What if Isaac Newton had aspired to be a corporate manager rather than a scientist? Would his great works have been lost?
The following is a reimagining of what Newton’s three laws of motion might have looked like had he decided to sell apples, rather than contemplate why they fell.
| Newton the Scientist | Newton the Manager |
|---|---|
| A body remains at rest, or in motion at a constant speed in a straight line, unless it is acted upon by a force. | Poor employee performance or adverse behaviours will continue unless their manager provides timely, constructive and future oriented feedback. |
| At any instant of time, the net force on a body is equal to the body’s acceleration multiplied by its mass or, equivalently, the rate at which the body’s momentum is changing with time. | The more senior a leader, the greater the impact they have on corporate culture. |
| If two bodies exert forces on each other, these forces have the same magnitude but opposite directions. | Managers must quickly intervene to resolve employee conflict or overall performance will be impacted. |