Make a Plan. Work the Plan: Bottleneck Edition
Julia A. Kalish, Ph.D., PMP, LSSBB
Ops Professor. Academy Director. Keynote Speaker. Aspiring Writer. Dreamer.
Something will inevitably bubble to the top as being THE thing blocking you from having your best week—so let’s get on top of it.
1. Identify the Most Likely Culprit: What is your bottleneck going to be? This crazy heat wave? Your coworker who’s on vacation? Your coworker who’s not on vacation? (Yeah, I said it.) Running short on funds? Broken machinery? A lost delivery? A fickle client?
2. Streamline Processes: Once you identify the likely bottleneck, focus on eliminating unnecessary activities related to it. Cancel unnecessary meetings? Reschedule less important activities? Right-size expectations (ditch the gold-plating)? Automate where you can? Make one phone call instead of multiple emails?
3. Increase Capacity at the Bottleneck: Add resources such as equipment, personnel, or time to the bottleneck. Reschedule your strongest worker to the bottleneck operation? Give that eager summer intern a chance? Drag out an old piece of equipment that could do some of the work? Outsource to a subcontractor? Offer overtime? Pay for expediting?
4. Balance the Workload: In the longer run, you may need to make changes to redistribute tasks more evenly. Shift tasks from the bottleneck to other business units? Permanently reassign workers? Buy new machinery? Contract with a specialized vendor? Increase headcount? Implement training? Redesign the entire process?
5. Just Do It: Make a plan. Work the plan. Nothing gets done if you don’t actually DO it. Go. Scoot.
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6moThis is an interesting article, Julia A. Kalish, Ph.D., PMP, LSSBB with some great recommendations. Thank you for sharing your perspective and ideas. People often overlook the fact that every system (individual, department, company, workflow, etc.) has a bottleneck. It is impossible to remove them all completely. The question should be, "Is this bottleneck located in the most advantageous location?" Have you ever wondered or noticed that the bottleneck is always at the top of the bottle 😉? Seriously though, I utilize a #timemanagement tool that helps people better understand where they spend their time. After analyzing, they then choose how to address each item. #productivity #management #leadership