Lesson Thirty-Seven: What Newton Knew About Business

I’ve met hundreds of business people— managers, owners, entrepreneurs—and I’ve come to realize something important:There is no shortage of ideas in the world.There seems, however, to be a drastic shortage of people with the momentum to act on their ideas.

I believe it comes down to Newton’s first law of motion, which states:

An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force.

Ideas are not forceful enough on their own to combat inertia. Push and prod as they might, a simple idea cannot create action in an inert body. The ideas simply fall away and disappear.

Of course, Newton also knew that the opposite was true: A body in motion will stay in motion. I believe that is why successful people always seem to succeed with such little effort. They have built momentum. For these people, ideas have just enough substance to push them ahead at greater and greater speeds. It’s like pushing a rolling car. It requires very little effort in comparison to the weight of the vehicle. When you make ideas easy to act on it’s not surprising that they get acted on.

So,how do you break the bonds of inertia and start moving?

Start by following the laws that govern aircraft, they are a perfect example of Newton’s law. An aircraft requires 100% of its rated power just to get off the ground. But once aloft, it only requires 60% of rated power to stay in the air at a comfortable clip. The consequence of slowing too much ensures aircraft never do.

That’s how you should treat your business.

It’s not easy. There are obstacles to overcome before you can push ahead. Every company has them. For some it is a decision maker who is trapped in doing ‘what has always worked’ and who is unwilling to take a personal risk on something new. Sometimes it is a system, originally designed to help the business, which actually makes it more difficult. (This is frequently the case with sales. A prospect has agreed to buy, but is so overwhelmed with product options and payment terms, the customer retreats out of fear, backing out of the sale.)

It could be a staff member, terrified of change, who purposefully undermines any attempt at it. Or a corporate culture that has discouraged staff input and consistently failed to act on ideas, draining the passion and creativity from its people, and turning them into drones. Frequently it is several or all of the above.

There is an occasion when an inert business will suddenly and unexpectedly experience the painful outside force necessary to get it moving: when it begins to fail, usually after a faster-moving competitor starts taking customers.

But by then it’s too late.

Here’s how you keep moving:

Find ways to continually improve. Be open to ideas and actively seek them out from staff, suppliers and customers. Embrace and realize that change is simply the process of breaking down and discarding that which does not work, and discovering the opportunities for you and your business to improve.

Remember that risk is directly proportional to reward. Less of one means less of the other.

And finally, understand that people who are unengaged, ignored, or not valued tend toward the inert.Motivate, inspire, and involve your staff, and your will have no trouble soaring above the competition.

Newton was a genius.



Principles of Persuassion by Shane Spark