Is a 1% improvement ever worth the effort? – SCN Encourager 5/8/2014

You’d hardly think so.

Even when school districts squeeze budgets and dig deep to afford a 1% pay increase for staff, I sometimes wonder if I’m missing what all of the excitement is about.

Whether you’re talking about compensation or grade-level student achievement targets, a stated increase of only 1% in anything seems ridiculously small and insignificant.

What ever happened to charting out big leaps, giant strides, and monumental actions?

Don’t you worry every once in awhile that we’re becoming way too comfortable in setting our goals way too low?

I do.

And it’s difficult to know what to do about it.

I ran across this article by James Clear that shook me out of haphazardly “pooh-poohing” baby step strategies.

Here it is for you to check out.

Clear is a brilliant writer and his essay about the 1% difference is sure to poke your current thinking a bit.

At least he’ll challenge your math skills… as the difference between -1% and +1% is greater than its exact margin of 2 when extended over time.

Teams – or individuals –  who commit to making strategic, regular, and disciplined “1% improvements” will often surprise even themselves by their progress.

Clear’s article illustrates that when it comes to achieving results, STEADY AND PURPOSEFUL always beats TRENDY AND OVER-THE-TOP.

This comes as very good news!

To follow a “trendy and over-the-top” path is a laughable impossibility for me.

And although the alternate “steady and purposeful” course may still be equally laughable, at least (on a good day) I can imagine it as “borderline probable.”

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