Definition

The frustrating chokepoint in any process where everything slows to a maddening crawl because one step can't keep up with the rest. Like that one coworker who takes three days to approve something everyone else finished in an hour, bottlenecks are where productivity goes to die. Identifying and eliminating bottlenecks is a favorite pastime of efficiency consultants who charge outrageous fees to point out the obvious.

Example Usage

The manual approval process became a major bottleneck, delaying product launches by weeks while everyone waited for Karen in legal to return from vacation.

Source: Common business and operations terminology

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