The point is well-illustrated, but not at all new. Jim Collins's book Good to Great dedicates an entire chapter to what he calls the flywheel effect. Consistent effort applied over a long period of time with a consistent vision can generate massive results. But, I doubt the concept was new with him, either.

By the way, if you haven't read Good to Great, I highly recommend it. Although based on large, slow-moving businesses, the general points Collins and his team extract are easily applicable to just about any significant project.