[HN Gopher] The Flywheel Effect
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       The Flywheel Effect
        
       Author : mooreds
       Score  : 18 points
       Date   : 2024-08-16 18:28 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.jimcollins.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.jimcollins.com)
        
       | akliwejrliawj3 wrote:
       | So ... "inertia". This book attempts to re-invent the word
       | "inertia".
        
         | jetrink wrote:
         | I'm allergic to business books, but I think a flywheel is a
         | better metaphor by a mile. A flywheel is a tangible object that
         | everyone has interacted with at some point. They're fun and
         | satisfying to spin up to high speed. They are associated with
         | engines and electricity. In contrast, inertia is an abstract
         | concept. It's popularly associated with dead weight. It makes
         | you think of heavy rocks and ships that are too large to
         | maneuver quickly. It's not at all fun.
        
           | wakamoleguy wrote:
           | I agree. There is an additional quality here as well: Inertia
           | doesn't care whether there is one big push or many little
           | pushes. With the flywheel analogy, it's clear that it's not
           | just one big push. That's what they are trying to convey in
           | the business context. There is no one moment of
           | transformation.
        
           | rzzzt wrote:
           | "Turn the Ship Around!" is another good book I hear (but did
           | not read): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16158601-turn-
           | the-ship-a...
        
           | lupire wrote:
           | Flywheels are only high speed when they are not doing any
           | work.
           | 
           | As soon as they start doing work, they slow down.
           | 
           | Flywheels are different from positive feedback loops, which
           | is what people usually mean when they talk about flywheels.
           | 
           | A flywheel is just a rotational store of energy. It's not.
           | Usefully different from lifting a heavy weight via a pulley,
           | and then releasing it a bit when you need to use it lift
           | something else. It performs the same function as a chargeable
           | electric battery.
        
           | adamc wrote:
           | I'm sure there are intelligent business books, as there are
           | intelligent people in business, but most of the books I see
           | are awful.
        
       | asdasdsddd wrote:
       | The thing about business principles is that they are either
       | overfitted and not generalizable or they're over generalized and
       | sound like, "just hire the right people"
        
       | blueyes wrote:
       | jim collins discovers positive feedback loops with threshold
       | effects.
        
         | sanderjd wrote:
         | It's more like: Jim Collins describes the value of positive
         | feedback loops with threshold effects with simple language
         | using an evocative metaphor.
        
       | incognito124 wrote:
       | https://fs.blog/small-steps-giant-leaps/
       | 
       | https://fs.blog/five-percent-better/
        
       | mlhpdx wrote:
       | That darn flywheel is just too heavy to start with so I'm going
       | to start spinning a smaller flywheel and then add weight to it
       | once it's moving. That'll be way easier. See, there? That's
       | flywheels already spinning and now I can just take this extra
       | piece and drop it on there and now it's moving around too. And
       | let's drop a couple more on just to prove a point. Wait, what?
       | The fly wheel is slowing down? Push it harder! That's better, now
       | it's spinning again. Now let's get some speed -- push harder!
       | Great. Now just... ouch! damn! Why are parts flying off?
       | 
       | Etc. etc.
        
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       (page generated 2024-08-16 23:00 UTC)