“You literally wrote the book on bottlenecks, so why don’t we call you ‘the Bottleneck Guy’?”
I’m Clarke Ching, the “Bottleneck Guy.”
I’ve been powered by ToC and Lean for over 25 years and Agile since 2003.
I’m a computer scientist with an MBA and I’m on a mission to help people think simpler, solve smarter and cash in quicker.
Here’s the thing:
Adding a little ToC to your toolkit is like adding 40 IQ points to everyone in your entire team
Time and time again, I’ve seen clever people use just enough ToC to solve big gnarly problems that once flummoxed them and their colleagues.
Where they tend to get stuck is trying to do too much ToC.
If you’re short on time, let me leave you with two things:
ToC truly shines when you add Agile’s focus on people (over machines), and incremental, evolutionary implementation (over all-complete, boil the ocean solutions). Add the Agile mindset to ToC, and you’ll get better results, faster. And it won’t make your ears bleed.
Likewise, Agile truly shines when you manage it strategically using ToC. Agile teams are flow teams, and they have bottlenecks. Most teams don’t even know they have a bottleneck. And those that do, have the bottleneck in the wrong place, but they don’t even know it. In either case, they’re busy but sluggish. Over and over again I’ve seen Agile teams’ productivity soar by making just one ToC intervention: move the bottleneck to the right place.
Until they do that, the teams will feel busy, but busy is not the same as productive.
To help business executives and team leaders adapt ToC to 21st century tech environments, I’ve been writing books, presenting at Agile and ToC events and building an online community on LinkedIn.
And businesses that need that bit of clarity and extra-special expert guidance bring me in for remote consulting and coaching.
I’m your ToC guide.
To be honest, I’m a recovering smartiepants techie who’s been humbled over the years and knows that if our heart is in the right place, our brain never stops learning. Yes, I have an MBA, but I’m not a polished consultant with a big ego, fancy suit and deadly PowerPoint decks. I’m a guide. I don’t solve other peoples’ problems; I help them solve their problems. I’m Yoda to your Luke.
I’ve shown companies of all sizes all over the world how to apply ToC in non-industrial-manufacturing environments, but especially software development. And I know that with some help, you can get better at applying it too.
What People Are Saying
“I got to know Clarke at the beginning of my PhD study with the Victoria Business School in Wellington – New Zealand and attended some of his ToC lectures. Since then, I have followed his presentations/interviews on his channel and read a soft copy of his book Rolling Rocks Downhill, which he gifted to me—thanks Clarke.
If you have bottlenecks to deal with and need an expert, then do not look any further. Clarke has the simplest solution to complex problems, and you will feel very much involved in the process. I recommend him highly for his professional ethic, and knowledge/experience with ToC management and application to IT systems in particular.”