So what do I mean when I refer to an 80/20 principle in politics? If seems to me, and this is just my opinion based on decades of observation - that maybe 10% of the people are on the far left. And 10% are on the far right. That leaves the vast majority - 80% in between.
The 20% get the majority of the media attention, their respective political parties act as if everyone agrees with "their" 10% and hated the other party's 10% passionately.
The founding fathers, recognizing that our country was too big - even then, for everybody to sit around a big table in Philadelphia, established a representative democracy. We, the people, elect folks to represent us.
These representatives go to our state houses and to Washington as our representatives. They are there to do our bidding. They work for us. They represent us.
Well that was the theory anyway. It turns out that they have a different agenda. It looks like this to me. First they want to get re-elected, forever. Second, they want their party to control things so they (whoever 'they') are can do what their party wants and not what we, the people, want. And finally, they want to make sure that whatever the other party does, tries to do, or proposes - fails.
When the opposing party fails, they win. If things are going well they can say it is in spite of their opponents programs, if things are going badly - no matter what the real reason, they can tell their constituents that they would do it better.
The promise to do it better than their opponents gets them re-elected and the cycle begins again.
What I propose is a three party system to replace the current one. It will be a revolution of massive proportions. It will sweep the crooks, beltway insiders, and incompetent hacks out of office across the country in a very few years.
Here is how it will work. It is a simple three pronged process. No bureaucracy, not PAC money, and no cost to you as a concerned citizen - except a tiny bit of your time. Hey, if people in Afghanistan and Iraq can face death threats and suicide bombers, you can at least get off the couch for a few minutes, can't you?
#1) You contact you representatives in Washington. You tell them what you like about what they are doing and what you do not like. You tell them that if they aren't going to represent you the way you expected them to represent you - that's OK. You will just do everything in your power to get someone else elected in their place next time.
#2) You get three people you know and respect to commit #1 above. Each of us gets three, who get three, who get three, and so on and so on. It won't take long for that to become a groundswell of input. The politicians will know we're paying attention to them and what they're doing and/or not doing.
#3) There are about 8,000 trade associations in the US, plus labor unions, social organizations, religious groups, and professional societies. You belong to more than one of them - maybe several. If you're serious about representative government, you will contact the powers that be in the groups you belong to and ask them to tell all the members to do #1 above.
The beauty of this process is that it doesn't matter where you (or anybody) falls in the political spectrum. The law of large numbers will rule. If 25,000,000 people contact their elected representatives things will happen. Changes will take place.
Politicians will respond by doing what the majority of their constituents elected them to do. What a novel concept. Why, because they want to get re-elected. They will actually be able to run on their record of actual accomplishments.
Once the "80% Party" is fully mobilized the media will be able to report what the people actually say, not what some political hack or talking head said the people said. Once the "80% Party" reaches critical mass we'll all know it.
That day will come when the letters (D) and (R) are removed from the names of the politicians appearing in the newspaper or on TV. Those labels are there now, in my opinion, to remind us which party's message is being delivered and so we'll know who to vote for.
When the "80% Party" takes over the people, speaking directly to and through tier elected representatives will bring accountability and action instead of finger pointing and road blocking to our government - bottom to government.
I may be wrong but I think if 25,000,000 of us contacted our elected representatives every time they did what we elected them to do and every time they didn't - we'd end up with more of the former and less of the latter.
We get the representative government we deserve.
To an outsider, watching my day might be completely confusing, as I do plenty of tasks that don't appear to have anything to do with my work. I know, though, exactly why I'm using my private 80-20 formula: 80 percent of my time is on 'business' and 20 percent is on 'being fit and limber for business.'
As I drove to the office supplies store today I found myself reflecting on the irony - my income has quadrupled and my responsibilities have spread, down, down, down. From strategist to file clerk. Maybe you're experiencing the same discovery?
Fourteen years ago I did strategic planning and operations analysis and leadership training and management skills coaching... as an inside consultant at one of the Disney business units. My time was spent with the top tier of business leaders in that multi-national corporation. My day was neatly organized and so was my office.
I had one file cabinet, one bookcase, one white board and pictures up on the wall. Back then, I straightened my project folders on the corner of my desk, turned out the light and walked out the door with ease.
My time at work consisted of 80-percent meetings, and 20-percent working on material to discuss in the meetings. And that filled a very full week. My hours outside of work had me limber and fresh and ready to head back each day.
Like many of you, I chose the 'more' entrepreneurial route and its unexpected complexities. I thought it would all be simpler and more straightforward. Sell work. Deliver work. Instead, I've gone from tight control over all of my attention at the office, to having twelve times as many issues call on my attention, including the sorting rack for my office.
I've got triple the files and bookcases (even after tossing out 60 percent earlier this year). I've counted 400% as many 'projects' when all my business development notes, client files, project folders and now radio show To Dos are lined up. All for my attention this week.
On a purely intellectual basis, it's a real diversion of a high priced resource for me to be standing comparing desk sorters. On a physical basis, it's a high priority task. I've got too many different things I'm working on to shoehorn papers into a system that isn't exactly how I want it at hand.
And from an emotional point of view, it's a relief to have my systems set up exactly how I want them so I'm motivated to come back to them the next day.
What does my time consist of? I think. I write. I calendar meetings.
My workday is no longer 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. focused on projects. Instead, it's a blend of marketing to attract clients, doing client work, and designing the work I want to be doing in the future.
One of my long time mentors, Kendall SummerHawk has a saying: Focus on what puts you closest to the money. I love that phrase! And it reminds me constantly to refresh where I'm putting my attention, and to know why.
Yet, for all that the "closest to the money" idea is a powerhouse one, it only tells a piece of the story when we're in charge of prioritizing it all. I like to say "Take the 80-20 Rule and re-divide it."
The 80-percent of my time is focused on 'money.' It now consists of 3 equal parts - one-third marketing, one-third client work, one-third designing the next offering I want to bring to market.
And the 20-percent looks a lot like 'rest, recreation and wandering around' to someone else. In that corporate setting, I was walking from building to building going between meetings each day. Today, I might sit for 8, 12, 16 hours without moving if it were not for those 'errands' I put myself on.
Scientists have noted for years that their breakthrough discoveries come to them when they're in the shower, on their bikes, doing anything other than focused work. And I've discovered the same process holds true for me as well.
In fact while my body is in motion on seemingly mundane tasks, activities that cannot be billed to any client, my mind is in motion, too. I'm observing, reading, pondering. I'm creating new ideas and insights that I then bring to my clients.
So excuse, me, won't you? I'm off to limber up pulling weeds for 10 minutes and have a breakthrough moment.
Both Wayne Messick & Linda Feinholz are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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