What is the barrel theory

The wooden barrel principle, also known as the short board theory, the wooden barrel short board management theory, the so-called "barrel theory" that is, "the law of the wooden barrel", the core content is: a wooden barrel to hold the amount of water, does not depend on the highest block on the wall of the barrel, but depends on the wall of the barrel on the shortest block. The shortest piece. The Wooden Barrel Principle was proposed by the American management scientist Peter. It can also be called the short-board effect.

In management science there is a famous "barrel theory", refers to a wooden barrel to fill the water, if the composition of the wooden barrel of uneven boards, then it can hold down the capacity of the water is not determined by the longest boards in the barrel, but by the shortest boards in the barrel to determine, it is also known as the "short board effect". "short board effect". It can be seen that in the process of development, the length of the "short board" determines its overall development. Just like, the quality of a product depends on the quality of the most inferior parts, not on the best quality parts; the overall quality of an organization, not on the quality of the organization's best molecules, but on the quality of the most general molecules in the organization. This phenomenon is often referred to as the "barrel effect" in management science.

The barrel effect was originally an economic term for the classic barrel theory: the amount of water in a barrel does not depend on the highest piece of wood on the wall, or the average length of all the planks, but on the shortest plank. This is because the liquid level of the water is flush with the shortest plank. To improve the overall effect of the barrel, instead of continuing to increase the length of those longer planks, you have to work on making up the length of the shortest one. This short board becomes the "limiting factor" (or "short board effect") for the amount of water in the barrel. If you want to make this barrel to increase the amount of water, only to replace the short board or the short board will be longer. People summarize this law as "the principle of wooden barrels", the "law of wooden barrels", also known as the "short board theory". The short board effect is the classic of the barrel theory.