Entropy is always going to f*** with your operations

Graham Schwikkard
Jul 21, 2017 · 2 min read

There is one law that dictates all life: entropy. The term may bring flashbacks of physics class but the concept is actually pretty simple and familiar. If you drop a box of sand on the floor, it’s unlikely that is will spontaneously form a sandcastle. I mean, in theory it is possible, but there are millions of arrangements that it could fall into and only a minuscule fraction of states resemble a sandcastle.

Entropy reflects disorder, and there are always more disorderly variations.

When it comes to operations, entropy tells us that optimal systems are designed, not discovered. Mathematics dictates this. There are thousands of ways to combine the elements of your system and there is little to no chance that they will spontaneously organise in the most efficient way.

Considering that we don’t have time to drop these elements together a thousand times, we need to design our system to be in the organised 1%. Even then, you need to force the system to be in the top 1% of that 1% if you hope to compete in the market.

Therefore, do not expect your operations to fall into place and support your strategy. You have to build your core competency. You need measures in place to make sure the system is working. In many ways, a business simply organises disorder and sells it.

The tendency of systems to lose order means that you should expect problems. The law of entropy demands it. It could be as simple as a critical email lost in a swollen inbox, or teams slowly allowing bad practices to creep in. With vast spiderweb processes that inevitably exist in organisations, these flaps of entropy can reverberate into significant issues. Murphy’s law is rooted in entropy.

Before you give up and let disorder descend, know that we can expend energy to restore organisation. You can clean a dirty floor. You can redesign systems. If you are facing an unusual or recurring problem, conduct a root cause analysis and find where entropy has sneaked in. Don’t fight entropy with too much control though, and rather work to empower your team. You can tidy a messy room quicker if everyone helps.

Do not despair and rather take heart. Our greatest achievements come from beating overwhelming odds. They come from finding order in chaos.

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threethreesix

Understanding the world and business through analysis and quiet thoughts

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Graham Schwikkard

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I like to use data analytics to understand the world

threethreesix

Understanding the world and business through analysis and quiet thoughts

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