The insignificant
Most of us have a habit of turning a blind eye to the little things (Life's busy as is, so why bother with the items that are insignificant)
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Is it even worth reading for 10 mins a day?
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Does practising playing a musical instrument for just 15 mins a day really amount to anything?
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and so on... which seem to give us a marginal result.
Not so insignificant
Aggregation
Multiple small gains quickly add up. 20 dollars may not seem like a big saving, but when we add 10 such insignificant savings together, it doesn't seem negligible anymore. (for most of us)
Imagine the impact the aggregate of multiple such insignificant gains occurring over a period of time would have.
This is the principle of The aggregation of Marginal Gains
Now add to this the power of compounding overtime.
Power of compounding
Imagine that a plane's compass is off by just a few degrees.
Every second, the plane is continuing to travel further in the wrong direction.
And if this plane travels a few thousand kilometers, it will probably end up in a different country, forget reaching destination.
This is exactly how a sustained compounding gain/loss impacts us.
When we do an activity over a sustained period of time, the results are compounded.
Based on the mathematics of compounding:
1% improvement everyday amounts to about 37 times the result at the end of an year.
Which means, as an example, if a plant which is 1 meter in height, grew by 1% everyday, this tree would be a massive 37 meters by the end of just 1 year!
This is exactly how our habits impact us in the long run.
The aggregation of Marginal Gains & Compounding
Applying this principle in our life and improving just 1% across multiple spheres, will completely transform us in a few months.
Example of applying it to our life:
- 1% improvement in exercise time
- 1% improvement in reducing junk food
- 1% improvement in time spent learning
- 1% improvement in savings
- ...
A disciplined commitment with a follow through at regular intervals to take stock and recalibrate the 1% based on current amounts to what is practically feasible will lead to astonishing results.
Example of applying it to an organization for an overall transformation:
- 1% improvement in the employee satisfaction every month
- 1% improvement in profitability every month
- 1% improvement in customer satisfaction every month
- ...
The applications are endless - financial planning, project management, organization - culture, capability, capacity or profits etc;
Choose wisely
Nature does not distinguish between good and bad and returns all efforts in equal abundance.
The same law applies to our negative habits as well, to drag us down at equal pace.
Excerpt: (Refer book below - Atomic Habits)
"But when we repeat 1 percent errors, day after day, by replicating poor decisions, duplicating tiny mistakes, and rationalizing little excuses, our small choices compound into toxic results. It's the accumulation of many missteps — a 1 percent decline here and there that eventually leads to a problem."
References
David Brailsford
The philosophy of the aggregation of marginal gains was pioneered by David Brailsford
He used this concept to improve the British cycling team and the team went on to win 50 World Championships across different disciplines from 2003 to 2013.
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results - James Clear
https://books.apple.com/au/audiobook/atomic-habits/id1440958277
The Compound Effect: Darren Hardy
https://books.apple.com/au/audiobook/the-compound-effect/id1633215627