As we struggle through these difficult economic times, there are two things I want to share with you that can help you not just survive, but get a leg up on your competition. Those two things are:

• changing your management style
• and the 80/20 rule.

Many managers use a reactive style of management. They believe that their job is to resolve problems when they arise. While that is true, it is only the lesser part of the job. It is more important that a manager learn how to prevent problems. This is the difference between reactive management, which solves problems as they occur, and predictive management, which tries to prevent many problems from arising in the first place. The article Good Management Is Predictive Management explains the difference and shows you how to improve your predictive management skills. You will not get through the current situation just by reacting. You need to be focused on predicting.

And speaking of focused, the Pareto's Principle, also called the 80/20 Rule, says that 20 percent of something always is responsible for 80 percent of the results. Twenty percent of the agents sell eighty percent of the properties; twenty percent of the products have eighty percent of the flaws. Quality Management pioneer, Dr. Joseph Juran, called the phenomenon "vital few and trivial many". The article Pareto's Principle - The 80/20 Rule explains the 80/20 Rule in more detail and tells how you can use it to manage more effectively.

Use caution when you apply this principle. Remember it is a "principle" not a "law", but it is a good way for managers to stay focused on the few important issues and not get lost in the volume of information and tasks that try to take over our days.