There are 4 unemployed parties who live in my house. They are aged 2, 7, 8 and 12. One is a dog and 3 are my children. They are dependent on me for most of their needs. While they are particularly dependent, all of these individuals are particularly influential. If we decide to go on a family outing, the needs of the children are generally the most influential when it comes to deciding on a venue for the outing. Before deciding where to go and how long to go for, we have to make sure that our dog Lucy will be able to manage without us for that period of time. Therefore, those who contribute the least financially to my household, have the greatest say in terms of where and how I will spend my leisure time. On paper Lucy the dog is the weakest link but in reality she can influence the duration of my holidays and has become very powerful.
I had a similar insight on a recent trip with my family where we had to do a lot of walking and use multi modal public transport. The person who was most tired, hungriest or had the most painful feet ultimately decided on the agenda for the day. Even if 80% of the group was still full of energy and happy to continue for the day, we would be forced to stop and rest if one person required a break. This is not a criticism at all but a reality. If you care about completing a task or an activity together, your progress is actually determined by the progress of the weakest member in your group.
Some of you may already have connected the dots that this is very aligned with the Theory of constraints which is defined below by the industrial manufacturers Vorne…(If you want some proper theoretical grounding in this theory I recommend The Goal by Eli Goldratt. It is written as a novel but brings the concepts to life)
The Theory of Constraints is a methodology for identifying the most important limiting factor (i.e., constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor.
I spent a few weeks recently in some countries in Europe and it became clear to me that the biggest social issues they face at the moment are to do with healthcare and frail care for their ageing society. Whether it is the quality of healthcare or the speed that ambulances respond to emergency calls, the major beneficiaries are the older members of their societies. These are their weakest links. Contrast this with South Africa where I live and the greatest social issues are a result of a significant unemployed youth cohort. If the ageing population in the United Kingdom does not receive sufficient healthcare or the youthful population in South Africa do not get access to jobs and regular income, there will be instability and major pushback to the politicians in both these countries. There are numerous examples and I’m sure you can think of a few.
There, unfortunately, is one precondition required for making a weak link an influential link. The other parties or members of the grouping must feel some sort of obligation to the weaker members. As an example, any good parent will feel some sort of obligation to their minor children. Any good government will feel some sort of obligation to their most vulnerable citizens. It is not likely that I would decide to leave my child in the middle of town to fend for themselves because their feet or stomachs are sore. Fortunately, in most democracies governments do care about the weakest in society. Even if this is for the simple reason that they wish to get voted back in.
Many of us strive to be the strongest in the group. The ones that are most capable or currently achieving the most. I support this and encourage people to always strive to maximise their talents. However, when we look around we suddenly notice how our lives are more and more influenced by those who are actually weaker than us. The simple message here being that while I am focussed on myself. My life is not simply just about me. The weak link in your team or grouping will have significant influence on how you operate. Assuming that you actually do care about them. Might be a good idea to try and help them.
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