A “Pareto” Man + A “Quick Win” Woman = A Perfect Union

Posted on | January 15, 2008 |

A while ago Pinyo at Moolanomy was busy educating his readers about the Pareto Principle and a concept called Quick Wins.  I love learning new things, especially when I can relate them in some way to my own life and experiences.  When I read about Quick Wins and then backtracked to learn about the Pareto Principle, I had one of those ever-wonderful “ah ha!” moments.

My husband was not familiar with the term Pareto Principle but it’s a concept that is second nature to him.  Here’s a man whose entire life’s philosophy is, “don’t sweat the small stuff.”  He never thinks about how to save an extra dollar or two.  And he has no interest in pursuing an extra buck or two of income.  He goes straight for the gold — how can he save hundreds, if not thousands; how can he earn hundreds and thousands more.

Now, you might expect me to go on to describe The Husband as a big-picture kind of guy.  He’s not.  He’s a down-to-earth, feet-flat-on-the-ground plugger.  He’s a one-detail-at-a-time kind of guy.  I guess that’s no surprise since his background is applied mathematics.

The Husband doesn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in his body.  He knows exactly how much his time is worth and knows, therefore, that he can earn a lot more in an hour of work than he is likely to save in an hour no matter how good the deal.

I, on the other hand, am a Quick Wins woman.  My lifestyle and personality are better suited to finding the quick and easy ways of saving money or, as equally important, maximizing value on money spent.   I’m the one who sweats all the small stuff.

I love researching products; I love evaluating pros and cons; and, as I rarely get more than 1/2 hour of uninterrupted time, I love finding quick and easy “wins.”   

I’m the big-picture part of the team.  I’m the one who likes to look at all 5,328 ways to approach a problem and evaluate which solution will provide the most desirable results. I take pleasure in knowing price points and sale cycles, ie. when it’s worthwhile to delay a purchase or go across town for it or if we’re better off paying just a higher price right here and now.

Our strengths complement each other; we don’t duplicate efforts and we don’t step on each other’s toes.  Together, as Pareto Principle Man and Quick Wins Woman, we make a great team

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