“Consistency” – The Definition of Insanity or the Creator of Momentum?
- Aug 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 16
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
That quote is often attributed to Albert Einstein, which gives it a lot of credibility. But in truth, there’s no evidence he ever said or wrote it.
While the saying carries wisdom, I believe it’s also caused unintended harm in how we approach self-improvement and business growth. Why? Let me explain.
A Quick Backstory
A couple of years ago, I stopped reading books about how successful companies “made it.” Too often, the details were incomplete, and many of these companies eventually failed anyway.
Instead, I started reading about failed companies. Morbid? Maybe. But the facts were sharper, the lessons clearer, and the insights far more useful.
The patterns of failed businesses were eerily similar—not a surprise—but seeing specific examples brought the lessons to life. And over and over, one belief kept resurfacing: this “Einstein” quote that so many of us hold dear.
The Lesson That Changed My Thinking
The great, enduring companies built momentum through disciplined strategies and steady effort. The failing companies? They abandoned consistent progress in favor of wild swings for the fences when growth wasn’t fast or linear enough—“grasping for salvation,” as Jim Collins calls it in How the Mighty Fall.
Why Consistency Wins
Momentum is built through consistency. Even if it feels like you’re “doing the same thing over and over again with the same results,” consistency is incredibly powerful—when pointed in the right direction.
It’s like trying to melt ice. You can go from 23°F to 24°F to 25°F and still have… ice. It seems like nothing is changing, but you’re inching toward a tipping point. At 32°F, everything changes.
The British Cycling Example (From James Clear’s “Atomic Habits”)
For decades, British professional cycling was embarrassingly uncompetitive—only one Olympic gold medal in over 100 years, and no Tour de France wins. Some bike manufacturers even refused to sell them equipment for fear of being linked to their failures.
In 2003, Dave Brailsford became performance director. His philosophy was simple:
If you break down everything that goes into riding a bike and improve it by just 1%, those small gains will compound into something remarkable.
They improved everything—bike seats, racing fabrics, rider health routines, sleep quality, even painting the team truck white to spot dust. None of these changes alone made headlines. But together?
2008 Beijing Olympics: 7 of 10 gold medals.
2012 London Olympics: 7 of 10 gold medals again.
2012–2018: Six Tour de France wins in seven years.
Why Businesses Fail to Replicate This
In every failing-company story I read, none of them took this approach. Why?
On paper, small steps didn’t deliver immediate "big bang" ROI. They chose flashy over discipline. Style over substance.
Incremental changes looked like “doing the same thing and getting the same results.”
They ignored the fact that they were inching toward a performance tipping point.
They ditched ongoing improvements for big, high-risk “Hail Mary” initiatives—projects that promised quick results on paper but often fizzled, buying only temporary goodwill from the board.
A Business Reality Check
Want to improve customer reporting? Better product images? A smoother customer portal? Often, these get rejected individually for lack of quantifiable ROI.
Even if you do make a few of these improvements, early critics may point out, “We keep doing these things, and nothing happens.” The truth: you haven’t done enough of them yet to hit the tipping point.
The Takeaway
There’s a big difference between:
Doing the same things and getting the same results → Insanity.
Consistently doing the right small things → Compounding momentum toward a breakthrough.
It takes courage to stop what isn’t working. But it also takes courage to keep doing small, value-adding things that haven’t yet shown visible results.
As James Clear reminds us: “Breakthroughs happen after consistency.”
And let's throw in a real quote from Albert Einstein that is applicable to this topic: "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
So—learn to spot the difference between true insanity and momentum in disguise. They can look identical in the moment, but the outcomes couldn’t be more different.
