(Picture: Go DAWGS!)

Strategy 4 Saturday Blog (<4 minute read)

Rivalry Week: Washington vs. Oregon

It’s Rivalry Week in the expanded Big 10, and for the first time, the unranked Washington Huskies will face their top rival, the #1 ranked Oregon Ducks, in the final regular season game this Saturday. Historically, these teams would have played Washington State and Oregon State, but this matchup brings new stakes in 2024.

While Washington has won three straight over Oregon, they are heavy 19.5-point underdogs this year, with just one returning starter from last season. Can they keep the streak alive?

In the past, during Oregon’s infamous 12-game win streak over Washington, I found new ways to jab at the Ducks. According to one Academic Ranking site, Washington ranks 18th globally and 3rd among US public universities, while Oregon sits at 52nd in the U.S. News’ rankings, behind SUNY Buffalo at 36th. No disrespect to Buffalo, of course.

Now, let’s get back to the blog…

Picture: Some of the Family & Go DAWGS!
University of Washington

In one of my final terms to complete my Accounting concentration at the University of Washington, I was required to take a course in advanced cost accounting. That class ignited my passion for understanding how costs flow through an organization and into its products or divisions. It taught me how to identify profitability at granular levels—a skill critical for deciding whether to keep or cut products or business units. Accounting, I realized, is a powerful tool for operational clarity and decision-making. I was fascinated by how accounting could spotlight areas of strength and weakness, driving smarter strategies for growth.

The Goal

The course culminated in a surprising twist. Our professor, a Boeing consultant, recommended Eliyahu Goldratt’s The Goal and told us to “forget” much of what we’d learned. At first, this suggestion baffled me. Why undo what had taken an entire term to master? But as I read the book, I understood. The Goal reframed everything. It wasn’t about abandoning accounting; it was about using it differently—focusing on constraints that hindered profitability. The book’s fable of a struggling manufacturing manager brought the concepts to life, making them accessible and actionable.

Goldratt’s theory of constraints highlights that a system’s output is always limited by its bottleneck. This simple but profound idea applies to every industry. If you pour effort into non-constraining parts of a process, you’re wasting time and resources. Improvements only matter if they address the constraint directly. Bottlenecks determine the speed and efficiency of the entire operation, and until they’re fixed, nothing else will drive meaningful progress.

Clear Focus 

For example, one of my early clients at 40 Strategy wanted to improve a KPI related to their service delivery. By mapping their process from purchase order to final delivery, we discovered their cycle time was 140 hours, but actual processing only took 24 hours. The bottleneck? A step that slowed the flow of work, creating delays across the system. By focusing improvements on that step, we unlocked a cascade of efficiencies. Over 18 months, the company doubled its profits without significant new investments—just by addressing its bottleneck.

This principle applies far beyond manufacturing. It’s a universal truth: addressing the bottleneck is the fastest way to improve results. Whether it’s a process in manufacturing, service delivery, or even creative industries, identifying and solving the constraint unlocks efficiency and profitability. Goldratt’s ideas challenge us to think differently about our processes and where we focus our efforts. The lesson is clear: fixing what’s broken—not what’s convenient—is the only way to create lasting impact.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I’ll dive into how The Goal redefines accounting itself and how you can apply its lessons to modern challenges like AI investments.

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