Agent skill

pareto

Identify the vital 20% of activities that produce 80% of results using real case studies and proven patterns. Use when optimizing business, learning, productivity, or any area where focus matters.

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Install this agent skill to your Project

npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/data/pareto

SKILL.md

Pareto Principle Analyzer

Identify the vital 20% of activities that produce 80% of results using real case studies and proven 80/20 patterns.

Real 80/20 Case Studies

Business Revenue

Case: SaaS Company Revenue Analysis

  • 22% of customers generated 89% of revenue
  • Top 5 customers = 41% of total revenue
  • Action: Created dedicated success team for top 22%, reduced support for bottom 50%
  • Result: 34% revenue increase, 20% cost reduction

Case: E-commerce Product Analysis

  • 18% of SKUs generated 82% of profit
  • 40% of SKUs were break-even or losing money
  • Action: Discontinued bottom 30% of products
  • Result: 15% profit increase, 40% reduction in inventory costs

Software Development

Case: Bug Distribution (Microsoft Study)

  • 20% of bugs caused 80% of crashes
  • 1% of bugs caused 50% of crashes
  • Action: Prioritize top 1% first, then top 20%
  • Result: Most stable Windows release to date

Case: Code Optimization

  • 4% of code executed 50% of runtime
  • 20% of functions contained 80% of bugs
  • Action: Focused optimization and testing on hot paths
  • Result: 10x performance improvement with 20% of the effort

Sales & Marketing

Case: B2B Sales Pipeline

  • 23% of leads converted to 81% of deals
  • Pattern: Leads with technical champion + budget authority
  • Action: Qualification focused on these two factors
  • Result: Sales cycle shortened by 40%

Case: Marketing Channels

  • 2 channels (of 8 tested) drove 76% of conversions
  • 4 channels had negative ROI when fully costed
  • Action: 10x budget on top 2, killed bottom 4
  • Result: 3x marketing efficiency

Personal Productivity

Case: Developer Time Study

  • 2 hours of deep work = 80% of meaningful output
  • 6 hours of meetings/email = 20% of output
  • Pattern: First 2 hours of day most productive
  • Action: Protected morning block, batched communication
  • Result: Same output in 6 hours vs previous 10

80/20 Patterns by Domain

Business

Area Typical 80/20 Finding Action
Customers 20% generate 80% of revenue Tier support, dedicated success for top tier
Products 20% generate 80% of profit Discontinue losers, double down on winners
Features 20% used 80% of time Kill unused features, polish core ones
Support tickets 20% of issues cause 80% of volume Fix root causes, not symptoms
Salespeople 20% close 80% of deals Study their methods, replicate or replace

Learning

Area Typical 80/20 Finding Action
Vocabulary 2,000 words = 80% of spoken language Learn frequency lists first
Concepts 20% of concepts enable 80% of problems Master fundamentals before advanced
Practice 20% of exercises build 80% of skill Identify and repeat high-value drills
Books 20% of content has 80% of value Read intros, conclusions, skim middle

Productivity

Area Typical 80/20 Finding Action
Tasks 20% of tasks produce 80% of results Do high-impact first, eliminate rest
Time 20% of hours are 80% productive Protect peak hours, batch low-value
Meetings 20% of meetings matter Cancel the rest, send updates instead
Email 20% of emails need response Process in batches, auto-archive rest

How to Find YOUR 80/20

Step 1: List Everything

Write down ALL activities in the area you're analyzing:

  • What do you spend time on?
  • What generates results?
  • What costs money/energy?

Step 2: Measure Impact

For each activity, estimate:

  • Input: Time, money, or energy spent (% of total)
  • Output: Results generated (% of total)
  • Ratio: Output ÷ Input

Example:

Activity Input (%) Output (%) Ratio
Cold email 30% 5% 0.17
Referrals 10% 45% 4.5
Content 25% 30% 1.2
Paid ads 35% 20% 0.57

Step 3: Rank and Cut

  1. Double down: Top 20% by ratio (Referrals in example)
  2. Optimize: Middle 40% (Content, Paid ads)
  3. Eliminate: Bottom 40% (Cold email)

Step 4: Validate with Data

Don't trust gut alone:

  • Pull actual revenue by customer
  • Track actual time by activity
  • Measure actual results by channel

Output Format

markdown
# 80/20 ANALYSIS: [AREA]

## Data Summary

| Activity | Input (%) | Output (%) | Ratio | Action |
|----------|-----------|------------|-------|--------|
| [Activity 1] | X% | Y% | Y/X | DOUBLE DOWN |
| [Activity 2] | X% | Y% | Y/X | OPTIMIZE |
| [Activity 3] | X% | Y% | Y/X | ELIMINATE |

## Vital 20%

### 1. [Top activity]
- **Current state:** [What you're doing now]
- **Opportunity:** [What doubling down looks like]
- **This week:** [One specific action]

### 2. [Second activity]
- **Current state:** [What you're doing now]
- **Opportunity:** [What doubling down looks like]
- **This week:** [One specific action]

## Eliminate

- [Low-value activity 1] → Stop immediately
- [Low-value activity 2] → Delegate or automate
- [Low-value activity 3] → Reduce frequency

## Expected Impact

- **Time saved:** X hours/week
- **Results increase:** Y% improvement
- **When to measure:** [Specific date]

Conversation Starter

Use AskUserQuestion to begin:

"I'll help you find the 20% of activities driving 80% of your results.

What area do you want to analyze?

  • Business (revenue, customers, products)
  • Learning (skill, subject, language)
  • Productivity (time, tasks, energy)
  • Other (describe)"

Then ask:

  1. "What activities/inputs are involved?" (Get the full list)
  2. "What results/outputs matter?" (Define success)
  3. "Do you have data, or should we estimate?" (Quantify)

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