on pen drive for data projector use including artists (see details below) a picture of a sunset and a finger print.

Invite 5 volunteers – 4 kids and one teacher/adult.  They need to all be creative and willing to think quickly.  The kids pair up, the adult is on their own.

Hand out the 3 objects to each ‘team’ and explain that they have to come up with uses for the objects other than what they were made for.  For example, if you were to use a shoe then it could be a telephone, a bowl, a dog toy etc..  make sure everyone understands.  The rules are that you will ask for an idea from each team in turn, one at a time, and the return to the first person for their next idea.  It’s a knock out so as each team gets stuck they are out.  If the game begins to drag you can be a bit more discerning with which ideas you accept.

Say, “be as creative as you can with your imaginations and ideas!”.

At the end of the game explain that we all have creativity, and sometimes we can spot who did it.  For example, consider artists.  If you can, use pictures of famous pieces from artists who have a definite style.  For example Lowry, Leonardo Da Vinci, Damien Hirst, Van Gogh,  Turner.  If appropriate, get everyone to guess who the artist is.  Explain that you can spot the style of the person who has been creative.

With your volunteers again, give them some playdough each.  Ask them to squeeze it really hard so that it squishes out between their fingers.  Ask them to open their hands and see what has happened.  Point out that each hand shape is different and that they have left marks on the playdough as they shaped it.  If you were a detective you could probably even spot the finger prints (show the picture) which are unique to every person.  It’s like the artist who leaves part of themselves – their character, their thinking and their style – on each piece of work they create.  We leave our finger print on everything we create both actually and in terms of who we are and how we shape something, even our ideas for games and fun.

Show the picture of the sunset and ask if they know the artist?  Explain that when God creates he leaves his finger prints in his creation.  It takes on part of his character. Read Psalm 19.1-4a; Psalm 139.13-16a.  Point out that God creates everything and everything says how brilliant God is – it’s a sign of his work.

But we are his best creation of all, and when we create we are being like God, the way he made us to be.  And it makes him proud of us.  So, we can be proud of the things that we create.