Measuring individual worker speed in manufacturing or knowledge work can create bottlenecks; true efficiency comes from improving the whole system, not just individuals.
Imagine a manufacturing plant where someone decides to measure how fast one worker moves a part from their station to the next.
They speed up. They move parts as fast as possible. But downstream, the parts pile up because the system isn’t ready for them. The bottleneck isn’t fixed. Nothing actually gets delivered faster.
This is exactly what happens when you measure individual cycle time in knowledge work. Someone finishing tasks quickly doesn’t mean anything if those tasks sit in queues, waiting on reviews, approvals, or handoffs.
Speed comes from fixing the system—not from pushing people to move faster.
Who’s still measuring individual cycle time in 2025?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Lockheed Martin
Epic Games
Freadom
Bistech
Teleplan
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Healthgrades
Genus Breeding Ltd
Capita Secure Information Solutions Ltd
Lean SA
Xceptor - Process and Data Automation
Akaditi
Jack Links
Emerson Process Management
ALS Life Sciences
Microsoft
Alignment Healthcare
Schlumberger
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Ghana Police Service
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Royal Air Force
Nottingham County Council
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Schlumberger
New Signature
Slaughter and May
Alignment Healthcare
DFDS
