Compounding

Vitally Important, Rarely Taught Series

My son recently gifted me the book - “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman. It’s a 400+ page book in a small print and I knew I just didn’t have the time to read it. My normal instinct was to set the book aside to read later.

But the book had been on my reading list for quite some time. After some thought, I asked myself - what if I commit to reading only a few pages each day, without feeling pressured to complete the book quickly?

Some simple math of dividing 400 by 4 pages daily led me to the magic number of 100 days. 😀

It’s been a week now and the method is working wonders.

However, there is a downside to reading just 4 pages a day. Some ideas may not be fully explored within 4 pages, leading to a lack of continuity. To overcome this, I highlight as I read and I review the highlighted portion from the previous day before starting the next day’s reading.

This is a simple yet powerful formula. It involves, thinking long term and snowballing your efforts [aka compounding].

As a snowball rolls down a hill, it accumulates more snow along the way, steadily increasing in size. Similarly, we can start with a small action or initiative and then allow it to gain momentum. Our efforts get compounded over time, resulting in greater success.

I wish the power of compounding was taught to children in schools, as opposed to the current emphasis on short-term performance. [the next assignment, the next test etc.]

This inclination towards short-term thinking becomes a habit and often persists in our professional lives. We find ourselves constantly operating in crisis management mode. We rarely set goals that will take 5-10 years to achieve.

"Compounding is about the aggregation of marginal gains. It's not about making a single change that leads to a remarkable result, but rather about making a series of small changes consistently that accumulate into remarkable results." - James Clear

To illustrate this idea let me quickly share the story of the British cycling team which I first came across in the book - Atomic Habits.

The Magic of 1%

British cycling had won just one Olympic gold medal between 1908 and 2002 and no British cyclist had ever won the prestigious Tour De France. In 2003, their new performance director, Dave Brailsford, implemented a new strategy - “the aggregation of marginal gains”. This approach is rooted in seeking incremental improvements in every aspect of our work.

Dave and his team took apart all the contributing factors - from the bike seat to the pillow the riders used - and studied them closely for improvement tweaks. The idea was simple. If they could achieve 1% continuous improvements in these factors then the accumulation of gains will be compounded.

After 5 years of dedicated work the results were mind-blowing and the world was in disbelief. They won a total of 14 gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the next 2012 London Olympics the Brits set 9 Olympic and 7 world records. In that same year, Bradley Wiggins achieved the historic feat of becoming the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France. From 2007 to 2017, British cyclists amassed 178 world championships, 66 Olympic gold medals, and five Tour de France victories.

It’s hard to believe that a series of tiny improvements can accumulate into such remarkable results. Yet, it requires sustained efforts over an extended duration.

In Dave’s words, “Forget about perfection; focus on progression, and compound the improvements.”

What can we learn from this?

It’s easy to imagine that sudden leaps are how we make our impact.

We often believe that significant accomplishments require major one-time effort. Yet, in practice, making small, consistent improvements can be more effective in achieving our goals, whether they relate to personal health, professional success, or any other pursuit.

Although a one percent improvement may seem insignificant in the short term, its cumulative effect over time can be substantial and lead to remarkable outcomes. The key takeaway about small improvements is well summed by Jim Rohn.

Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. —Jim Rohn

We can apply the idea of compounding in every aspect of our life - from investment to weight loss (or gain 😀) to learning.

Gautam Baid in his book - The Joys of Compounding - says, “Books are truly life changing, particularly once you’ve developed the habit of reading every day while watching your every thought. The neural connections that “compound” through the effort will make you an entirely new person”

When we think of compounding, our first thought is about investment. And who can teach us better about growing our money than Warren Buffet. In fact Warren calls compounding the eighth wonder of the world.

Let me therefore end this post by a genie story Warren once told. Here is the excerpt from his biography - “The Snowball”.

Let's say that when I turned sixteen, a genie had appeared to me. And that genie said, "Warren, I'm going to give you the car of your choice. It'll be here tomorrow morning with a big bow tied on it. Brand-new. And it's all yours."

Having heard all the genie stories, I would say, "What's the catch?" And the genie would answer, "There's only one catch. This is the last car you're ever going to get in your life. So it's got to last a lifetime."

If that had happened, I would have picked out that car. But, can you imagine, knowing it had to last a lifetime, what I would do with it?

I would read the manual about five times. I would always keep it garaged. If there was the least little dent or scratch, I'd have it fixed right away because I wouldn't want it rusting. I would baby that car, because it would have to last a lifetime.

That's exactly the position you are in concerning your mind and body. You only get one mind and one body. And it's got to last a lifetime. Now, it's very easy to let them ride for many years. But if you don't take care of that mind and that body, they'll be a wreck forty years later, just like the car would be.

It's what you do right now, today, that determines how your mind and body will operate ten, twenty, and thirty years from now.

Every action adds up. Everything compounds!!