I serve on a volunteer board for my training association. January marked the second year of my commitment, and I had a mighty craving to quit. This didn’t make sense given I finally had systems in place to manage the job. I’d built pleasant working relationships with my colleagues and especially enjoyed the credibility of membership on a Board of Directors.
So what was it? The answer: two people. There were two people who didn’t respond to my friendly emails or voicemails; I felt disrespected and angry. I allowed this small minority to sour my whole experience.
This is an example of the 80/20 rule in action. In 1906, economist Vilfredo Pareto noticed that for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. In customer service, 20% of the customers make 80% of the complaints. 80% of a manager’s time is often spent managing 20% of her staff. In my case, I believe 80% of my experience was being colored by 20% (or less!) of it that I didn’t like.
So here is my opportunity: to get help handling my reaction to the ones I feel ignored by and to focus my attention on the many interactions I’ve had that are hunky dory.
Are you letting the behaviors of a small percentage of people color your perceptions?
I’m interested to know.
If you click on the link and scroll down, you'll see how legit I am!