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Tag: Theory of Constraints

How to choose your first project

In my last post I showed you how to handle multiple possible constraints. Today I’m going to show you how to choose your first project.

If you have all the skills and influence you need to go straight after the constraint in your company, you should go for it. Overcoming your constraint is, by far, the most effective thing you can do for your company.

Unfortunately, unless you are an owner or a senior manager, attacking your constraint directly is probably impossible. You’ll need an indirect approach where you can improve your skills, influence, and understanding of your constraint. Almost everyone will need to go this route.

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How to handle multiple possible constraints

In my last post I talked about the importance of building your influence with the decision makers in your company. Today I’m going to show you how to handle multiple possible constraints.

If you’ve been following my advice, you’ve taken an interest in figuring out how your company actually works. You’ve probably found lots of things happening in your company that could be improved. Perhaps you’ve created a current reality tree or used the “5 whys” technique to drill down and find what you think might be the constraint in your company. Or maybe you drilled down and found a couple things that look like they might be the constraint but you’re not sure how to figure out which one is your actual constraint.

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Theory of Constraints for 10x programmers

10x programmers aren’t necessarily faster or better programmers than their 1x colleagues. They just don’t waste their time doing things that don’t matter. They concentrate their effort on the ‘thing’ that is capable of producing the most positive impact. It took me years to figure this out. I’d tried all kinds of things to increase my impact with mixed results. But everything changed when I discovered the Theory of Constraints and applied it to my work.

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