THE SLIGHT EDGE

Often, it takes only a reasonably small difference in effort to make a huge difference in results. Consider what happens when you raise the temperature of water by one little degree from 211º to 212 ºF. Raising the temperature of water by that one degree is enough to change a liquid that is simply very hot to a force that can power a giant steam engine.

This phenomenon in which a relatively small increase in energy can make a dramatic difference in results is not limited to physics. We can see a similar effect taking place around us all the time in the outcomes people achieve, whereby a slight increase in performance—the slight edge—produces results far out of proportion to the additional energy expended.

If we look at two of auto racing’s prime events: the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500, the average prize money of the winners of both events combined from 1995 to 2005 was $1,278,813. The average prize money for the second place finishers was $621,321, less than half. The average difference in finishing times between the winners and those who finished second was 1.54 seconds, reflecting a decrease in winnings of over $425,000 for every second a number two driver finished behind the winner.

In golf during the years 2000 through 2004, the winners of the four major golf tournaments (U.S Open, British Open, PGA Championship and the Masters) earned 76% more in prize money than did the players that came in second. Furthermore, less than three strokes per tournament separated the winners from the second place finishers in all of these tournaments played between 1980 and 2004. Jack Nicklaus, who is considered the greatest Masters champion of all time, won that tournament a record six times with four of those six victories coming by single stroke margins.

During the 2004 Summer Olympic Games the margin of victory in the men’s 800 meter event was 0.71 seconds. In the women’s long jump it was 11 centimeters. The slight edge effect appears in many other sports as well. Clearly legendary coach Vince Lombardi was right when he said, “Inches make a champion.”

More important for us, however, is that we can take advantage of the principle of the slight edge in virtually any area of our lives. The teacher who genuinely inspires her students isn't necessarily tremendously more talented and committed than one who doesn't. The salesperson who earns twice the income of another doesn’t necessarily work twice as many hours. The manager who gets promoted over another colleague probably doesn’t demonstrate vastly superior capabilities, and the business owner who enjoys a high degree of customer loyalty is probably not someone who provides an enormously better level of customer value and service.

The differentiating factor in all these situations and in the sports examples described above has to do with being a little bit better consistently over time.

There is no magic to the slight edge; anyone can take advantage of it. The key to achieving the slight edge is to identify the fundamental elements for success in an endeavor and then applying a disciplined, concentrated focus on executing them.

While not everyone can succeed in developing it to the point of being able to dominate a particular sport, field or enterprise, there is no denying that developing a slight edge in personal performance can have a significant, if not dramatic, impact on the results we desire