Law of Inertia: What can we learn in the Business Context?

While working late one night, I had an idea about Newton’s First Law of Motion, known as the Law of Inertia.  Now, I understand that this idea is a little unusual for those that know me, but the “engineer” in me exposed itself to my brain on this night.  The question that came to mind is: What would the Law of Inertia look like in the business context?  How could organizations overcome Inertia?  For me to answer this question, I had to re-learn the Law of Inertia…here’s what I was reminded of.

The Law of Inertia

The Law of Inertia states that objects will remain at rest or move in uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force.  Simply stated: Things like to stay as they are, things want to keep doing what they are already doing. There are many forces that push & pull other things; when an object has an unbalanced force exerted upon it, it will change direction and/or speed. 

Inertia is the resistance to move due to an external unbalanced force applied to it, the tendency of an object to remain unchanged.  If an object has more mass, it’ll take a bigger force for it to move. Therefore, that object is said to have a lot of inertia. 

Objects can be displaced by external or internal forces.  External forces are forces caused by an external agent outside of the system.  Examples are applied force, normal force, tension force, friction force, and air resistance force.  Internal forces are forces exchanged by the objects within the system.  Examples include the force of gravity, magnetic forces, and electrical forces.  

Translation into Business Context

Now, I realize that I’m getting too “technical” with this article and you may be wondering where I’m headed with all of this.  While doing research on the Law, it was amazing how people and organizations behave like the objects described within the law.  Thinking further, people and organizations move in the straight line defined by the organization’s vision, mission, and/or strategies.  An organization’s mass can be defined by company size (e.g. number of employees, assets, and/or capital structure).  The system can be defined as the organization’s structure and key processes & procedures which is a sub-component of the organization’s mass.  Finally, Inertia can be defined as the amount of effort already invested in the current “straight line”, amount of effort necessary to instill a company’s strategies, and/or the length of time that the company has been in existence.

Inertia is the resistance of an object to move due to an external unbalanced force applied to it, as stated earlier.  These forces can be applied from outside or within the system itself. 

In the absence of forces, objects like to stay as they are; they want to keep doing what they are doing.  The same is true for people and organizations.  Once the “straight line” (i.e. vision statement, mission statement, and/or strategies) is defined, people and organizations prefer to work towards this without interruptions.  But we operate in a world where forces are applied constantly.

External forces will force a change in direction and/or speed of the object; in this case, an organization that is operating at its own pace in their environment/industry but are being forced to change from their “straight line”.  Common external forces are market dynamics, social changes, mergers and acquisitions, changes in consumer tastes, and of course, a pandemic.   

Internal forces are reactions or responses to any external force applied to the object. Common internal forces are an organization’s structure/culture/unwritten rules, response to change, and leadership capability.  An organization’s ability to effectively respond to external forces is often inhibited by ineffective information flow, unclear roles & responsibilities, leadership issues, and/or organizational silos.  These inhibitors can amplify the effect of external forces on some parts of the organization.

Now that this is defined, let’s discuss how to overcome these forces and organizational inertia.

Overcoming Forces and Organizational Inertia

People and Organizations must account for the “necessary evils” (i.e. these forces) and it’s critical that they either overcome or minimize the impact caused by these forces.  People and Organizations can accomplish this by addressing the internal forces shown below:

·      Ineffective information flow – a company’s management system (defined as the communication and decision-making framework to manage the business) should be comprehensive linking all departments together in some way through key performance indicators, effective meetings, and clear accountabilities.  Not only is the management system in place to control critical processes but it should provide visibility to any upcoming external force which enable the organization to proactively respond to the impact of them.

·      Unclear roles and responsibilities – when companies start up, it’s usually “all hands-on deck” and the roles & responsibilities are verbally defined which may seem sufficient with a small group of people (e.g. less than 20).  As the company grows, job descriptions are formally documented for each role; however, the “interaction” of these roles are not formally documented.  When the external force hits the “object”, people & organizations typically do not have clarity on how to respond to them.  Individuals don’t know how they should react themselves nor do they know how others around them should react.  When studying how a group of Navy Seals accomplish an assigned mission, each person in the group knows their own role and those of their teammates.  This enables them to respond to an unexpected event or circumstance as they accomplish their mission and maintain order and unity. 

·      Leadership Issues – in the absence of forces, leadership teams operate seamlessly on their “straight line” defined by vision, mission, and/or strategies.  Once external forces are applied and the internal stresses set in, “cracks” in the foundation of the leadership team become exposed.  Individual leaders may have clarity on how they should react or respond to an external force but may not have clarity or certainty on how their peers will react or respond.  Operating with this uncertainty for an extended period results in these cracks become larger resulting in misalignment, unspoken issues (e.g. elephants in the room), unknown gaps in leadership capability, and/or lack of accountability amongst the team.  Instead of making decisions for the overall company, leaders will make decisions to better their departments no matter the effect on the overall company.  The “Silo Mentality” can be an outcome of these behaviors which then leads to organizational silos if not address quickly and effectively.

·      Organizational Silos – this describes the isolation that occurs when employees or entire departments within the organization do not want to or do not have the adequate means to share information or knowledge with each other.  This can be driven by leadership issues and behaviors as mentioned previously; groups of people (departments) will generally take on the “working personality/behaviors” of their leader.  Silos drain the energy of employees by fighting for information or resources which could be better spent making the entire company successful, not just their department.

The aforementioned “internal forces” will contribute to Organizational Inertia (the organization’s resistance to change) in different ways if not identified and addressed effectively.  To overcome organizational inertia, it’s critical that the leadership team has the capability and skill to manage change; they must implement processes that prepare, support, and help individuals, teams, and organizations in making organizational change.  People will always evaluate the benefit of any change; will the change make their working lives better or worse?  If they believe the change is in their best interests, people will not resist change.  The challenge for People & Organizations is to identify and proactively manage the internal forces and show that any changes are beneficial to the entire organization and the people that make it move in their straight line.