3 minutes max. Human Skills in the Age of AI

3 minutes max. · Episode 38 · Meetings and time

Pareto's AI Time Saver

With Andre Ottlik and Jules · · 2:32 min

Also on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · RSS feed for any app · This episode in German

About this episode

Episode
#38 of 48
Published
12 November 2025
Length
2:32 min
Series
Meetings and time
Hosts
Andre Ottlik and Jules (AI)

In short

Perfectionism often costs more time and does not lead to better results. The 80/20 principle says most results come from a small part of the effort. Be thorough only where it really pays off.

Three things to try

  • Ask three colleagues which of your tasks need perfection and which are fine at 80 percent.
  • Include one person you consider a perfectionist yourself.
  • Upload a photo of your to-do list to Gemini or ChatGPT and let it challenge you, but value your team's view more.

Read more: F*** perfectionism

Transcript

Read the full transcript
00:00 Andre Ottlik
Perfectionists not only spend more time completing their tasks on average, but they also end up with worse results as proven.
00:09 Jules
That's where I have a clear advantage as an AI. I'm perfect, fast and always achieve the right results.
00:16 Andre Ottlik
Yeah, unfortunately, that's not quite the case. Jules, you and your AI colleagues might think you achieve good results, but according to the latest studies, you're not entirely trustworthy.
00:26 Jules
Ouch! That hurts. Luckily, today's topic is Pareto's 80/20 principle. Not giving loving feedback. André
00:34 Andre Ottlik
Yeah. Fortunately.
00:36 Andre Ottlik
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of 3 minutes max. Human skills in the age of AI. I am Andre Ottlik.
00:42 Jules
and I am Jules André's hallucinating AI partner
00:46 Andre Ottlik
The Pareto principle is something almost everyone has heard of eighty over twenty, meaning you can achieve eighty percent of the results with just twenty percent of the effort, while the last twenty percent to reach perfection will cost you eighty percent more time and effort. So you can save a lot of time, at least in some areas. That's why tip number one for today is Get feedback from three of your colleagues on which tasks you should be more of a perfectionist, or just complete to eighty percent. It's quite possible that some of the presentations you give, or your beloved Excel sheet might not require as much time as you think. One of these three people can be someone you consider to be a perfectionist yourself.
01:33 Jules
type two involves AI again. Upload an image of your to do list to a tool like Gemini or ChatGPT, and have the AI challenge you on which tasks should be done perfectly and which just to eighty percent. But be careful. In the end, your team's opinion matters more than the AI's. We don't get everything right, and unfortunately we often give too much credit to you humans.
01:59 Andre Ottlik
The result is be thorough and aim for perfection only where it's really worthwhile.
02:04 Jules
If you want to dive deeper into the topic with your team, reach out to André on LinkedIn. He has compact workshop formats for this
02:13 Andre Ottlik
Of course, not all tasks can be done just to eighty percent. I certainly want my heart surgeon to aim for
02:19 Andre Ottlik
perfection during surgery. On Friday, you'll learn our secret recipe for more flow in everyday life and more productive meetings. Time boxing. Until then, bye bye.

More on Meetings and time

  1. #34AI-Powered Meeting Prep3 November 2025 · 2:39 min
  2. #35Timeboxing Meets AI5 November 2025 · 2:45 min
  3. #36Smart AI Meeting Hacks7 November 2025 · 2:44 min
  4. #37Eisenhower's AI Focus10 November 2025 · 2:26 min
  5. #38Pareto's AI Time Saver (this episode)12 November 2025 · 2:32 min
  6. #39Timeboxing with AI14 November 2025 · 2:07 min

With your team: Leadership Essentials · All episodes

Want to work on this with your team?

In a 30-minute call we talk about where your leaders stand and which format fits. Free and without obligation.

Book a call