During the Nagano Winter Olympics eight years ago I analyzed the times in the downhkll ski race and arrived at what came to be known as the Rule of 1.6%.
Eight years later my rule has once again been validated.
In the woman’s downhill the time differential from first place to tenth place was less than 1.6% in a race that took a minute and 40 seconds. Think about that. Think hard about that. A race down a mountain that takes just under 2 minutes has a 1.6% differential between first place (Gold) and tenth place (who was that skier?) There is more evidence.
Switching over to the ice, Shani David missed his opportunity to win his third Gold Medal in as many Olympics. He missed by .73 seconds. I said Point Seven Three. He skated 1000 meters and was less than one second behind the Gold Medal Winner. Shani Davis came in eight. 1,2,3,4,,5,6,7,….. eigth. (Incredible!) I could go on.
Message: It does not take much to distance yourself from the competition in the Olympics … or in your business. Find ways that you can be just a little bit faster, better, more valuable to your client. Honestly, it doesn’t take much.