Theory of Constraints

The Theory of Constraints is a management approach that says every system is held back by one limiting factor at a time, so the fastest route to more output is to focus relentlessly on that one constraint rather than improving everything at once. It comes from Eliyahu Goldratt's book The Goal and runs as a five-step loop: identify the constraint, exploit it (squeeze maximum value from it as-is), subordinate everything else to it, elevate it (add capacity), then repeat once the constraint moves.

For a lean founder this is a sanity-saving filter. With limited hours and money you cannot improve every part of the business, and trying to spreads you thin. The Theory of Constraints tells you to pour your scarce attention into the single step that gates growth, and to deliberately ignore the rest until that one is resolved. It turns a sprawling to-do list into a sequence of one clear, high-leverage problem at a time.