During the New Product Development process, build a system of metrics to monitor progress. Include input metrics, such as average time in each stage, as well as output metrics that measure the value of launched products, percentage of new product sales and other figures that provide valuable feedback.
Work done by a system decreases the internal energy of the system, as indicated in the First Law of Thermodynamics. System work is a major focus in the discussion of heat engines.
Relax, you don't need them to explain this concept to students. The Second Law of Thermodynamics absolutely does NOT say everything tends toward disorder (or decay)! It is not a universal law of messiness.