I’m reading Dune for the first time, and I’m looking forward to watching the film once I finish the book.
One of the characters, Lady Jessica, makes a statement that got me thinking: “Growth is limited by that necessity which is found in the least amount. And, naturally, the least favourable condition controls the growth rate.”
For example, let’s take a plant: it needs sunlight, water, and soil to grow. If it has a lot of sunlight and soil, but no water, the absence of water limits its growth.
Or say we’re trying to build muscle. We need to train, eat sufficient protein, and get a lot of sleep. Although we train consistently and eat cleanly, without adequate sleep we won’t grow.
These examples are simple. The inputs and outputs are clear and causal. But the concept gets murky when we start to apply it to teams of people working together.
The ingredients for success for one team, project, or company, may be completely different from another.
Some teams thrive on sprints followed by rest, others prefer a consistent, steady pace. Some teams need blue-sky opportunity to get them motivated, others need a burning platform. Some teams want clear direction given to them, others want to forge their own path.
Although we aren’t able to define universal ingredients for success for teams, that’s not the point. The point is to, as quickly as possible, identify the limiting factor.
What’s the thing that’s stopping our teams from growing?
And we start there.