Exploit the constraint fully before investing in expanding…
Before investing in constraint elevation, verify that constraint capacity is being used at 100% for highest-value work rather than dissipated across low-priority tasks.
When This Fires
- Considering hiring to address a capacity bottleneck
- Proposing budget for new tools, infrastructure, or resources to relieve a constraint
- Any situation where "we need more X" is the proposed solution to a throughput problem
- When a constraint has been identified and the next step is "invest in fixing it"
Common Failure Mode
Treating "the team is maxed out" as evidence that capacity needs expanding. "Maxed out" means the team is working at full effort — but not necessarily on the right things. A team working 100% on a mix of high and low-priority work is not fully exploiting its constraint. Only a team working 100% on highest-value work has exhausted exploitation and needs elevation.
The Protocol
Before investing in constraint elevation: (1) Audit how the constraint's current capacity is allocated. What percentage goes to highest-value work? (2) If less than 90% → exploit first. Redirect low-priority work away from the constraint. Protect the constraint from meetings, admin, and coordination overhead. (3) Re-measure throughput after exploitation. (4) Only if throughput is still insufficient after the constraint is running at 90%+ on highest-value work → invest in elevation (hiring, tools, capacity expansion).