Good parable.<p>But while overall believable, its conclusion misses a critical aspect of this cycle.<p>Here's the real secret behind these types of fads:<p>Any process that requires you to pay attention to your work/self will cause measurable improvement, even in people who are already top performers. Temporary improvement. Attention = improvement. And so change in process = improvement also.<p>There's a very interesting book on this topic called "Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths And Total Nonsense: Profiting From Evidence-Based Management." (Also, any book that examines self-help will show the same thing. I first came across the principle in a psychology textbook.)