Comments on: Entropy, Salmon, and Swimming

By: Mo

Mo — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:47:37 +0000

As Kelvin said – How do you think this stuff up – I wonder if there are certain drugs involved – just kidding. Nice post!

By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:30:42 +0000

Thanks for the excellent comments everyone. You are all the best at keeping things interesting. I learn so much from you all. Have a great weekend everyone.

By: Lester Sutherland

Lester Sutherland — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:34:56 +0000

Ron,
Very good thoughts, and the follow-up posts are interesting also. It is difficult to always keep the energy level high, even the Salmon rest at times in calm water; and the geese form V’s to save energy while flying. The best way to keep the ability to put energy into the system and keep forging ahead is to have a long-term goal. The vision is extremely important, to companies and to people. Toyota has had such a vision so far that includes community service and the famous “Respect for People”. That allows them to mesh their employees visions (and help them develop one) and gain energy from the synergy of a shared vision. Families do this when they are working well, and when they lose their shared vision they tend to fall apart. All the Salmon having a shared goal makes the swim worth it, even for those that only encourage the others into the great leap to the top of the dam. The thing that inspires me is when I see the organization underlying the chaos…. Now if only my toolbox would self organize.

By: Pete Abilla

Pete Abilla — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:44:38 +0000

Good stuff, Ron.

Extending you analogy, the salmon also know the best way to swim upstream — they don’t zig-zag or swim upstream in an s pattern, but they swim straight upstream, while jumping. This point might be subtle, but is instructive for all of us: when we create processes, let us do so with the least number of possible touches — elegance is simplicity and, as the salmon understands, simplicity is also practical — it gets them where they want to go.

Mitigating the effects of entropy has everything to do with channeling energy more effectively, by eliminating unnecessary steps.

By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Gosh, Kelvin, I don’t know. My mind never seems to stop churning. I’ll be talking to someone and think of an idea… or I’ll be driving down the road and think of something.

In this case, I am presenting at a conference next week and the topic of entropy came up… a few days later this post was born.

By: Kelvin Lewis

Kelvin Lewis — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:47:21 +0000

How do you think of this stuff?

By: Ron Pereira

Ron Pereira — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:36:36 +0000

Thanks, Craig and Brian. I appreciate your kind words.

I’ve thought about this post for some time and finally found a way of capturing my ideas on paper.

By: Brian Buck

Brian Buck — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:37:44 +0000

Simply stunning Ron. Great post!

By: Craig Wolf

Craig Wolf — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:24:52 +0000

Initially, I thought you had lost your mind comparing us to salmon. Then the more I thought about it the more I realize this may be one of the most brilliant analogies I’ve ever heard.