Your Newtonian Partners

Source: Accounting Today

Was Sir Isaac Newton thinking about partners in accounting firms when he articulated his three laws on the behavior of moving objects? You might think so after reading August Aquila’s article (Aquila Global Advisors, [email protected]).

The Law of Inertia—“Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.”

If a partner (object) is operating (moving) either in the same direction as the firm or in a different one, he will continue in that direction until you push (an external force is applied) in a different direction.

If a partner is moving in a straight line but you want the direction to change somewhat, you will have to apply force to change the angle.

The Lesson—the managing partner must continually try to move partners in the direction of the firm’s goals. The force should be positive.

The Law of Dynamics—“The acceleration of an object of constant mass is proportional to the force acting upon it.”

Think about these forces of change:

• Rewards and acknowledgments.
• Performance appraisals.
• Linking compensation to firm strategy.
• Getting partners to internalize core values.

The law of dynamics says that when resistance is higher, the force for change has to be greater. But before you exert a force you must understand reasons for the resistance (e.g., partners think the initiative will fade, they are afraid of losing power, they have a fear of learning new competencies, and/or they are reeling from too much change).

The Law of Action-Reaction—“Whenever one body exerts force upon a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force upon the first body.”

When partners greet initiatives by championing an opposite tack:

• Try to communicate more openly.
• Try to comprehend the opposing actions.
• Get support from other partners.
• Do not be disdainful of the opposing initiatives.
• Ease off to induce an easing of the opposing force.

From Accounting Today, October 22, 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click here, then select the article Sir Isaac Newton and Change Management.