A Momentum Theory Of Transformation

In physics, momentum is the measure of an object’s motion — how much “oomph” it has when moving. This combines two key things — mass and velocity.

p = m × v

Where:

• p is momentum (weird, but “p” stands for “impetus” from Latin)
• m is mass (how heavy an object is)
• v is velocity (how fast and in what direction it’s moving)

In practical terms, a big truck moving slowly can have the same momentum as a small car moving fast. Furthermore, once an object has momentum, it resists change. You need force to speed it up, slow it down, or change its direction.

This same formula can be applied to innovation and transformation.

• Mass would be anything that gives your idea weight within the organization; reputation, credibility, legitimacy, resources, budgets, visible wins, number of people involved, dedicated time and trust from teams.
• Velocity would be the rate and direction of action that contributes to your idea’s success; people doing real work, decisions being made, active advocacy, experiments running, events being hosted, changes getting implemented, leadership endorsements and new projects starting.

And here is the coolest thing — velocity can create new mass. For example:

• A leader gives you public support. That action is velocity. But now your idea is seen as more legitimate (i.e. mass increases).
• Your team builds a prototype and runs a successful pilot with a customer (i.e. velocity). The result is a visible win and the organization now views your idea as credible (i.e. mass increases).

You can think of this like a flywheel:

1. You start with a small amount of mass, such as early belief or legitimacy
2. You apply velocity through active contributions and execution
3. This consistent action adds mass through visible wins that create more belief
4. The increased mass allows faster, more sustainable velocity.
5. The flywheel spins and momentum builds

You don’t need to push your ideas onto others, you just need to create momentum!

— — — — —

Learn more at www.tendayiviki.com