Our words are powerful… they can communicate thoughts and intentions and persuade people to take action. Businesses are usually well aware of choosing the right words when creating a marketing message. Still, few are aware of the power of word choice when analysing constraints on a business. [1]
A constraint is anything that prevents your business from achieving its goal.
Most people set out looking for physical constraints, such as production capacity, number of sales, or warehouse size. The problem with this approach is that constraints are not always physical; instead, they can be embedded in our language and can be tricky to detect.
Eliyahu M. Goldratt describes how…
“The word ‘cost’ prevents the goal of maximizing profit. When we use the word, ‘cost,’ an assumption is made that increasing costs result in less profit.” [2]
This is a perfect example of a language constraint.
If the word ‘cost’ refers to an ‘operating expense,’ then yes, increasing ‘cost’ would reduce profit. However, if the word ‘cost’ refers to an ‘investment expense,’ then the opposite is true. This is because wise investments increase profit.
Another common language constraint is the term ‘speeding up’, based on the assumption that working faster would achieve the goal of greater productivity. However, ‘speeding up’ is not the answer in many cases.
The solution is often embedded in efficiency rather than just speed. A successful process management system can increase staff efficiency and reduce the processing time of tasks. Changing the vocabulary choice from ‘speeding up’ to ‘improving efficiency’ assists in identifying the solution to the constraint.
When analysing the constraints in your business, listen to the language being used.
Are your words adding to the constraint or helping you overcome it?
References
1Ordica, Salvador. Forbes Business Council. 2021. “How Language and Word Choice can Affect your Business.
2Goldratt, Eliyahu. 1990. “Theory of Constraints.” The North River Press.
