Gravity applied to business
The law of gravity is the mass of one object times the mass of the another object divided by the distance between them squared.
G= M1 x M2/ D √2
To increase the force of gravity, we can either increase the mass of an object, or we can decrease the distance between them.
Gravity is an attractive force in distinction to polarity which is repellant.
To design any functional system, be that business, technology, architecture or human, we require both the attractive and repellent forces to be in tensile equilibrium. Too much attractive force and we get implosion. Too much polarising force and we blow apart.
Buckminster Fuller coined the term tensegrity to describe the constant dance between the compressive and tensile forces.
If we want to create a higher order of attraction, be that to a product, service, the entire enterprise, the team, or the story, we might consider gravity.
What specifically do we seek to attract? Asking this question for both the short and long term and taking into consideration precession (the effect at 90 degrees) might be a wise place to start. In their haste to produce a thing, few founders ever take the time to deeply consider these questions, choosing instead to deal with the fallout at a later date. The fallout is often significant.
What mass might we intentionally increase? The effect of our product and service, the story, the physical dimensions, the integrity, the quality?
And if we were considering reducing the distance, what does that mean? Bringing people together physically, making the service easier to access (one step, not three), offering high personal experiences, for example?
Finally, given that we must also balance this with polarity to ensure our design holds its shape, how do we build the polarity into this with conscious intention?
A simple example. A highly functioning team has an increase gravity because people are there by sovereign choice, including how they interact. Sovereign choice includes convening around a purpose they care about, which is an attractive force in its own right, feeling safe enough to bring their whole selves to the enterprise, having a high degree of autonomy, and knowing that their contribution makes a difference. They have a set of boundaries and agreements that define the architecture/polarity and maintain shape.
Getting this right requires attention. Applying the operating principles of Universe to human-designed systems is an essential aspect of a Syntropic Enterprise.
August 19th 2019
Photo taken August 19th 2019, Byron Bay
