Knowledge
The weakest link first
Theory of Constraints: a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Improve anywhere else and nothing changes.
Everyone is busy, so everyone looks like the bottleneck. Yet at any moment exactly one link limits the throughput of the whole organisation. Find that link, focus everything on it, and start again as soon as it moves. In this session you play the chain out, learn Goldratt's five focusing steps and Alan Barnard's five pairings, and fill in your own action plan at the end.
Find: where does the work pile up?
The pile always lies in front of the constraint.
Being busy is not the same as being the constraint. Do not look at who runs hardest, look at where the work is waiting: queues, full inboxes, open tickets. In the presentation you play it out with a chain of five steps. Speeding up planning changes nothing; the one step that can handle six a day decides what the chain delivers.
Focus: the constraint sets the rhythm
Exploit, subordinate, elevate. And start again.
First get everything out of the constraint without investing. Let the rest of the organisation follow its pace, even when that means a department deliberately does less. Invest only after that. And as soon as the constraint moves, start again. Barnard's five pairings turn this into an action plan: one goal, one constraint, one problem, one conflict, one experiment.
Improve the weakest link. The rest can wait.
Rather take it step by step?
Prioritising, processes and AI are covered in our course AI(l) or nothing.
One chapter a week: one concept, four angles to understand it and a fifteen-minute assignment. From what AI actually is to how you choose which process to tackle first.
What we watch for
One constraint at a time, even when everyone is busy
The pile points at the constraint, not the sweat
Sometimes the constraint is a rule, not a machine
One goal, one constraint, one problem, one experiment
The process on the constraint is the one we work out first
Allez up!
Shall we talk about your situation? Pick what suits you and mention it in your message, and we will schedule it.
- Walkthrough: we go through this piece with you or your team, using your own example.
- Interview: we ask how things work at your company, you get an honest picture of where it gets stuck.
- Introduction: half an hour, no sales pitch, just an answer to where to start.
Plan a conversation about your constraint
Rather talk straight away? Call +31 85 007 0497 or email info@newway.nl.
