What I am reflecting?
The Flywheel Effect
As time passed, I’ve been amazed by how a simple book can bring so much realization, even when reading it at different times. This applies to Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great.
The flywheel effect is a concept that describes how small, consistent actions build momentum over time—eventually creating powerful, self-sustaining growth.
It comes from the idea of a mechanical flywheel — a heavy wheel that takes effort to get moving, but once it’s spinning, it keeps going with minimal additional effort because of its built-up momentum.
That’s why I always remind and ask my son to look at the flywheel when we go up to Genting Highlands to ride the cable car. There are a lot of cars that this tiny cable can carry, and that red-colored thing — that’s the flywheel.
It’s always good to share meaningful concepts with him while he’s young.
Back to the story — the flywheel is not a single task or activity that causes momentum. It’s the series of actions you take that lead to the next outcome, creating a chain reaction even when you can’t even stop from the next time to happen.
Jim Collins shared the business concept of how Amazon used the flywheel. Imagine this: the first step of Amazon’s flywheel is lowering product prices. This attracts more customers — and as more customers come, more sellers are drawn to the platform because there’s traffic now.
When there are more sellers, the variety of products expands, which improves selection. Better selection improves customer experience. Better customer experience leads to more traffic and sales. More sales mean better economies of scale — allowing sellers to lower their prices even further.
Look at the logic — when this happens once, twice, three times, and continues to turn, it starts to gain momentum. Then the next action seems almost automatic. That’s the power of flywheel effect.
The question here is: how am I going to apply this to my life? It’s really about creating my own flywheel — placing my energy and time into the right things that eventually build lasting momentum. Anything that doesn’t support durability, sustainability, or creativity — perhaps I’ll need to be more diligent in saying no to that.
Now that you’ve learned about the flywheel.
Do reply and tell me, what does your flywheel look like?
Quote I’m pondering
“Don’t make 100 decisions when 1 will do” – Peter Drucker
Affirmation I used
You’re great!