DeMarco wrote the definitive book, Slack, in 2000.
Yet 20 years later, managers are still driving people and systems beyond 100% utilisation in the deluded belief that it will get more work done.
This is wrong on so many levels:
– it’s inhumane. It treats people like “Human Capital Stock“, not people.
– it burns out your Human Capital Stock, so even if you are a psychopath, it’s still stupid.
– it doesn’t work. Mathematically, queuing theory proves that maximum throughput does not come at maximum utilisation.
– it doesn’t work, observably. Less gets done, and the same managers wonder why.
– nothing improves. “Transformation” fails. With no headroom to experiment, learn, or innovate, the system rots. Again, observably. Yet the same managers wonder why.
Manager: Tell me whats wrong with our employees. Can you fix them?
Me: I don’t think it’s them
This is our focus at Teal Unicorn: freeing up management so that the organisation can advance.
Our goal is better work: better results, better lives, better society.
The key to unlocking that potential is new ways of managing.
And that begins with management awareness of the need for ways of managing to change.
Start there.
And pretty soon we will arrive at Headroom, which leads quickly to Demand Management.