Business Mastery

How To Burst Your Bottleneck And Get Quicker Results

I am finding the most frequent problem with creative entrepreneurs right now is they don’t know what they should focus on in their business in these uncertain times.

I recently ran my Just Finish Your Damn Project course. Most of the participants struggled to know what their project should be and what would be in most alignment for their clients and their current situation.

How about you? How do you know what should be your best focus for the next 90 days to meet your business goals?

One of the best ways to gain the clarity needed to propel your business forward is to identify your bottleneck.

The truth is, every business has bottlenecks. Bottlenecks are the most constricted points in our business, and it slows down all progress. If you could eliminate your bottlenecks, you would experience more success in your business than you currently have.

Identifying your bottleneck (or bottlenecks) is a great way to leverage your business to the next level. Getting clearer on the bottleneck helps entrepreneurs become clearer on the opportunities in front of them.

So instead of getting depressed by the bottleneck, let it help you look for the opportunity. It’s not only an opportunity, but it is a huge opportunity to propel you to results.

When you know your bottleneck, you often know what your 90-day Project is. (The strategic project to get you out of the bottleneck.)

The Power of the Bottleneck

Often when people think of bottlenecks in business, they think of manufacturing or big business. However, the concept of determining the biggest constriction in your business can be extremely powerful for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Discover Your Bottleneck (or Constraint) Exercise

To find your weakest link, make a list of all the obstacles that are preventing you from reaching your goals:

List 5 to 10 undesirable effects of these obstacles as they relate to your goals.

Build out a map of causes. Create a fundamental cause and effect chain. (You are on a hunt for the pattern of events getting in your way from completing the project.)

To do this, ask yourself: 

Why am I not getting my project done? Listen to the answer and write it down.

Why is that happening? Listen to the answers and write all of them down.

Ask again, why is that happening? Keep going, asking yourself that question until you put down the whole chain of events.

You’ll notice that these issues are more related than you realize. And if you follow the chain long enough, you will find that there is a convergence of causes. There will be fewer causes until you get to either one or just a few that are actually causing all the challenges. 
 This is your constraint. 
If you would like some support in harnessing your constraint and how to translate that knowledge to focus into your next 90-day milestones, schedule a complimentary session.  Step It Up Breakthru Session