What’s Your Rate Determining Step?

In Chemistry, the overall rate of a reaction is often determined by the slowest step, known as the rate determining step or rate-limiting step.  If you can speed up the rate determining step – for example by using a catalyst – then the rate of the overall reaction speeds up.

What has this to do with business? The analogy is that achieving the desired result is the combination of a number of different sequential steps.  One of these steps will be the slowest step – the rate-limiting step – and understanding this could help you do things faster.

The tip for this month is to identify a result or outcome which is not happening as quickly as you would like.  Then identify the key steps that the business has to go through to achieve that result or outcome.  Which is the rate determining step?  What can you do to speed up this step?