I agree with the article for the most part but I think it's academic. Anyone who was willing to stop at 20% of their effort and "accept the B" isn't interested

I agree with the article for the most part but I think it's academic. Anyone who was willing to stop at 20% of their effort and "accept the B" isn't interested in being extraordinary. While anyone who wants to be extraordinary is going to put everything they've got into what they do regardless. So the 80/20 rule is only really of use for those whose goal is to get by on the "mediocre trap" level (which isn't necessarily a bad thing btw. A lot of people are happy to be average at their job and put their focus on personal life and without those average folks the extraordinary wouldn't be so special)