How do I find the bottleneck in my business?

Look for where work piles up and waits. That queue, whether an approval, a person, or a step, is usually the constraint setting the pace of everything after it.

Is the bottleneck always a person?

Not always, but in operations it often is. When decisions or knowledge route through one or two people, they become the constraint, which is how the founder bottleneck forms.

← Glossary

Operations & process

Bottleneck

Also known as: operational bottleneck

A bottleneck is the point in a process where work piles up because the flow through it is slower than the demand on it, capping the pace of everything downstream.

Key takeaways

The bottleneck sets the speed of the whole system; improving other steps changes nothing until you relieve it.
In operations, bottlenecks are often people or decisions, not machines.
Finding and relieving the real constraint is usually the fastest way to make a business move quicker.

In operations, the bottleneck sets the speed of the whole system. You can improve every other step, but if the constraint stays where it is, total throughput will not change. Finding and relieving the real bottleneck is usually the fastest way to make a business move quicker.

Bottlenecks are often people or decisions, not machines. When decisions queue behind one or two people, those people are the constraint, which is how you get the founder bottleneck.

When it applies

Work consistently piles up at the same point in a process.
Everything waits on one person or one approval.
Adding effort upstream does not increase output downstream.

Commonly confused with

Founder bottleneck

A specific, common case where the founder is the constraint on the whole business.

Frequently asked

How do I find the bottleneck in my business?: Look for where work piles up and waits. That queue, whether an approval, a person, or a step, is usually the constraint setting the pace of everything after it.
Is the bottleneck always a person?: Not always, but in operations it often is. When decisions or knowledge route through one or two people, they become the constraint, which is how the founder bottleneck forms.

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