This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back

Intelligent Management

Deming and Theory of Constraints for CEOs and Executive Teams for the Age of Complexity. Ess3ntial Critical Chain Project Management

  • THE DECALOGUE METHOD
    • The Problem for Every Business
    • The Systemic Solution
    • synchronize competencies
    • How It Works
    • business insight and foresight through systemic cause and effect reasoning
    • Our Education Modules for Systemic Management
  • about us
    • Dr. Domenico Lepore
    • the founders
    • Intelligent Management Success Stories
    • Our Books
    • Clients
    • Expanding Spiral of Positive Systemic Results with Intelligent Management
  • blog & books
    • Blog Theory of Constraints and Deming
    • Our publications
  • ITALIA
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Systems Thinking / When 1 + 1 Doesn’t Equal 2: Understanding How Combined Efforts Affect Overall Performance

Nov 02 2012

When 1 + 1 Doesn’t Equal 2: Understanding How Combined Efforts Affect Overall Performance

What happens when more than one person or more than one entity work together in the same direction? Is the result just the simple sum of their efforts?

What happens when more than one person or more than one entity work together in the same direction? Is the result just the simple sum of their efforts? The answer to this question is yes, but ONLY when the elements involved are independent of each other. In the theory of systems, the global “performance” of any collection of entities that are NOT interconnected is simply the sum of the single performances.

However, when the entities are interdependent, i.e. interconnected, then the global performance of these entities is NOT the sum of the single performances. The performance of the whole is not just the sum of the separate parts. It can be so much more.

Let’s take an example

If we talk about an organization, e.g. a company that is  made up of 5 different production facilities that operate without inter-depending (as if they were independent companies) then the profit of the whole organization is the simple sum of the profit of the single facilities. Nothing complicated here.

The situation changes drastically when you have a set of facilities that inter-depend. The interdependence is manifested in the exchange of products/services between the different facilities. This exchange generates a global performance that is affected by the variation and co-variation associated with the “exchange process”, and by the combined effect of the different “efforts” of the single facilities. Due to the highly non-linear nature of this process, the global performance of the system cannot, and will never be, the simple sum of the single performances.

How do we ensure optimal performance?

Since we do not know in advance the nature of the variation and co-variation we are dealing with, technically speaking we don’t have any “tool” that can predict the performance of the system. The combined effect of the different effort can generate a performance that is even better than the sum of the single performances.

The solution to the “optimal performance” problem has various  aspects, and they form the foundation of any attempt to manage an organization systemically. They consist in:

  1. Understanding the System
  2. Understanding the Variation that affects our processes
  3. Synchronizing the System

Let’s take a brief look at these:

1. Understanding the System
First we have to understand the system. What does that mean practically? It means we have to design the interdependencies. We do this by mapping out all the processes with the aid of Deployment Flowcharts.

2. Understanding the Variation that affects our processes

We need to understand the nature of the variation associated with any process we operate.  We can do this by using Statistical Process Control, and we stabilize the processes and work toward the reduction of the associated variation through process improvement.

3. Synchronizing the System
Once the processes are stable, we synchronize the system by subordinating each part of it to a well chosen constraint. In this way we focus the work of the organization towards a common goal   instead of focusing on individual, “local” goals as this leads to sub-optimization.

Hold your horses

In order to give a visual example, the result we obtain is similar to the sum of vectors. What would be the effect of two horses that are pulling a load but are heading in different directions instead of the same direction? The individual effort is the same, but the combined effort is different, depending on the directions they head towards. The more they pull in the same direction (common goal), with minimum diversion (low variation) and in synch, the greater the combined result. We need to design our organizations systemically to make sure that happens.

 

See also our series on Systemic Management:

Managing Variation: Why Entropy Matters

Variation and Processes

Why a Software Can Never Manage a Company

Transforming Industry with a Systemic Approach

Managing Projects the Systemic Way: Critical Chain

The Crucial Role of Synchronization in a Systems-Based Approach to Management

Operating a Systemic Organization: The Playbook

Managing a Systemic Organization: The Information System

The Physics of Management: Network Theory and Us

No Fear in the Workplace – Making It Happen

Drive Out Fear by Learning to Think Systemically

Don’t Climb, Grow! Success in the Systemic Organization

Can We Do Away with Hierarchy?

