The Power of 1% or How to be 37 Times Better Without Even Trying

by Drew Holmes

Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.
— Jim Rohn

I read a fascinating article the other day that confirmed a suspicion I have had for years: great achievements are the aggregate of many small, mundane things.

In his NY Times bestselling book Atomic Habits, James Clear discusses the radical turnaround of the British Cycling Team. Throughout most of the 1900’s they were a mediocre team at best, winning just one Olympic gold (1908) and no Tour de France titles. Things got so bad that a top bicycle manufacturer refused to sell equipment to the team because they did not want to be associated with such mediocrity.

Then something changed.

In 2003 Dave Brailsford was hired as the team’s new performance director. He introduced a philosophy he called “aggregation of marginal gains” which boils down to focusing on improving small things every day. He adjusted the things you would expect (bicycle setups, clothing, etc.) but then took it a step further. He analyzed the best pillows and mattresses for each rider (and carted them to the team hotel each night during The Tour). He even went so far as to paint the inside of the team’s equipment truck white so that errant specks of dirt could be identified before contaminating the gear.

Now, some of these things may sound silly or superfluous, but the results speak for themselves. In 2008 the British team won 60% of the cycling gold medals at the Beijing Olympics. They then followed up with an astounding nine Olympic records and seven World records at the 2012 London games. But the success did not stop there. From 2012–2017 a British cyclist won the Tour de France five out of six years.

Now, you may never be an elite cyclist (few are!) but the principles of what the British team did are the same. Make small changes consistently and over a long enough timeline and the improvements will be significant. Here is how the math works out:

A 1% gain every day for a year works out to about 37% gain annually. The flip side of the coin is that a 1% decrease each day brings the value nearly to zero. Either outcome is possible, and every day we choose our trajectory.

Think about it. As musicians can we do one small thing better every day? Can our ensembles? If we take personal responsibility for finding that one thing the effect can and will magnify itself. When you set the example, you create a culture of seeking that 1%, and everyone will be looking for their own one thing. Habits are formed over time and a habit of incremental improvement will lead to greatness. And the good news is it is only one thing! For example, perfecting the performance of a piece of music is an admirable goal but expecting to do it all at once is a recipe for failure. Perfecting one measure a day over time is the real recipe for success.

I have always said that the performance is not the achievement. The achievement is attaining excellence through consistent effort. The performance is merely the celebration of that accomplishment.

Choosing greatness is not a grandiose action. It is a habit performed daily and over time. Do it for yourself, set the example, and you will be astounded by the results.