ENTROPY

Have you ever worked in an organization that lacked energy? One that seemed more interested in following its own internal rules and standards than operating to fulfill its reason for existence?

This organizational lethargy is called entropy, meaning that organizational energy has a tendency toward inertness. Performing functions becomes more important than achieving goals.

Entropy often occurs after an organization has achieved its goals in the past and then chooses to rest on its laurels. In other words, it grows fat from prosperity.

In this type of organization, implementing change—whether needed or not—becomes difficult. If you want to change a procedure, for instance, you will upset the status quo and face resistance from individuals or groups benefiting from entropy.

Change involves three types of people: change agents, people who introduce change; change targets, people who receive the change; and change sponsors, the high level people who endorse the change. All three play an important, interrelated role in successfully overcoming entropy in an organization.

for Overcoming Entropy

• Develop a proposal for your idea by identifying the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
• Obtain top management support for your proposal.
• With any idea, start small and keep the scale manageable.
• Identify change agents, change targets, and change sponsors.
• Implement the idea(s).
• Monitor performance.
• Take corrective action, if necessary.