How does this rule help you focus you on right problem? For one thing, it gives you a template of where to put your time and resources.

I wish I had known about 20/60/20 rule early in my leadership endeavors. In military and later in other venues, I often gave inordinate amount of attention to people at intractable end. That people were upset with me and my leadership and direction I wanted to take organizations upset me – more than it should have.

I did not know that if you are not getting a portion of people upset with you, you are not challenging them enough as a leader. I did not know that anger of people you lead is door prize of leadership.

Apply 20/60/20 rule to a project you undertook in past. (Remember, those are not exact percentages but approximations.) Which category did you focus your time, attention, and resources on? Was it right category to do so? What would you do differently? How might you have moved people from intractable end to highly motivated end? How did you deal with people in middle, 60 percent? What category demanded your best resources and efforts? What could you have done differently to improve your results?

What are lessons you learned in applying rule to a past project? List at least three specific ones. Now apply 20/60/20 rule to a present leadership effort. This rule is about saving you time, money, and resources and getting you more results to boot. There are several ways to use it. First, as a straight up template.

How might lessons you learned in applying Rule to a past project now help you apply it to this present one?

Focus on one of three categories. How will you expend your time and resources? It does not matter which category you focus on. The importance of rule is that you have option. Without this rule, most leaders scatter their focus.

Don't get caught applying diligent solutions to wrong problems. Apply 20/60/20 Rule, and you'll focus on getting right results in right way at right time.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The latter occurrence can lead to great things happening in your organization; for when you convince not-yets to choose to be your cause leaders, you've not only gained cause leaders but you've also helped persuade fence-sitters to become cause leaders themselves. Here is a process to deal with not-yets.

(1) Define what constitutes each of three groups in 20/60/20 classification. For instance, "cause leadership" can be a determining factor. You will determine which group you think people belong in by ascertaining whether or not they are willing to be your cause leader.

(2) Identify what specific individuals go into each group as defined by determinants: i.e., in this case whether or not they'll be your cause leaders.

For instance, you have 20 percent who are already your cause leaders. 40 percent fence-sitters who haven't made up their minds to be your cause leaders. And 20 percent who are "not-yets" -- who may be trying to stop others from being your cause leaders.

(3) Describe dynamic situation, where these people are tending to move at this point in time.

(4) Institute rewards for positive moments between groups and penalties for negative movements. You may want to reward fence-sitters for becoming cause leaders. And you may want to penalize fence-sitters who start moving toward not-yet group.

(Make sure you differentiate fence-sitters from not-yets. Fence sitters have not made up their minds about whether they should be cause leaders. The not-yets, at least for now, categorically refuse to be cause leaders.)

(5) Isolate not-yets. Leaving not-yets alone may encourage them in their ways. So, you must make sure not-yets pay a price for their choice. If you find you are expending an excess of time and resources trying to persuade them to join your cause, then isolate them. Recognize, however, there is a delicate art to isolating them. Attempting to isolate them too quickly or harshly can harden their attitudes against you and may rally other people to their side.

You can isolate them in three ways: (A) Through penalties -- making sure penalties are fair and, equally important, are seen to be fair by others. (B) Through recognition -- making sure that they are known to others as being not-yets. (C) Through "a rising tide"-- making sure you celebrate your successes and use those successes to draw in more cause leaders, which will create a rising tide that can carry along even not-yets.

(6) Measure and monitor your progress and theirs.

This process is not linear but a circle, more accurately a spiral. Keep working it.

Every leader is afflicted with bad actors. Make sure you avoid using label and then use this process to neutralize their destructive influence and even turn them on to your cause. Who knows? You may turn bad actors into great performers.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.