# Running Operations Most execution problems aren't effort problems — they're system problems. Queues build up, decisions bottleneck, work-in-progress explodes, and everything takes longer than it should. People work harder and harder while throughput stays flat or declines. The fix isn't motivation or management heroics. It's understanding flow: how work moves through systems, where it gets stuck, and what actually determines how much gets done. --- ## Flow and constraints How work actually moves — and why it often doesn't. **[[The Execution Trap]]** — Four failure modes that look like execution problems but aren't: decision latency, queue overload, starting bias, trust gaps. The integrated diagnosis. **[[Capacity and Flow]]** — Why WIP discipline is the master lever. The relationship between utilisation, queue time, and throughput. **[[Hidden Bottleneck]]** — Decisions are a constraint category we don't see. Finding the real bottleneck before improving anything else. **[[Stop Starting, Start Finishing]]** — The bias toward new work over completing existing work. Why finishing is harder and matters more. **[[Expensive Yes]]** — Every yes adds to an invisible queue. The hidden cost of commitments. **[[Variety Kills Flow]]** — The hidden cost of doing many different things. Why specialisation often beats flexibility. **[[The Last Twenty Percent]]** — The final stretch of capacity isn't capacity. It's the margin that absorbs variance. Why running hot breaks systems. **[[Marginal Gains, Marginal Returns]]** — Improve the constraint, not everything. Why broad optimisation often wastes effort. --- ## Standards and tempo How organisations maintain performance over time. **[[Standards, Tempo, Focus]]** — Three things determine how an organisation performs. They interact as a system — you can't fix one without the others. **[[Weekly Notes]]** — Von Braun's weekly notes system. A practice for maintaining visibility and tempo across an organisation. **[[Factory or Lab]]** — Replicating known value versus discovering new value. Different modes require different management. Match mode to work. --- ## Communication The mechanics of moving information. **[[Meeting Modes]]** — Review versus tactics versus strategy. Different purposes require different prep, different structures, different decisions. **[[When to Meet]]** — Most things don't need synchronous time. Knowing when to meet and when not to. **[[Clear Writing]]** — Short paragraphs, concrete details, active voice. The basics that most business writing gets wrong. **[[SCQA]]** — Situation, complication, question, answer. The structure that makes communication land. **[[Slide Mechanics]]** — Visual formatting and language discipline. How slides work as a medium. **[[Vertical Logic]]** — Governing thought first, then supporting points, then evidence. The pyramid principle in practice.