A dying factory, a hike with Boy Scouts, and one question that saves everything.
Who drives the story
Plant manager of UniCo's Bearington plant, handed three months to save it. He unlearns everything he was taught about efficiency, saves the factory, gets promoted — and applies the same thinking to his own marriage.
Alex's former physics professor turned advisor, who asks the questions no one else does. He asks probing questions that challenge Alex's metrics and assumptions.
Alex's wife, tired of coming second to the plant. She leaves, then returns as Alex applies the bottleneck-focusing-steps logic to their relationship.
Division vice-president who delivers the three-month ultimatum and hounds Alex over late orders. Bill Peach is promoted, and Alex is offered Peach's old job as division vice-president of manufacturing.
Production manager. He identifies the plant's two bottlenecks with Stacey.
Plant controller. He helps Alex see that the plant's throughput is not covering operational expense, and inventory is enormous.
Inventory manager. She identifies the plant's two bottlenecks with Bob Donovan.
Data processing manager. His group develops a system to schedule releases based on bottleneck capacity, and they cut batch sizes in half.
Division controller who presents the grim numbers at headquarters and later audits the plant's books.
Also in the story
The slowest Boy Scout on the hike, whose pace governs the whole troop. He becomes the metaphor for a bottleneck.
President of UniCo's biggest customer. His large new order, promised on a delivery no one else can match, becomes proof the turnaround is real.
Sales manager who secures a large new order from Bucky Burnside's company by promising delivery no one else can match.
How they are connected
Alex's former physics professor turned advisor, who asks the questions no one else does.
Alex's wife, tired of coming second to the plant.
Division vice-president who delivers the three-month ultimatum and hounds Alex over late orders.
He identifies the plant's two bottlenecks with Stacey.
He helps Alex see that the plant's throughput is not covering operational expense, and inventory is enormous.
Sales manager who secures a large new order from Bucky Burnside's company by promising delivery no one else can match.
Go deeper
The goal is money, not busyness · Bottlenecks rule everything · Efficiency can be a mirage · The constraint is often how you think
Themes explainedThe full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.
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