Sometimes, a bottleneck is a good thing. It wouldn’t be possible to enjoy a beer if it was served in a bowl – the bottleneck generates the optimal impact flow.
It would be difficult to water your yard without a nozzle. The bottleneck generates the pressure which allows you to water further away.
But in an organization, a bottleneck can be a serious problem. The production speed is always based on the slowest step of the production. We can optimize the speed for one step, but if another step is slower it is the latter that will define the production flow. And this does not only apply to traditional production lines…
- If you have files piling up on your desk,
- If your coworkers postpone the meeting because your presence was required.
- If your team awaits your approval in order to move forward.
You might be hampering the progress and the flow of all the process. You are the bottleneck!