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11Principle · Group 2

Bottleneck Focus

Theory of constraints

“The performance of the whole depends on its narrowest point, so put your effort where it relieves the bottleneck.”

Every system has one point that sets its pace. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Group 2: Forces and ResourcesT6 Business Strategy
Go to the in-depth section ↓
Five teal frames stand in a row, open to different widths, and mist-blue dots flow from left to right until they pile up in front of the narrowest frame. Two other frames widen to no effect; only when the narrow frame widens in gold do the dots flow through, and right away another frame lights up as the new narrow point.
In short

The performance of the whole depends on its narrowest point, so put your effort where it relieves the bottleneck.

What it’s about: Every system has one point that sets its pace. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Strengthening the other links does not make it any stronger. Improvements at the bottleneck move the whole; improvements elsewhere achieve little.

In depth

The principle in detail

Three steps through the principle: grasp it, place it, put it to work. Open each topic on its own.

The core messageCore statement and 3 clarifications
In essence

The narrowest point determines the performance of the whole. If you concentrate your effort there, you move the most.

It does not say
That the most visible problem is the bottleneck. Where the complaints are loudest is often not where everything is waiting.
It does not say
That you should put more strain on the bottleneck. If the bottleneck is people, they need relief, not more work.
It also says
Every bottleneck you relieve gives rise to a new one. The search never ends.
The explanationYou find the actual bottleneck, not the loudest one.

The principle calls for three steps.

  • You find the actual bottleneck, not the loudest one.
  • You use it to the full and subordinate everything else to it.
  • Then you expand it and immediately look for the next one, because relieving a bottleneck only moves the narrow point somewhere else.
The question

What is everything else in your world waiting on right now?

The signs3 signs when you heed it · 3 when you overlook it
When you heed it
  • You know where work is piling up, and you can explain why.
  • Whatever the bottleneck needs takes priority, even if other things have to wait.
  • After every improvement, you ask where things are getting stuck now.
When you overlook it
  • You and your team keep busily improving processes, and the result stays the same.
  • The most capable people are the most overloaded, and work piles up in front of them.
  • Every decision waits for you.
The backgroundTradition T6 Business Strategy
  1. 1971–1977
    OriginWolfgang Mewes

    Die kybernetische Managementlehre (EKS)

  2. 1984
    SupplementedEliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

    The Goal

  3. Tradition T6
    TraditionBusiness Strategy

    Michael E. Porter, Richard P. Rumelt, Henry Mintzberg, Clayton M. Christensen, W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne

    See the tradition on the Origin page
Read more: the full background

From Wolfgang Mewes’s bottleneck-focused strategy, taught as the correspondence course “Die kybernetische Managementlehre (EKS)” (1971–1977). Supplemented by Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, which became known through the novel “The Goal” (1984).

The research3 sources: 2 theories, 1 review · 1971–2009 · with limitations of the research
3 sources1971–2009 period2 theories1 review
Strength of evidence
  1. weak
  2. moderate
  3. strong

For processes in series, the basic statement follows from logic; evidence that the methods work comes mostly from the circles of their originators.

  1. 1971
    Theory
    Wolfgang Mewes

    “Die kybernetische Managementlehre (EKS)” (in German; “The Cybernetic Theory of Management”), a correspondence course: concentrating forces on a narrow target group and the need it feels most acutely; the scarcest factor limits development.

  2. 1984
    Theory
    Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

    “The Goal”: a plant manager saves his factory by finding its bottlenecks and increasing their capacity; the Theory of Constraints grows out of this.

  3. 2009
    Review
    Mahesh Gupta and Doug Snyder

    “Comparing TOC with MRP and JIT: a literature review”: there is a lack of case studies linking the introduction of the Theory of Constraints to better financial results.

Where the research reaches its limits
  • The principle assumes that there is one clear bottleneck.
  • In complex systems, several narrow points often interact and shift one another.
  • Where people are concerned, focusing on the bottleneck can overload precisely those people.
  • Sometimes the bottleneck is a rule or a habit that can only be removed by a decision.
  • The evidence for EKS comes mostly from the circles of its proponents; the literature review by Mahesh Gupta and Doug Snyder has been accessed only through secondary literature.
Read more: what research shows

In the German-speaking world, the principle goes back to Wolfgang Mewes. He analyzed the behavior of successful business owners and derived from it his bottleneck-focused strategy (German: Engpasskonzentrierte Strategie, EKS): concentrate your forces on a narrowly defined target group and remove the need it feels most acutely. In doing so, he applied the law of the minimum from crop science to companies. Internationally, the idea became known through the novel “The Goal” by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox, from which the Theory of Constraints with its five steps emerged. For a process in series, the basic statement follows by simple arithmetic: it never delivers more than its narrowest point. By contrast, there is little evidence in the scientific literature that the methods work in organizations.

The related principles06 Center of Gravity · 07 Concentration of Force · 09 Economy of Force · 15 Logistics
Center of GravityConcentration of Force

Like 06 Center of Gravity, the bottleneck marks the point on which the whole depends, and it tells you where to direct your forces under 07 Concentration of Force

Economy of Force

Whatever is not needed there gets only as much as necessary under 09 Economy of Force

Logistics

Often, as 15 Logistics shows, supply itself is the bottleneck

Read more: the full text

Like 06 Center of Gravity, the bottleneck marks the point on which the whole depends, and it tells you where to direct your forces under 07 Concentration of Force; whatever is not needed there gets only as much as necessary under 09 Economy of Force. Often, as 15 Logistics shows, supply itself is the bottleneck.

