What Does Physics Have to Do With Organizational Change?

When a change initiative starts to slip behind schedule, what's your immediate response as a leader? Do you arm your team with new tools or technology? Do you focus on additional training or upskilling? Or, as is often the case, do you simply add more people to the team, hoping that will speed up the process?

During the past decade working alongside various software development teams, I've noticed a recurring pattern: When a team misses deadlines, leaders often turn to the solution of increasing headcount. However, despite the initial hope, that approach rarely leads to meeting the deadline. Instead, the real solution often lies in adjusting the project's scope, extending its timeline, or improving the existing team's alignment—not in adding more people, even if the newly added staff member is a superstar.

That phenomenon intrigued me. After all, in our everyday lives—whether we're mowing the lawn, cooking dinner, or cleaning the house—adding more people typically results in completing tasks faster. So, why doesn't that logic apply in more complex environments such as software development or organizational change?

The science of momentum

To answer that question, I revisited some of the core concepts from my early engineering courses, specifically the relationship between mass and velocity in physics—the principle of momentum.

In physics, momentum is the product of mass and velocity (see Equation 1). In simpler terms, anything with mass that is in motion—whether it's a moving car, a person walking, or a team working on a change initiative—has momentum. In business, people often talk about momentum in terms of speed. However, momentum is more than just speed—it's about velocity, which includes both speed and direction.

Equation 2 shows that momentum is the result of applying force over time. Put simply, when you apply force to something for a certain amount of time, you change its momentum. For example, a car has momentum because the driver presses the accelerator (applying force) over time. Someone walking has momentum because they push against the ground with their feet (applying force) as they move. Similarly, a change initiative gains momentum because a team or company applies change management efforts consistently over time.

It is important to note the emphasis on the given initiative as a factor because that is the direction in which the team is producing work. That directional component is crucial in change management. Speed without direction often leads to confusion and chaos. While tasks such as mowing the lawn or cooking a basic dish require little training and few instructions, complex tasks such as software development, manufacturing, or large-scale organizational change require significant effort to align the team and direct team members toward a common goal.

The law of conservation of momentum in physics also provides insight into why adding people to a change initiative doesn't always work. According to that law, the total momentum of a closed system remains constant unless an external force acts upon it. That means that when you add someone to a team, its total momentum will change only if an external force acts on it. Therefore, the initial momentum before an event equals the final momentum after an event.

To understand the impact of momentum on change initiatives, let's break down two key takeaways:

• Adding more people to a team often slows things down. While that may seem counterintuitive, research and the principles of momentum back up the statement

• Change requires time with consistent effort. Denying that basic principle goes against the foundations of both science and organizational behavior.

A slowdown with more people

At first glance, it may seem that an event such as increasing mass (by adding more people to the team) will increase momentum. However, when you add more people to a team, you're increasing the mass of the system but not necessarily increasing the momentum. In fact, adding more people tends to slow things down as the velocity of the team decreases.

That concept aligns with the first four of Tuckman's stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. When a new team member joins, there is a natural phase where the team must adjust to the new dynamics. Everyone needs time to understand their new role, establish trust, and clarify how they will work together. The onboarding process inevitably slows down the team as it adjusts to the new member.

However, that doesn't mean the situation is hopeless. If the team continues to apply consistent effort over time, the new member will eventually contribute to increasing the team's velocity. But initially, the integration of a new person slows things down. Equation 2, Force x Time, indicates that over time, velocity can increase again, assuming the applied force (onboarding in this case) remains constant.

The more people you add to a project, the more coordination and communication the team will require. More people often leads to more complexity, and the additional time necessary for onboarding and integration reduces velocity in the short term.

Rather than speeding up the implementation, the addition of new team members may temporarily disrupt momentum, highlighting the importance of managing the pace of change and supporting the team through the adjustment period.

Change requires time with consistent effort

So, if adding more people isn't the solution, how can organizations increase velocity and improve change management? The most effective way to build momentum is to apply consistent effort for a period of time until momentum increases to your satisfaction.

Imagine you're leading a team through a change initiative and want to build their skills for a new tool. You introduce three change tactics for a period of 10 weeks to start the change management:

• A weekly in-person learning session

• A reward program for early adopters

• A self-paced digital course

That gives you a momentum of 30 (3 tactics x 10 weeks). Now, if you extend that effort by just five more weeks, that momentum grows to 45 (3 tactics x 15 weeks). That simple shift highlights the power of sustained, consistent effort, where steady reinforcement leads to lasting adoption.

Learning is one of many forces you can apply instead of adding people to the team. Consider the following approaches.

Streamline processes. Evaluate the team's existing processes and look for opportunities to eliminate inefficiencies. That may involve automating repetitive tasks, adopting new tools, or simplifying workflows. The less time the team spends on nonvalue-added activities, the more it can focus on high-priority tasks.

Provide clear direction. Change initiatives can easily lose momentum if the team is unclear about the goal or the path to reach it. Make sure that everyone understands the vision, their role in achieving it, and the metrics for success. When teams are aligned and focused on a common goal, they're able to move faster and be more efficient.

Foster team collaboration and trust. Building trust within the team can dramatically improve velocity. The more cohesive and collaborative the team is, the more efficiently team members can work together. Encourage open communication, knowledge sharing, and collaboration to increase team velocity.

Case in point

Consider a company that is rolling out a new artificial intelligence tool across its workforce. The organization wants to increase productivity using the tool but faces the challenge of ensuring widespread adoption. Leaders are eager to demonstrate return on investment within six months, or they risk losing the investment in the technology.

