3 Questions to the Expert and 3 answers that explain complex phenomena in a simple way.
Stanisław Nowak is the kind of expert you rarely meet – world-class, incredibly kind, and able to patiently explain complex topics in a way that anyone can understand.
Can management benefit from approaches rooted in the hard sciences? What do we miss in business when we don’t grasp the basics of physics and mathematics? And why are simple models often more effective than complex ones?
This conversation isn’t about formulas. It’s about common sense, realism, and effectiveness in management—grounded in what physics teaches us: model thinking, logic, measurability, and… humility in the face of reality. I warmly invite you to read “3 Questions to the Expert” and 3 answers that explain complex phenomena in a simple way.
Episode #10: Why does a leader need physics in management?
Anna Modrzewska: Why does a leader need physics in management?
Stanisław Nowak: Physics is not strictly necessary, but it can be very helpful.
Physics is, above all, a science that teaches us the world can be approximated using models described in the language of mathematics. It teaches us that we can always find an approximate description of a system such that:
– we can identify a state function that describes how the model changes over time,
– we can determine parameters of that model—some numbers that tell us what state it is in,
– and we can assess how much our model deviates from reality, because there are no perfect models.
And here’s the interesting part: in physics, the best model is not the one that describes the system in the most detail, but the one that does so in the simplest way possible.
This is something that is also very useful in management: strive for simple solutions, and know when those simple solutions stop working. Because physics is also common sense.
Anna Modrzewska: What do we miss in business when we don’t understand physics well and we use it?
Stanisław Nowak: I understand this question that we have very poor knowledge of physics, but we have ambition to use it. What are we missing? Well, we are missing success, because usually it happens when we use something without understanding the basics.
I find this question more interesting: “What do we miss in business when we don’t understand physics well?” I think we miss realism. When we lack basic knowledge of physics – mathematics, logical reasoning, statistics – it’s much easier to believe in magical ways of running a business.
Physics grounds us. It shows us that true magic lies in matching the right model to a given situation. It’s no surprise that the methods of physics are increasingly applied in psychology (statistics), finance (modeling), and medicine (probabilities of complications), among others.
Anna Modrzewska: How can we increase our effectiveness in business by applying principles from physics? Where do we start?
Stanisław Nowak: Applying the principles of physics in business is especially useful when scaling a company. Take Uber, for example. Without advanced models – rooted in physics – it would be impossible to dynamically calculate fares, locate the nearest driver, and so on.Physics allows us to find a model, and once we have one, we can optimize its parameters to achieve the best possible result – measured in terms of time, cost, revenue (i.e., a “profit function”).
