Leadership Key #3_Generate Momentum

As a leader at this epic time in human history, you have a tremendous opportunity.  I don't believe in good or bad luck.  You serendipitously crafted your world to be exactly where you are.

Whether you are navigating your business or your family through this turbulent time, the world needs you and your talent NOW!

From 30 years of consulting Global 1000 executives through their most strategic initiatives, I extracted four keys to leadership in turbulent times. 

This is Patrick Mosher's Leadership 101 training.

Are you ready?

Envisioning Rally Points is Leadership Key #1.

Setting Trail Markers is Leadership Key #2. 

Leadership Key #3.  Generate Momentum

Wise Leaders develop strategies to Generate Momentum.  At the most turbulent of times when everything is swirling around and chaos rattles the very core of your endeavor, how do you move your team and business forward? 

We use the term momentum all the time in the corporate world.  I was a chemical engineer a few decades ago.  I first learned momentum in physics.  It's not just an ambiguous human dynamics concept.  It's Mass times Velocity. 

Think of Mass as the total effort required to complete a huge project.  Velocity is how fast it gets done.  Momentum, then, is how fast you get that effort completed.

Simple, right? 

What strategy will you use to crank up you and your team's momentum?  The more people you enlist for your project, the more effort gets deployed simultaneously and the more momentum you generate towards your Rally Point in less time. 

Pretty cool, eh?

This is true as long as your enlisted people are aligned precisely towards the Rally Point. 

Imagine a bunch of people scattered around your living room.  In this Era of Social Distancing, activate your imagination.  If we put a big ball in the middle of the room, and we all rush to the ball and push it, where does it go?  Despite all our pushing, the ball stays in the middle of the room.  Why?  The force each of us put on the ball negates each other.  In the momentum formula, that's that little hash mark above the Velocity.  It's called a Vector and indicates Direction. 

Mass times Velocity only works if all the effort is in ONE Direction (just for fun, now play What Makes You Beautiful by the boy band One Direction).

If you have enough people aligned with where you're going, THAT's momentum. 

As a leader sometimes you say, Let's GO! and no one comes along.  You thought you were clear, right? Momentum enlists people and aligns decisions to make your project go! 

When things get stuck, how do you crank it up? 

Begin. 

Start moving things.  Maybe little things at first.  Pick up a little momentum.  Then move bigger things to really get it rolling.  If you have a Big Dream, break it down into bite-size, chewable, DO-ABLE chunks.  Get each little piece rolling.  Enlisting more people will make that happen faster.  In consulting some of our projects required 200,000 person-day efforts.  We would break them down into 2-4 hour activities.  Yea, you read that right!  It's an efficient way to generate the day-to-day momentum needed to make big things happen.

Momentum.  Mass times Velocity.  Mass is the effort needed to achieve a Rally Point.  More effort per day increases velocity.  Remember the Vector.  Direction matters!  Don't go all wonky and get distracted or chase shiny pennies!  Remember …. One Direction.  You are Beautiful!

Wise Leaders Generate Momentum!