How 1% Improvements Compound Into Significant Change: Building Success Through Marginal Gains

When we recognize a need for significant change within our organization, we often dismiss the value of small improvements.

It is true that a small adjustment on its own is not enough when the need is great. However, multiple small changes over time can have a big impact.

This approach to creating organizational change is known as Marginal Gains. The concept of Marginal Gains was popularized by Sir David Brailsford, the former performance director of British Cycling. Brailsford used this theory to revolutionize competitive professional cycling in Great Britain – taking a bottom of the barrel cycling program to a global powerhouse.

Aggregation of 1% Improvements to Transform British Cycling

Can the paint color of walls and floors improve athletic performance?

The answer for British Cycling was yes.

British Cycling, formerly the British Cycling Federation, is the national governing body for the sport of cycling in Great Britain. The organization administers most competitive cycling events in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. It also supports riders representing Great Britian on the international stage.

Historically, the national team had next to no success at any level or in any event. The national team struggled to earn sponsorships. Brands didn’t want to work with British Cycling in fear of their products being associated with failure.

In 2003, Brailsford took over as performance director at British Cycling. By this point, British Cycling had been largely unsuccessful for nearly a century. His role was to make British cyclers better on the world stage.

To accomplish his mandate, Brailsford decided to implement a change philosophy he called the “aggregation of marginal gains.” Rather than aiming for one major breakthrough change, he would make the team better through continuous, tiny improvements to every aspect of performance. To do this, he would look at every factor that could possibly affect cycling performance, breaking each factor down into the smallest possible component parts. He would then figure out ways to improve each of those identified individual components.

Brailsford explained this approach to change on a British Morning television show as this:

“The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.”

For British Cycling, these small changes ranged from the obvious – better nutrition for cyclers, stronger training, better recovery techniques, investing in more aerodynamic cycling equipment – to the far less obvious.

For example, Brailsford had cyclers travel with the same mattress and bedding for every competition to ensure consistent sleep quality no matter where the cyclers were in the world. British Cycling also taught handwashing techniques to cyclers reduce illness. And British Cycling painted the inside of the containers where bikes and other equipment was stored white. The idea was that the light paint color would enable dust and dirt to be identified more easily, ensuring the bikes remained in good condition.

There are many more changes Brailsford implemented at British Cycling. However, the idea remained that no matter how small an improvement was, that small improvement was worth investing in. Those consistent marginal improvements would compound over time – ultimately leading to greater success.

So, what impact did these small changes have for British Cycling?

In 2004, Team Great Britian (GB) won two gold medals in cycling at the Olympics, their best performance since 1908. But it didn’t stop there. Under Brailsford’s leadership, British Cycling continued to improve across multiple competitions. Team GB led the medal table in 2008 and 2012, winning 16 gold medals over these two Olympic Games. During the same time period, British cyclists also won 59 World Championships across different formats of cycling.

The implementation of marginal gains revolutionized British Cycling. Gradually, as more learned about and implemented this change theory, the marginal gains approach became standard practice for many sports organizations.

From the Cycling World to the Business World

There is power in small improvements. Over time, small changes can have a big impact.

As Sir Brailsford shared and popularized the marginal gains approach to organizational change, what became clear is that this approach is just as effective in business as it is in sport.

Some of the world’s most successful companies have embraced the principle of marginal gains as part of their core philosophy. For example, Amazon has consistently refined its logistics, user interface, and customer service by focusing on small, measurable improvements. When accumulated, the changes have resulted in one of the most efficient retail systems in the world. Google also constantly updates its search algorithm with small refinements to improve user experience, rather than relying on drastic changes.

When companies break down aspects of their business into smaller parts and try to improve each one by just 1%, companies can create a much larger, compounded change. One small improvement might not be noticeable in isolation. However, if an organization makes 50 or 100 of these 1% improvements, over time these tiny upgrades can lead to major results.

There are a number of benefits of the marginal gains approach to organizational change. This method enables us to approach organizational change in a more manageable way. We do not need orchestrate significant change all at once; rather we can focus our energy on small, strategic enhancements that compound over time. When we begin to look at possible improvements on a granular level, it becomes much easier to implement and advance organizational change. Moreover, unlike costly overhauls or sweeping strategy shifts, marginal improvements are typically low-cost and simple to execute.

The marginal gains approach also builds a natural momentum for change, as success in one area of the business inspires others to find their own opportunities for micro-improvements. Over time, these small changes drive significant increases in output, efficiency, and innovation – paving the way for long-term success.

So, how can you begin to think about making marginal gains in your organization?

The starting point is to ask simple but powerful questions about key workflows: What barriers or challenges are affecting our ability to do our work effectively? What small adjustments could be made to address those barriers or challenges now? What small thing could we do better or differently to accomplish our goals?

By encouraging teams to regularly identify and act on these micro-improvements, every team can become an agent of change. Organizations can begin to document the impact of these small changes individual teams are making. Sharing, celebrating, and building upon those gains will enable the organization to think about the next set of small improvements that can be made to achieve further gains.

Over time, these consistent efforts create compounding benefits – turning small wins into a major change that enables long-term success.