Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 314 | Strategy & Business Model Section | 3

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since September 2017 | Week 314 | September 15-21, 2023

Why The Best Performing Companies Behave Like A Cycling Team

By Roger Trapp | Forbes Magazine | September 21, 2023

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

Back in the early years of this century, the U.K. had gone years without any real success in the sport of track cycling. Then, along came David Brailsford, a former professional cyclist who happened to have an MBA. As an article in the Harvard Business Review recounts, he transformed a team that had won a single gold medal in 76 years of trying into a superpower that won seven of the 10 gold medals available at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and then matched it four years later in London.

Fascinated by Kaizen and the idea of continuous improvement, Brailsford, who was knighted for his achievements and went on to lead a highly successful British team in the Tour de France, has attributed the success to “marginal gains.” His theory was that, rather than focusing on some big goal, the team could get ahead of its rival by breaking down the mechanics of cycling and seeking to improve each element. In the HBR article, he tells the interviewer what this entailed. “By experimenting in a wind tunnel, we searched for small improvements to aerodynamics. By analyzing the mechanics area in the team truck, we discovered that dust was accumulating on the floor, undermining bike maintenance. So we painted the floor white, in order to spot any impurities. We hired a surgeon to teach our athletes about proper hand-washing so as to avoid illnesses during competition (we also decided not to shake any hands during the Olympics). We were precise about food preparation. We brought our own mattresses and pillows so our athletes could sleep in the same posture every night. We searched for small improvements everywhere and found countless opportunities. Taken together, we felt they gave us a competitive advantage.”

Clearly, this is a prize worth having — like all those gold medals. But how can business executives get their hands on it? PwC reckons it boils down to three key things.

1. Making mutually reinforcing decisions in their business, operating and technology models.
2. Continuously reducing friction, both within the business and outside with customers and partners.
3. Ensuring leaders are up to the task and able to recognise and act on threats and opportunities.

Outperforming in a highly competitive world requires a relentless, obsessional mindset — much like that needed to be successful in elite sport. For the truth is that the real winners know that they can never stand still, but must be forever improving — and that focus takes them further and further away from the others.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. David Brailsford transformed a team of track cycling that had won a single gold medal in 76 years of trying into a superpower that won seven of the 10 gold medals available at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and then matched it four years later in London.
2. Fascinated by Kaizen and the idea of continuous improvement, Brailsford  has attributed the success to “marginal gains.” His theory was that, rather than focusing on some big goal, the team could get ahead of its rival by breaking down the mechanics of cycling and seeking to improve each element.
3. Business executives can get their hands on it by following  three key things:  making mutually reinforcing decisions in their business, operating and technology models; continuously reducing friction, both within the business and outside with customers and partners; and ensuring leaders are up to the task and able to recognise and act on threats and opportunities.

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Topics:  Strategy, Leadership, Kaizen