by Peter Barnett, Director of Executive Education, Shingo Institute
What if I told you that the path to being 37 times better isn't about perfection but persistence? While the idea of small daily improvements sounds inspiring, for many of us, the reality looks more like progress, setbacks, and the occasional cry for help. Sound familiar?
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, teaches that if you can get just 1% better every day, you'll be over 37 times better in one year. The math doesn't lie: 1.01 raised to the power of 365 is nothing short of amazing. But what would you give to actually achieve that level of improvement?
I don't know about you, but when I first heard this idea, I thought it was great in theory—practical? Not so much! My improvement journey looked more like small wins, steady declines, and plenty of cries for help along the way. Have any of you been more successful than me? I sure hope so!
CYCLING EXAMPLE
I love cycling and watching the Tour de France. One of my favorite stories comes from Team Sky, a professional cycling team from Great Britain. For more than 100 years, they had, at best, an average performance—no wins, no breakthroughs, and no signs of that changing anytime soon.
Then, they hired Dave Brailsford, a British cycling coach, and everything changed.
Dave brought with him a simple yet practical philosophy to performance improvement: the theory of marginal gains. In an interview, he described it like 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."
And that's exactly what they did.
HOW DID THEY IMPROVE?
For Team Sky, the goal was clear: win the Tour de France. The key measurement (KPI) was simple—have the rider with the shortest overall time after 21 days of grueling riding.
Here's the surprising part: what they didn't do. They didn't create a flashy slogan or whip up a motivational deck. They didn't rely on positive thinking or visualizations of victory. Instead, they focused on one thing: getting 1% better every day in every single area of their work.
It started with the bikes. They switched to lighter tires, then upgraded to better seats. They even replaced outdoor suits with lighter indoor suits to shave off unnecessary weight. Beyond equipment, Brailsford monitored his cyclists obsessively, identifying and improving their weakest points.
But they didn't stop there. Team Sky found ways to improve in areas no one would expect from a cycling team. They tested which pillows gave riders the best night's sleep and carried them to every competition. They emphasized better hygiene to minimize infections and keep the riders healthy.
All these seemingly tiny 1% improvements led to top-of-the-game results. From 2003 to 2013, the British cyclists won 59 World Championships across different disciplines.
David found powerful principles and then built systems to drive ideal behaviors informed by those principles, enabling them to achieve ideal results. Some of these principles were cycling-specific, but many were the same ones in the Shingo Model. You can see the principles of Think Systemically, Embrace Scientific Thinking, Focus on Process, Seek Perfection, and Create Constancy of Purpose in all of David's work with British Cycling.
WHAT ABOUT US?
How does this concept apply to our work as leaders? What leadership skill can be broken down into smaller, improvable parts that, when combined, drive significant improvement?
Think about critical leadership skills like vision, learning, problem-solving, inspiring others, and business acumen. Each is vital, but only one has the power to multiply itself and create exponential value. Surprisingly, it's also the skill most undervalued by Wall Street, boardrooms, and many leaders, including VPs and CEOs.
That skill is the ability to coach effectively and develop others.
Effective coaching empowers teams to take responsibility for problem-solving and develop skills to solve problems effectively, even when the coach is not present.
Effective coaching empowers teams to take ownership of their problem-solving, equipping them with the skills to address challenges even when the coach isn't there. It's the ultimate multiplier.
One of the key insights from the Shingo Model is this: Principles inform behaviors, and behaviors drive results. Effective coaching behaviors align with the Shingo Guiding Principles:
Coaching is essential to shaping the right behaviors that foster an organizational culture of excellence. Many of you who've attended Shingo Workshops know this firsthand. In these workshops, we teach how to create and manage culture using the Shingo Model, emphasizing that to achieve ideal results, you must understand the behaviors driving those results.
The Shingo Guiding Principles inform these behaviors. Once you've identified the desired behaviors (Key Behavioral Indicators or KBIs), you can design systems to intentionally drive those behaviors.
An organization's culture is the sum of its behaviors. How do you change behaviors? You change the systems that shape them. And how do you improve those systems? Through coaching!
CREATING A CULTURE BUGGER THAN THE LEADER
David Brailsford's coaching and improvement philosophy didn't just lead to victories—it transformed the entire culture of British Cycling and Team Sky. Under his leadership, the team became a force to be reckoned with, winning a staggering six out of seven Tour de France titles between 2012 and 2018. Team riders Chris Froome (four titles), Bradley Wiggins, and Geraint Thomas all reached the pinnacle of cycling.
But then, in 2019, INEOS purchased Team Sky, and David was no longer at the helm as leader and coach. What happened? The team hasn't won a single grand tour since his departure.
This begs an important question: how do we create a culture that doesn't rely on the presence of one exceptional leader? How do we build a culture that endures for generations?
It is possible! The key lies in deepening our understanding and consistent application of the Shingo Guiding Principles. By adopting a coaching approach that drives behaviors aligned with these principles, we can create a culture that transcends any individual leader and becomes self-sustaining.
