Marksmanship

Tony Robbins is one of the world’s most renowned life and business coaches. He was once hired to use his knowledge of human psychology and performance to design a training protocol that would improve the shooting accuracy of American soldiers.

The solution he came up with sounds so…obvious. But it also proved very effective.

Under Robbins’s protocol, soldiers began shooting at targets that were so close, it was nearly impossible to miss and very easy to hit a bullseye. After several successful shots at a particular distance, the targets would be moved back at small intervals, and the soldiers would shoot at the new distance until they achieved a minimum level of accuracy.

The distances continued to be increased as long as consistent accuracy was achieved within a reasonable number of shots, and any deficiencies in shooting technique were addressed and improved upon as the training went on.

Sounds simple, right? When you’re starting with the target only a foot away, it’s pretty hard to miss!

And that’s where the magic is.

By setting the initial bar very low, the soldiers internalized a pattern of success early on, and then made refinements gradually - a great illustration of the principle of kaizen.

By starting with an achievable goal, soldiers laid a foundation of confidence on which to build their training. Improvement was then only a matter of maintaining consistency while also gradually increasing the challenge level and allowing technical skills to adapt.

It’s a simple system, but a powerful one.

How can small-but-consistent improvement help you in your own life?