The Aggregation of Marginal Gains

The British Cycling team were a mediocre cycling team for over a century coming into the early 2000s. Then they hired Dave Brailsford as their Performance Director.

Dave Brailsford had learnt about “The Aggregation of Marginal Gains” during his time in business school and believed in the idea that small gains would compound to create large impact.

So, Brailsford and his team began looking for small 1% improvements that included-

• Redesigned bike seats that were more comfortable
• Alcohol rubbed tires for a better grip.
• Electrically heated overshorts to maintain ideal muscle temperature while riding
• Biofeedback sensors to monitor how each athlete responded to a particular workout.
• Lighter/more aerodynamic fabrics
• Better massage gels for faster recovery
• Took their own pillows and mattresses to events to ensure the best night’s sleep
• Painted the inside of the team truck white – helping them spot little bits of dust that would normally slip by unnoticed but could degrade the performance of the finely tuned bikes.
• Hiring a surgeon who taught riders how to wash their hands and avoid illness

Each of these changes were small. But the compound impact of all of this led to the British team dominating the Tour de France and Olympic cycling events for a decade.

Compounding small changes -> Incredible results.

Never underestimate the power of aggregating marginal gains.