Force = Mass x Acceleration
If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent. – Sir Isaac Newton.
A former colleague of mine, John Calvello, has penned Corporate Physics. A great book which draws insightful comparisons between implementing complex change and Newtonian Physics. These two topics would normally not share a sentence, but they have inspired the next series of posts as I draw similar correlations to traditional IT organizations.
While the whole body of Newton’s work is not under review, a single equation [Force = mass x acceleration] carries with it a number of organizational correlations with corporate level, complex, organizational change which John describes in his book. These same concepts hold for change within an IT organization.
One of the interesting aspects of this equation [Force = mass x acceleration] is the inter-relationship of the products and how this holds true for organizations. With this equation, the implication is that entity’s which are massive and operate with a high rate of acceleration, will contain a great amount of force. Looking around at organizations we are familiar with we can picture large organizations operating at a high maturity level which are a force which a corporation can bring to bear and leverage for competitive advantage. We can also think of companies which have seemingly little or no acceleration (or movement for that matter) within their IT organization and it seemingly is an anchor to the company. Ironically, the larger this type of IT organization, the greater the anchor as it drains more precious resources and achieves less from them.
By using simple algebra, the equation becomes forward looking [Acceleration = force / mass]. This accurately shows that mass is inversely correlated with acceleration. It also shows that to achieve a given level of acceleration, the amount of force to make the change must scale with the mass of an organization. Put another way, large IT organizations require a large amount of force to achieve a given result, smaller IT organizations in comparison will require a smaller amount of force.
In the series of posts to follow, I will explore the various ways an IT organization can conceptually carry mass, how we can view acceleration in an IT organization, and the various forces we can apply to gain acceleration. I look forward to sharing this exploration with you and look forward to your comments.