The action steps5 action steps: Walk through an important process from start to finish and look at where work piles up.
  1. Walk through an important process from start to finish and look at where work piles up. That is where the bottleneck is, not where people complain the most.
  2. Check whether you yourself are the bottleneck. Count how many matters are currently waiting for a decision from you.
  3. Protect the bottleneck: take everything off its plate that others can do too, and never let it run idle.
  4. Put time, money and people into expanding the narrowest point first. Other improvements can wait, even if they would be easier.
  5. After every expansion, ask right away where things are getting stuck now. The next bottleneck is already there.
The reflection questions3 questions: Which matters are currently waiting for a decision from you?
  1. Which matters are currently waiting for a decision from you?
  2. What are you working on with great effort without anything changing in the result?
  3. If you were allowed to improve only one point in your area, which would it be, and how can you tell?

Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.

To finish
The picture to rememberThe animation once more, with an explanation
  1. Five teal frames stand in a row, open to different widths, and mist-blue dots flow from left to right until they pile up in front of the narrowest frame
  2. Two other frames widen to no effect
  3. Only when the narrow frame widens in gold do the dots flow through, and right away another frame lights up as the new narrow point
From real life

How the principle shows up in practice

BusinessPerson

Henry Ford, the assembly line

In 1913, Ford targets exactly the assembly step that limits his production. The labor time per chassis falls from around 12.5 hours to 93 minutes.

The key pointInstead of making improvements in many places, Henry Ford and his engineers attacked the bottleneck: first on a small scale with the magneto, then with the assembly of the whole car. Labor time per chassis fell from 12.5 hours to 93 minutes, prices fell, and sales and production rose.
Read the full example
EducationPerson

Florence Nightingale, Scutari

In the Crimean War, most soldiers die not of wounds but of disease. Only hygiene, ventilation and sewage disposal bring the death rate down, and Nightingale makes this bottleneck visible with numbers.

The key pointLater, Nightingale analyzed the data, identified living conditions as the main cause and made this visible to everyone with her diagrams. Her story thus shows both how powerful a relieved bottleneck is and how important it is to find the right one.
Read the full example
FaithMediaBook & model

Martin Luther, the September Testament

In 11 weeks, Luther translates the New Testament into German that people can understand. In doing so, he opens the bottleneck that was blocking access to the Bible.

The key pointThe September Testament of 1522 sold out immediately and opened the way for much else. After that, the next bottleneck came into view: literacy, to which Luther responded with his call for schools.
Read the full example
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In context

Group 2: Forces and Resources

Guiding question: Where do you commit your forces, and how long will they last?

Stage 3 of 5: Choose the path

Where the 92 principles come from: eight traditions of strategy, from classical war theory to dealing with uncertainty.

More about the origin

Background: WEGVISOR’s own selection from the strategy literature · More about the origin

Examples

The principle in practice

From the different spheres of society.

Business

Henry Ford, the Assembly Line and Bottleneck Focus

In 1913, assembling a Model T chassis at Ford’s Highland Park plant takes around 12.5 hours of labor. Henry Ford and his engineers attack exactly that step with a moving assembly line. By 1914, the effort falls to 93 minutes, and the car becomes affordable for millions.

Bottleneck Focus
Education

Florence Nightingale, Scutari and Bottleneck Focus

In the Crimean War, far more soldiers in the military hospital at Scutari die of disease than of their wounds. Only when sewage, ventilation and hygiene become the focus does the death rate fall sharply. Florence Nightingale later makes this bottleneck visible with numbers, and in doing so changes the British Army’s health policy.

Bottleneck Focus
FaithMedia

Martin Luther, the September Testament and Bottleneck Focus

At the beginning of the 16th century, most people cannot read the Bible for themselves because the authoritative version is in Latin. At the Wartburg, Martin Luther translates the New Testament into German in 11 weeks. In September 1522, it appears in an edition of 3,000 to 5,000 copies and quickly sells out.

Bottleneck Focus
EducationGovernment

Movie: Hidden Figures

In “Hidden Figures” (2016), the mathematician Dorothy Vaughan realizes that NASA’s new IBM mainframe is sitting unused because no one can program it. She learns Fortran, teaches it to her entire group and turns the bottleneck into an opportunity for everyone.

Bottleneck Focus
FAQ

Questions about Bottleneck Focus

What does Bottleneck Focus say?

The performance of a system is determined by its narrowest point. If you direct your effort at this bottleneck, you improve the whole. Improvements elsewhere, by contrast, achieve little.

Where does Bottleneck Focus come from?

In the German-speaking world, mainly from Wolfgang Mewes, who taught his bottleneck-focused strategy (EKS) starting in 1970. Internationally, the idea became known through Eliyahu M. Goldratt and his 1984 novel “The Goal,” from which the Theory of Constraints emerged.

What are some examples of Bottleneck Focus?

In 1913, Henry Ford focused on assembly and drastically cut the labor time per chassis. In the Crimean War, hygiene turned out to be the decisive lever against the death toll.

How well is Bottleneck Focus supported by research?

Evidence: weak – for processes in series, the basic statement follows from logic; evidence that the methods work comes mostly from the circles of their originators.

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