In your organization too. It's the law of physics: Entropy (chaos) grows over time.
Sometimes you need a reset and take the hit, or actually - make the investment - to reset.
Why Your Organization (and you?) Needs a Reset (Before Entropy Wins)
There's a concept in physics called entropy. Simply put, it means chaos increases over time. Energy remains constant — it can't be created or destroyed, only converted — but that's another story. Stay tuned for that one.
For now, let's talk about chaos.
Because chaos is increasing. In your organization, too.
The organizational complexity. The SOP meshwork. The system stack that keeps growing, layering, tangling. You started with good intentions, solved real problems, built what you needed. But somewhere along the way, the solutions became the problem.
And now? You're stuck.
Sometimes you need to hit reset.
To take a deep breath. To look at what you actually have. To give up and let go of some parts. To cut your losses.
Because here's the truth: complexity is the enemy of execution.
Yes, you had good reasons for ending up here. Every procedure made sense at the time. Every system solved something. Every workaround patched a gap.
But that's not an argument for staying.
When you can't move, when you can't execute, when you're spinning in place and losing sight of the purpose — that's when you know entropy has won.
The Warning Signs
How do you know you're there? Here are some of the signals:
Your SOPs have become a maze.
They're filled with cross-references. You need additional maps, separate
documents, or even a chatbot just to navigate the mesh. The list of SOPs each
employee need to reed is massive, and at the same time only minor parts of the SOPs
are relevant to them.
Your organization requires explanation.
It's difficult to explain the org chart to new employees. They need insider
knowledge just to navigate it. "Who do I talk to about X?" becomes a
game of organizational archaeology.
Your systems outnumber your processes.
The list of integrations, middleware steps, pre-processing, and post-processing
steps outnumbers your actual systems. People need more than three systems just
to perform their basic job function.
Sound familiar?
You're not alone. And you're not powerless.
What You Can Do? Time to Reset.
Here are 5 actions for you as organization and as individual.
As an Organization
1. Take the hit, or actually - make the investment.
A reset isn't free. It costs time, money, and energy. But frame it correctly: this isn't a cost. It's an investment in your ability to move again. To execute. To grow.
2. Create a strategic plan to reset. Make simplification the objective.
Not "add one more thing." Not "patch this gap." Simplify. Strip back. Consolidate. Make that the explicit goal, and hold everyone to it.
3. Keep your eyes on the ball. Don't let the supporting cast wag the dog.
Your core functions matter most. Your support systems should serve them — not the other way around. If your reporting systems are driving your processes, you've lost the plot.
4. Make 360° rational decisions. Solve the problem — don't compensate for it.
Stop building workarounds. Stop patching. If something is broken, fix it or remove it. Address root causes, not symptoms.
5. Resist the bright and shiny. Focus on outcomes, not gadgets.
New tools are tempting. New platforms promise salvation. But more isn't better. Better is better. Ask: will this simplify our work, or complicate it?
As an Individual
1. Simplify.
In your own work, ruthlessly eliminate the unnecessary. Question every step. Challenge every process. If it doesn't add clear value, let it go.
2. Endorse change.
When the reset comes — and it will — be the person who champions it. Not the one who clings to "the way we've always done it." Change is hard, but stagnation is harder.
3. Kill your darlings.
That process you built three years ago? That system you championed? If it's not serving the mission anymore, let it die. Attachment is the enemy of progress.
4. Invest. Engage.
The reset might not be your preference. It might not be the most enjoyable part of your work. But it will make the fun parts funner — and give you more of them. Lean in.
5. See the big picture. Choose the overall good.
Your team, your preferences, your comfort zone — they matter. But not more than the mission. Not more than the organization's ability to function. Think beyond yourself.
The Bottom Line
Entropy doesn't care about your intentions. Chaos will increase unless you actively fight it.
And fighting it means letting go.
It means resetting.
It means choosing simplicity over familiarity, outcomes over activity, and the future over the past.
Listen more. Simplify more. Execute more.
And when the chaos creeps back in — because it will — don't wait too long to reset again.
Your organization's ability to move depends on it.