The Network of Projects: Driving Out Fear in the Post-Digital Age

Fear-free Career Paths in the Network of Projects

Learning, Joy, and the Interconnected Future

Structuring the Network of Projects: Algorithms and Emotions

Start Making Sense: Introduction To Statistical Process Control

Written by angela montgomery · Categorized: Systems Thinking · Tagged: cause and effect, change, complexity, Comstock Mining Inc., conflict, conflict cloud, conflict resolution, constraint, core conflict cloud, critical chain, Deming, digital cowboys, Domenico Lepore, economics, education, entropy, fear, future reality tree, Goldratt, hierarchy, human resources, information system, innovation, intelligence, Intelligent Management, interdependencies, leadership, learning, Lepore, Management Training, meaningful, mining, negative branch reservation, network, Network Theory, new economcis, new economics, organization, organizational design, physics, post-digitial, Prerequisite Tree, process, project, project management, Quality, statistical process control, sustainability, synchronization, Systems Thinking, theory of constraints, Thinking Process Tools, transformation, Transition Tree, variation

Search Form

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign Up For Our Systems View Blog!

Fields marked with a * are required.

Search Form

Recent Posts

  • Beyond Continuous Improvement: Deming and Goldratt together March 8, 2023
  • Confused about the Theory of Constraints? Don’t be! February 16, 2023
  • Why We Need Intelligent Management from Humans More than Ever February 2, 2023
  • Why Complexity Impacts Your Organization January 20, 2023
  • Continuous Learning is a Must for Organizations Today – A Systemic Approach Part 18 January 11, 2023
  • Why HR Is So Much More than a Department – A Systemic Approach Part 17 December 21, 2022
  • Are Your Management Methods and Style Obsolete? December 2, 2022
  • Sell More of What Your Company Does with the Resources You Already Have (External Constraint) – A Systemic Approach Part 16 November 3, 2022
  • The Science of Thinking Breakthroughs from Dr. Domenico Lepore for Today’s Complex Business Environment October 10, 2022
  • Shifting Your Focus from Cost to Throughput is How You Can Thrive – a Systemic Approach Part 15 September 29, 2022
  • Are Companies with a Hierarchical/Functional Mindset Dinosaurs? A Systemic Approach Part 14 September 22, 2022
  • Company Functions Are Limiting Your Organization’s Performance – A Systemic Approach Part 13 September 13, 2022
  • End Silos and Dissatisfaction: Learn to Operate as a Network of Projects Organization August 29, 2022
  • Leading and Managing Change Effectively: It’s A Process that Includes You – A Systemic Approach Part 11 August 21, 2022
  • Controlling the Whole Organization through the Constraint – A Systemic Approach Part 10 August 14, 2022

Social Icons

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011

Our Blog

  • Beyond Continuous Improvement: Deming and Goldratt together
  • Confused about the Theory of Constraints? Don’t be!
  • Why We Need Intelligent Management from Humans More than Ever
  • Why Complexity Impacts Your Organization
  • Continuous Learning is a Must for Organizations Today – A Systemic Approach Part 18

Recent Posts

  • Beyond Continuous Improvement: Deming and Goldratt together March 8, 2023
  • Confused about the Theory of Constraints? Don’t be! February 16, 2023
  • Why We Need Intelligent Management from Humans More than Ever February 2, 2023
  • Why Complexity Impacts Your Organization January 20, 2023
  • Continuous Learning is a Must for Organizations Today – A Systemic Approach Part 18 January 11, 2023

Connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Sign Up For Our Systems View Blog!

Fields marked with a * are required.
  • Home
  • Blog Theory of Constraints and Deming
  • Library
  • How to adopt systemic organization management
  • Knowledge Base for ‘The Human Constraint’
  • Contact Us

© 2021 Intelligent Management Inc. Canada

Privacy Policy