Marginal Gains: the algorithm. . .

One of my favourite aspects of the weekend is running through the Financial Times Weekend Magazine … particularly Tim Harford ’s “Intellect” article.?

This weekend was no different, other than it coincided with me finishing reading Elon Musk’s autobiography by Walter Isaacson .

?

As we head into the second week of the new year, many of us are trying to implement New Year’s resolutions, and this was the theme of Tim Harford ’s article in FT weekend magazine - in particular whether we should be adding positive behaviours (e.g. exercise) or removing negative behaviours (e.g. smoking)…?

?It was his reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s quote: “perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away…” that made me think of Musk - specifically his 5-step “algorithm”:

1. Question every requirement?- especially requirements that come from smart people as these are the least likely to be questioned! Then make the requirements ‘less dumb’ - or, test the assumptions!?
2. Delete any parts of process you can?- noting that if you do not add back at least 10% of them, you didn’t delete enough! This is ultimately about subtraction - a widely undervalued habit in management. (“Subtraction is seldom considered a big change lever. In large organisations, people know they'll be noticed for what they add, not for what they subtract. Subtraction also doesn't come naturally to most people.” -?MIT professor Zeynep Ton ).
3. Simplify and optimise?- only when you have run through steps one and two can you start simplifying and optimising parts of your processes… This order of steps protects you from doing unnecessary work - specifically it keeps you from improving parts of processes that you don’t actually need. Musk loathes the idea that time is spent simplifying and optimising a process that should not exist.?
4. Accelerate cycle time -?this step is all about speed. It's about finding ways to speed up your processes - Musk believes that every process can be accelerated - but this should only be done after having followed the first three steps. Musk is candid in the book that, in the Tesla factory, he mistakenly spent a lot of time accelerating processes that he later realised should have been deleted.
5. Automate?- once you have clarity about your processes and have deleted any unnecessary parts to speed them up, it is time to look at what can be automated.

I think this could be a pretty good heuristic for life too… we're all so busy that sometimes it’s important to stop and question if we really need to be doing certain things (question the requirements)… and once we’ve completed that sense check, we can perhaps start to delete a few things from our daily lives.

But that’s easier said than done - as Zeynep Ton points out, subtraction doesn't come naturally to most people.

Harford also refers to Leidy Klotz (author of?Subtract: the untapped science of less) who suggests the ‘reverse pilot’: rather than temporarily trying something new, temporarily stop doing something and see what happens.?

This is where I think Musk’s algorithm comes into play: don’t start by impulsively subtracting, start by looking at your daily routine & understanding what you do that adds little-to-no value to your day - what are your ‘dumb requirements’??

Once you identify one or two of these, delete! (If it turns out not to be such a dumb requirement that’s fine - you can add it back in, remember).

Once you’ve found one or two things that you don’t need to be doing, you can focus on simplifying and optimising the remaining (value-add) activities - and speeding them up where possible.?

The last step - to automate - could be something as simple as automating some admin tasks…?

Coming back to New Year’s resolutions… too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily basis.?

Whether you are trying to get fitter, build a business, write a book, or achieve some other goal, rather than putting excessive pressure on yourself to make a 'massive' improvement focus on marginal gains: improving regularly by 1% can be far more impactful in the long run.?

If you can get 1% better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done...?

And if you subtract something that you can live without from your daily life, you’ll have a little extra time to focus on that daily 1% improvement in a more value-add area of your life!?