Everybody gets stuck.

It happens to organizations as well as individuals. It doesnt matter how exciting the change effort is, or how many people are on board. Enthusiasm flags. Internal change leaders flame out. Efforts start to wander off strategy.

The problem is a matter of simple physics. Momentum equals mass times velocity. When velocity (in our case, energy) slows to zero, we stop moving toward the goal of the change.

How do we get that mass moving again?

It helps to know where we are on the momentum scale. Momentum isnt an on/off switch. At The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, weve coined a few terms to help pinpoint how were doing right now. For instance, do we have momentum or are we experiencing

  • no-mentum
  • slow-mentum
  • uh-ohmentum (backward motion!)
  • faux-mentum (it only looks like were going somewhere)
  • some-mentum?

My favorite place to be is flow-mentumthat exhilarating state where knowledge, energy, and ideas flow seamlessly across the organization, empowering everyone to do their best work.

Once we know where we are, how do we get where were going? We can slow down to ask ourselves some key questions: What can I do to create momentum? What resources can I tap to reinvigorate this effort? How can I connect it to the change strategy?

By asking questions, we open ourselves to those unexpected opportunities, those cracks in the system, that take place in organizations more often than we think. Maybe a normally calm senior executive unexpectedly makes an impassioned speech, or an outspoken critic of the change effort reveals the personal motives behind his objections, or a team stumbles on a new way to think about an issue.

These are often referred to as aha! momentsand momentum starts with the first breath after the aha! If we, as consultants and change leaders, can spot these ahas and engage them immediately, we can leverage the opening in the system they create to restart the process behind the change. Once the first crack appears, its game on!

Acting quickly is essential. If a closed system suddenly cracks, and there is no momentum to rush in toward the desired changeno one, as it were, to hold open the crackthe system recloses faster and more firmly than before. The status quo becomes even more entrenched.

Conversely, if we can hold open the crack, other opportunities begin to arise. With each opportunity seized, the energy builds, and so does the momentum. The organization is back on track, moving powerfully toward the change it seeks.