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.
Jack Links
Freadom
Philips
Lockheed Martin
DFDS
Hubtel Ghana
Qualco
Graham & Brown
CR2
YearUp.org
Slicedbread
Emerson Process Management
Workday
Deliotte
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
Sage
Schlumberger
Epic Games
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Nottingham County Council
Ghana Police Service
Royal Air Force
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
New Signature
Teleplan
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Philips
Xceptor - Process and Data Automation
DFDS
