In praise of incrementalism : Marginal Gains can become huge improvements

Business success is rarely "the next big thing". More often than-not its a constant series of incremental improvements that in aggregate can lead to tremendous gains.

I love Freakonomics radio and just listened to one of their episodes from late last year In Praise of Incrementalism. This story isn't new and has been told many times before, from HBR to the BBC often using the example of how a marginal gains methodology took British Cycling from 76 years of nearly nothing to dominating the sport. Hearing the story again made me reflect about the business conditions of today and the constant survival of the fittest battle for survival. It struck me that winning is so much less about the next big innovative product or service and more about constantly improving all facets of the business so you can exploit small, temporary competitive advantages. Nothing is new for long and everything is copied and improved so quickly; to survive you must have a culture that rewards and encourages constant innovative and incremental improvements. And not just in the shiny consumer facing aspects of the business, but everything. The cycling team approach looked at everything from posture, to tires, to sleep, to food, to hand-washing, to mattresses in the hotels. In business it's like making you apply this innovative approach to finance, HR, facilities, sales, marketing, brands, technology, etc. It's the entire ecosystem that makes success. Disruptive growth is still important, but don't lose sight of the relentless focus on improving everything. Great things come from small beginnings.

Ask yourself, will you be better tomorrow than you are today?