Notes

The Winner-take-all Effects

  • Updated July 3, 2025
  • 1 minute read
The Winner-Take-All Effects

“Any decision that involves using a limited / the same resource like (energy, attention, )time or money will naturally result in a winner-take-all situation.” — James Clear

“For all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” — The Bible


refers to

  • situations in which small differences in performance lead to outsized rewards / very unequal distributions when repeated over time
  • being just a little bit / slightly better than the competition to secure the entire rewards

The winner gets one and the rest get zero.

You only win by 1 percent or 1 second or 1 dollar, but you capture 100 percent of the victory.

  • Examples
    • Politicians compete for the same votes
    • Authors compete for the same spot at the top of the best-seller list
    • Athletes compete for the same gold medal
    • Companies compete for the same potential client
    • Television shows compete for the same hour of your attention

See Also

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Updated July 3, 2025 • 9 days ago
© 2025 • Hua-Ming Huang licensed under CC BY 4.0

Hua-Ming Huang

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