Everyone knows the aphorism “you are only as strong as your weakest link” but research now shows you can equally only be as strong as your strongest link- depending on the business you are in.
Adam Mastrioanni theorises there are two types of problems: strong-link and weak-link problems. Weak-link problems are those where the overall quality depends on how good the worst stuff is, and strong-link problems are those where overall quality depends on how good the best stuff is.
There are various examples to illustrate these types of problems, such as weak-links in food safety, car engines, nuclear proliferation. It’s easy to assume that all problems are like this, but they’re not. Some problems are strong-link problems: overall quality depends on how good the best stuff is, and the bad stuff barely matters take music, winning the Olympics, friendships, venture capital, and science. The key is in identifying whether a problem is a strong-link or weak-link problem is important because the way to solve them is different.
You can use this diagnosis too to, for example, to identify whether you are facing a strong-link or weak-link problem when trying to improve your products or services. If the problem is weak-link, the business can focus on making the weakest links stronger or eliminating them entirely.
However, the impact of the wrong analysis could lead to a significant waste of resources. If a business incorrectly identifies a weak-link problem as a strong-link problem, it focuses on improving the best stuff instead of eliminating the weakest links. This could lead to a situation where the business is investing in improving something that is already good, while the weakest links continue to drag down the overall quality of the product or service. My best example of this is customer service enhancement where businesses misdiagnose this as a strong-link problem; make the best better and your service improves. This is essentially exactly wrong- service is a weak-link problem. If you eliminate bad hygiene service (wrong orders, delayed deliveries etc) and address the weakest links in your customer experience you will become an industry leader and save millions in wasted efforts.
Conversely, removing poorly performing music artists from your music catalogue does little because the music industry is strong-link. Much better to focus on attracting the most popular artists- the best stuff – to attract more customers and increase revenue.
The Moral of the story- look at your chain and Identify the problem; weak-links or strong – and focus your efforts accordingly.
reference : https://www.experimental-history.com/p/science-is-a-strong-link-problem
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Love this concept thanks for sharing