What?
What is “the flywheel”? The flywheel is a metaphor for bringing companies from good to great. It shows that breakthroughs and transformations can’t be done in one push. It takes time, it takes momentum. Jim Collins describes it like so “Picture a huge flywheel… pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to inch forward, moving almost imperceptibly at first. you keep pushing, and after two or three hours of persistent effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn. You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster and with continued great effort, you move it around a second rotation… three turns… four… five… the fly will build up speed… seven… eight… it builds momentum… then, at some point—breakthrough!” (Collins, 2001, p.164) That is a very cut-down version of what Collins is speaking on, but the point is still there… you need momentum to move forward.
So What?
Why should we care about momentum? Momentum is what drives innovation and creativity in companies and organizations. To move forward as a company, you need to have continuous flow and movement. If your organization experiences a rift, it can greatly interfere with productivity. Lance Peppler from Medium states that “There can be dozens of Flywheels that have an effect within a company, or group of companies, that not only accelerate themselves but also have a positive effect on other flywheels within the company or group.” (Peppler, 2019). Don’t think of your company as one thing, rather view it as a machine with multiple moving parts that keeps it going along.
Now What?
How can I take the flywheel and apply it to my life? As with most leadership concepts, many of them can be applied to your life. The flywheel can be applied in your life easier due to the nature of the concept. The flywheel takes time to move. There may be setbacks on goals, or some days it is just harder to move. Dana Drosdick from Peaceful Dumpling states “Throughout this whole process, it’s important to note that no single action can be seen as the cause for success, but rather the unwavering, unrelenting struggle toward continual progress.” (Drosdick, 2021) For me, I feel as though I’m in the perfect position to start my flywheel. Many things have been and will continue to change in my life as I go through my senior year and move on from education. I have many lessons to learn and many hurdles to jump over. I can take the flywheel effect and use it to keep myself encouraged through these momentous times in my life. Moving the flywheel right now is hard, I’m dealing with change. But over time the flywheel will get easier to turn, and that is what will keep me encouraged to keep moving forward. Reminding myself that setbacks shouldn’t discourage me from standing up again and continuing to push forward through my life that will have many ups and downs. The flywheel is hard to push at first so you can be strong for the momentum ahead.
References:
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap … and others don’t (1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperBusiness.
Drosdick, D. (2021, March 22). The flywheel effect: What it is & how it can give you purpose. Peaceful Dumpling. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://www.peacefuldumpling.com/flywheel-effect.
Peppler, L. (2019, May 23). The amazing flywheel effect. Medium. Retrieved October 19, 2021, from https://medium.com/swlh/the-amazing-flywheel-effect-80a0a21a5ea7.
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