I’ll not forget the Spring of 2002, when the effects of 9/11 finally hit T. L. Hart, Inc.  Like most other companies, the world had been a good place to do business in. Michigan had been booming during the 1990’s along with the rest of the country, and T. L. Hart, Inc. had grown exponentially during this time.  Many companies, including mine, had built their business models on what had become the norm.

That all changed that first and second quarter. Here we were, an organization with 30-40 people, a lot of overhead, and no work.  It was during an advisory board meeting where I presented out predicament, when one of the members said, “Just do something! Start something! Just get moving!”

His advice proved to be wisdom from God.  In May of that year, closing the company’s doors was a serious consideration.  By the end of December however, T. L. Hart,Inc. had realized its second highest sales year ever, ending the period with a profit.

Years later I was studying John Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  Maxwell is arguably America’s leading authority on the topic of leadership, with multiple books, DVD’s and audio versions of his various seminar presentations.  In this book Maxwell presents what he believes—and others agree—are twenty-one laws that apply to all leaders at all times, without exception.  One of them is “The Law of Momentum.”

The Law of Momentum (or, The ‘Big Mo’) says this:  There always has to be forward progress—there has to be some movement, any movement. That is the leader’s responsibility.  In some way, shape, or form things have to get and keep moving.  That is why small victories are so important, because with each success you build momentum that helps move the organization further along on its mission.

It is hard to steer a parked car.  “But,” Maxwell says, “when you have momentum on your side, the future looks bright, obstacles appear small, and trouble seems temporary.”

It reminds me of what Jim Collins writes about in his book, Good to Great.  He talks about a flywheel, which at first is hard to get going.  It takes a lot of effort initially.  But then, once you get moving you gain momentum, and eventually it’s as if it has a life of its own—it is literally flying, round and round, at high speeds.

There is so much truth in all this, both for small companies like T. L. Hart, Inc., large organizations, governmental entities, and ministries. Just get something going.  Get pointed in the right direction. Put forth all the effort you can muster, and get the ball rolling.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

That’s the ‘Big Mo’, the Law of Momentum.

– T.L. Hart