#16 Why effort is a win-win

"When you're only No. 2, you try harder."

Paula Green didn't know she was writing advertising history when she crafted that line in 1962. The copywriter at Doyle Dane Bernbach was working on the Avis account, staring down the challenge of how to compete with Hertz's market dominance. Her solution was so cool: embrace second place.

“It went against the notion that you had to brag,” Green later reflected. In an industry built on hyperbole and superlatives, she chose honesty. In a culture obsessed with being first, she made being second sound like a win.

Green was a real-life Peggy Olson, breaking barriers in the Mad Men world of 1960s advertising. Perhaps that's why she understood the power of trying harder so viscerally.

"We Try Harder," she once said, "was also the story of my life."

Her campaign shouldn't have worked. Why would anyone choose the company that admits to being number two? Yet for decades, Avis turned that weakness into their greatest strength. Because the thing about effort is we don't just notice it, we value it.

Tommy Fleetwood found that out the effort-heavy way. A huuuuuuge effort that on Sunday turned into an eight-figure payday.

The 164th attempt

When Fleetwood finally sank that winning putt at East Lake Golf Club last weekend, it was his first PGA Tour victory. A vindication for every golf fan and amateur player who'd watched him come agonisingly close so many times. One hundred and sixty-four attempts. Six runner-up finishes. Thirty top-five finishes without lifting a trophy.

Most of us would have crumbled under that weight of near-missery. The Travelers Championship, where he led until the 72nd hole. The FedEx St. Jude Championship, where he was two ahead with three to play only to miss out on a playoff by one stroke.

All played out in HD with every grimace and sigh on display. But Fleetwood did something admirable with that very public struggle. He owned it.

“I think it's easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight. It's different when you actually have to prove it.”

There he is spelling out the difference between talking about resilience and doing it – shot by shot, tournament by tournament, on replay.

The labour illusion

Phill Agnew knows a thing or two about visible effort. The creator of the awesome Nudge podcast recently walked from Salisbury to Poole – a journey of over 40 miles – just to get to Creator Day. And then he had to get up on stage and speak!

Phill Agnew on stage at Creator Day 2025, fresh (apart from the shoe area) from a long walk

When Phill rocked up, blistered and exhausted but strangely energised, he had built (and only just finished adding final pics) his entire presentation around a behavioural psychology finding – specifically the evidence behind effort and the idea of the ‘labour illusion’.

The latter is the reason we tip a locksmith more when they have struggled with a door for hours instead of popping it open in seconds. Also, it’s why we rate a service 36% higher when we can see the work being put in. The research by Buell and Norton suggests, “We tend to use effort as a proxy for worth when assessing a service.”

I like effort. We all like to see a bit of effort. It’s even better when it’s truly visible, like Phill's walk. Every vista, every mile, each encounter and blister told a story that resonated far more than if he'd simply jumped on stage fresh out of a taxi.

When people see the work going into something, they value it more. Restaurants that let diners watch the kitchen in action get 22% higher ratings for the same food. Travel websites that show you the search happening in real-time are rated 8% higher than those with simple progress bars.

But here's the sticky bit – this only works if what you're delivering is actually good. Show people the effort behind a poor product, and they'll like it even less. The labour illusion amplifies existing opinions; it doesn't create them from thin air.

The hidden hours

Golf's labour illusion isn't about that short winning putt on Sunday afternoon. It's about everything that doesn't get televised. The thousands of hours on practice ranges. The technical adjustments worked on for months. The mental coaching sessions that ready you for the pressure cooker.

When Fleetwood finally held that trophy, fans were also celebrating and appreciating the decades of preparation. As the labour illusion goes, we don't just appreciate effort when we can see it happening – we feel it more when we understand the lengths people go to and their sacrifices on the way.

So, while some see 164 attempts as 164 failures, it's proof of someone who kept showing up, working hard and believing the effort would eventually pay off.

The effort dividend

Let’s all celebrate effort over outcome a bit more. I’m looking at you, AI evangelists.

It’s only human to want to be recognised for the trying as much as the result... which sounds like something a loser would say, I know. But in terms of deeper connection, how you handle setbacks says more about your character than how you handle success. I’ve been there on both counts.

Fleetwood’s winless streak must have dragged him down at times. But he'd always face the media with grace and perspective. No excuses, no bitterness – just resigned to how bloody hard it is to win tournaments and that sometimes (not every time) the ball doesn't drop.

“Like any normal person, I get disappointed, I get sad, I get angry," he admitted. "But at the same time, I think I have a good awareness that there's no point making things a negative experience. You just have to learn from everything and try to do the best you can.”

Defeat after defeat, Tommy was building something valuable: a reputation for trying harder, for plugging away and never giving up.

In business, you often hear ‘fake it till you make it’. To exude success even when you’re struggling. But the labour illusion suggests the opposite could be true. Show your working. Let people see the effort. Make your struggles more visible. It’s what Avis figured out decades ago – sometimes the effort is the story.

Try harder, win bigger

Three stories, one human truth: Avis turning second place into competitive advantage, Phill Agnew hiking 40 miles to walk the talk about effort. And Tommy Fleetwood proving that 164 attempts aren't failures – they're solid prep that people see and appreciate.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Overnight success stories aren’t real. And effortless achievement can promptly prompt off. Thankfully, we find it deeply satisfying to celebrate the grind, grit and transparent effort because it reminds us that most things worth having are also worth working for.

Sometimes, when you try harder, you win. But I’d say you also win bigger and in a more meaningful way that inspires others to keep turning up and giving it their best shot.

And sometimes that's worth 10 million dollars. But mostly it’s about being able to look yourself in the mirror and honestly say you didn’t leave anything out there.

Sadly, we can’t all be number one. But we can all try harder and be a cheerleader for our own number one-ness. As Tommy will tell you, just once in every 164 times, the belief that effort will get you there could be more than enough.