The Power of Small Wins
Reprint of a Harvard Business Review article (May 2011) by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer reporting a diary-study of knowledge workers (≈238 individuals on 26 project teams, ~12,000 daily entries). The authors propose the "progress principle": daily progress in meaningful work—even small wins—most strongly boosts employees' "inner work life" (emotions, motivation, perceptions) and thus creativity and performance. The article defines supporting and hindering events (catalysts vs. inhibitors; nourishers vs. toxins), presents key statistics (e.g., progress on 76% of best-mood days; setbacks on 67% of worst-mood days), gives a manager case study (Graham) and a Daily Progress Checklist, and explains the self-reinforcing "progress loop."
Questions this document answers
Approximately 238 individuals.
Nearly 12,000 daily entries.
76% of best-mood days included progress.
67% of worst-mood days included setbacks.
28% of incidents with minor project impact had a major effect on people's feelings.