Rather than adding more people to the training team or increasing the headcount of employees who must adopt the tool, a more effective approach is to leverage the force of L&D. Instead of delivering a one-size-fits-all training session, the company can focus on empowering early adopters—meaning staff who are already tech-savvy and excited about the new tool; they act as champions, helping their colleagues understand how to use the tool in creative and productive ways.

By pairing early adopters with resistors, the company can foster peer-to-peer learning. Early adopters can share their success stories and demonstrate the tool's value to others. Recognizing and rewarding those employees for their willingness to embrace the new technology can further encourage others to follow suit. Sharing the success stories across the organization can also increase buy-in and inspire additional staff to adopt the tool.

That approach focuses on leveraging the existing workforce and increasing the force the company applied to the change (through forces of training, peer support, and recognition). As a result, the business can increase its velocity without diluting the momentum of the change initiative.

Applying FORCE

Let's take a moment to define force in the context of change management. In physics, it is a push or pull that results from the interaction of one object with another. In organizational change, I define force as a fundamentally obvious realistic change in the environment (FORCE). In simpler terms, force is the action you take to push or pull the system (or team) toward the desired outcome.

For instance, when someone is driving a car and needs to slow down, they apply force by pressing the brakes. Similarly, an organization can apply force through tools, technology, process changes, or cultural shifts. Force comprises the fundamental actions a company takes to influence the speed and direction of a change initiative. Use the following framework to evaluate whether the force a team or company is applying will be effective.

Fundamental. Is something changing on the cellular level? Example: A shift from individual performance metrics to team-based success measurements fundamentally changes how employees work and collaborate.

Obvious. Can the audience tell the difference as soon as they see it? Example: Moving from cubicles to an open office layout signals an immediate shift in workplace culture and interaction.

Realistic. Is the activity doable? Is it small enough for the team to handle? Example: A team piloting a new Agile workflow on a single project before scaling it across the organization ensures feasibility.

Change. Is it different than the present and the past? Can you quantify the change? Example: A reduction in average project completion time from 12 weeks to eight weeks shows measurable improvement.

Environment. Is the environment truly changing? Example: Allowing employees to spend two hours a week on learning a new skill, and reducing their workload to allow for that, demonstrates an ongoing shift in learning culture.

When leading a transformation, it's helpful to think about how different forces shape the journey. Suppose an organization is adopting Agile software development and has established an Agile transformation office (ATO) to guide the change. How can change enablers in the ATO empower leaders and employees to take ownership and drive that shift forward?

One way is to break FORCE into its two key components.

• Magnitude: How strong is the force? (Think of how hard a driver presses the brake pedal in a car.)

• Direction: Where is the force leading us? (Think of how a driver steers while braking.)

In an Agile transformation, forces such as an internal knowledge-sharing site, structured learning programs, and local champions within business units help build magnitude. Those initiatives expand the program's reach, ensuring more employees gain the necessary knowledge and skills for Agile adoption.

However, to make sure the effort moves in the right direction, the ATO needs mechanisms that fine-tune those forces. For example, gathering continuous feedback from different business units helps refine learning programs and tools, making them more relevant and engaging. Employees are more likely to use the resources when they see their input shaping the experience.

Similarly, the ATO can use clear objectives and key results to stay focused. Rather than launching numerous disconnected initiatives, change leaders can prioritize the ones that best align with the transformation goals. That way, the ATO creates both the momentum and the alignment necessary for a sustainable and successful Agile transformation.

The solution

The second momentum equation demonstrates that force and time are inversely proportional. If a team wants to reduce the necessary time for a particular change, it must apply a proportional increase in force. I've already discussed some potential sources of that force, but here are two key strategies for applying force effectively.

Create a digital-first organization. Encourage every employee to evaluate their processes and set goals for reducing the time it takes to complete tasks by a certain percentage each year. That will push them to think about new technologies that can help them work faster. For example, if workers perform a task on paper, could the company move the task to a digital platform? If it's already digital, is there a more efficient platform to accelerate the process? Technology is evolving faster than many companies can adopt it, so without a digital-first mindset, organizations will always fall behind.

Enable a learning mindset. A learning mindset is not just about acquiring new skills; it's about unlearning outdated practices to make room for new ideas. Children have an uncanny ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. For adults, however, that ability often diminishes unless they consciously apply effort. Enterprises can foster a culture of continuous learning by creating reward programs for employees who demonstrate the ability to innovate and adapt through learning, unlearning, and relearning.

A push for change

Understanding momentum—both in physics and in the context of team dynamics—can drastically change how companies approach change management. The next time a team faces a looming deadline or a stalled initiative, the team leader should ask: Does the solution truly lie in adding more people, or would it be more effective to focus on the existing team members, give them time to build momentum, and allow them to deliver results?

By applying consistent effort, focusing on process optimization, and leveraging the force of technology, training, and team alignment, teams can accelerate progress without increasing headcount. Embrace the power of momentum and watch change initiatives gain speed toward successful completion.

The Impact of Momentum on Change Initiatives

Equation 1

Momentum = Mass x Velocity

For a change initiative, the equation may look like:

Change momentum of the initiative = # of people on the initiative x # of work items they produce per week for the given initiative

Equation 2

Momentum = Force x Time

For a change initiative, the equation may look like:

Change momentum of the initiative = # of change strategies x # of weeks the strategies are in place for the given initiative