The 1% rule

[borntosucceed]

I went to a one day seminar recently and one of the presenters was talking about the 1% rule. I found the concept very interesting and will implement this in many areas in my life.

What it means is just do 1% better or more each day. For instance be 1% more effectiv each day and in 100 days you have doubled your effectiness. Most people think I can not double my output, it is just not possible. When you cut this into small junks it becomes much easier and within a short time you have doubled your output.

I started working on my effectiness, I know it a challenge to measure this but I am doing small things every day to improve.

[Taikin]

Good rule, in business studies this is easily likened to Kaizen circles as part of Continuous Improvement. It's one of the explanations for why the Japanese became an economic super-power so quickly after their devastation in WW2.

[Amadeus]

You'll be better than 100 percent because of compounding. Your 1 percent 50 days into it is worth more than 1 percent on the 2nd day.

[maxdof]

...unless your are 0 productive, or counter productive...

[JimOfferman]

If you increase your productivity 1% every day over the preceding day, you actually only need 70 days to double your output... so you can take those last 30 days off and enjoy some down time!

But it is a cool rule - thanks for posting!

[maxdof]

It is like: if there is place for two, there is for three!
etc.. but there is a limit.

What do you try to increase here? Productivity? Effectiveness? Efficiency?

If it is productivity, you will reach your limit (a day has only 24h... it is fixed and doesn't extend by 1% every day you will reach it...)

[borntosucceed]

Originally Posted by maxdof

If it is productivity, you will reach your limit (a day has only 24h... it is fixed and doesn't extend by 1% every day you will reach it...)

Yes interesting how we sometime limit ourselves. But how can you change your current processes to free up some time. For example start handling phone calls more effectively so you spend less time on the phone, you can start speed reading, write shorter emails etc.

[borntosucceed]

Originally Posted by JimOfferman

If you increase your productivity 1% every day over the preceding day, you actually only need 70 days to double your output... so you can take those last 30 days off and enjoy some down time!

But it is a cool rule - thanks for posting!

Yes you are right, well the calculation part of the brain didn't work late at night.

[maxdof]

Originally Posted by borntosucceed

Yes interesting how we sometime limit ourselves. But how can you change your current processes to free up some time. For example start handling phone calls more effectively so you spend less time on the phone, you can start speed reading, write shorter emails etc.

Time is not compactable so you will reach a limit.
And when you will be writing only by acronym, you will have a limit too.

I am playing here with the definition of production, effeciency and effectiveness.


Production: the act or process of producing something.
For a pure producer: Output = Input

Efficiency: the ratio of the output to the input of any system
Ouput = Efficiency x Input

Efficteveness: Ability to achieve stated goals or objectives, judged in terms of both output and impact.
Output = Efficiency x Input + Impact
or Output = (Efficiency + Impact) x Input
or whatever you see what I mean.

"A producer can invest one hour of effort and produce one unit of results, assuming no loss of
efficiency.
A manager, on the other hand, can invest one hour of effort and produce 10 or 50 or 100 units
through effective delegation. "
Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People


So,

• if you focus only on your production, you will have a limit which will appear soon enough. When you propose to work faster, read faster, stay longer at work, write shorter emails, you increase production. This is not enough, bebacuse
• If you focus on efficiency, you have more leverage.
• And if you focus on effectiveness, the limit is hardly measurable

Btw, are you a producer, a manager, or a leader?
"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall." Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People


What did you seminar say? To increase what? Productivity, efficiency, effictivenes?

[borntosucceed]

The main message the presenter of the seminar wanted to bring across is that by improving a little bit every day it will make a big difference over the course of a whole year.

An example could be a sales person making 100 sales calls a day. They convert 5% or 5 sales each day. There target for the next 70 days is to double it. Rather than starting to make 200 calls a day, they can start increasing the call volume by 1% each day.


Obviously there is a limit and you can't do this indefinetly but you can better your result until you reach your new target.

I am sure everyone finds different situations in their lives where they can apply the 1% rule.

[maxdof]

Yes, it is pretty interesting.