A Change of Phase - Organizational Transformation

I am not a physicist, but I don't let that keep me from speaking authoritatively about things I don't understand. Here goes.

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6c.html

I am amazed about the truth that we find in God's creation that we can apply in many ways. A few weeks ago, I heard someone talking about energy and what was required to change the phase of different kinds of matter. (Yes, strangely enough I listen to such things.) I learned some interesting things about water in the process  As water warms up or cools off, it either releases or absorbs energy. When water changes from ice to liquid to vapor, it has to absorb energy. When it changes from vapor to liquid to ice, it releases energy. So far, so good.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/phase.html

The amount of energy required to heat up water is not a constant. At 0 degrees Celsius, water changes from a solid (ice) to a liquid. This requires 80 calories of energy per gram of water for that change to occur at 0 degrees. The change from solid to liquid is referred to as a "phase change." Then, it takes 1 calorie of energy to change the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree, so if I have 1 gram of water, it will take 100 calories to raise the temperature of that water from 0 degrees Celsius (the freezing point) to 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point). The liquid remains liquid during this entire range of temperature. But then something amazing happens at 100 degrees--water starts to boil, and the liquid begins to change to vapor. The change from liquid to vapor IS a phase change, and in order for that to happen, the water must absorb an additional 540 calories of energy per gram of water. So, at the risk of oversimplifying to the point of inaccuracy, I'll just say this. It takes 1 calorie of energy to raise the temperature of one gram water from 98 degrees to 99 degrees. It takes 1 calorie of energy to raise the temperature of one gram of water from 99 degrees to 100 degrees. But then it takes an additional 540 calories of energy at the 100 degree point to cause the liquid to convert to a gas.

The lesson is this. Consider the organization. Revolutionary change is not the same as evolutionary change. When the change is only temperature, we can keep doing what we've been doing...just a little bit more of it. But when the change is one of phase, much more energy is required to compel and sustain the change. We cannot bring about transformational change in organizations unless we are prepared to commit the extra resources necessary to make that transformation (the phase change) occur. And if water is any indicator, the extra amount required to induce the phase change is many times greater than what is needed for incremental change.

We are going through some changes in my work environment at this very moment. For the past several years, we have essentially tried to warm up the water, not vaporize it. But now, we are going for the phase change, and our leaders seem to embrace the reality that this will require much more than a gentle nudge of the gas valve. Sadly, too many organizations want something for nothing, which is like trying to boil water without enough heat. Even if you do achieve it, you can't sustain it.

If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. Yup.