Tuesday, October 13, 2026
53 percent of small business owners say nothing would change if AI vanished tomorrow, and that is not an adoption problem, it is an embedding problem. Here is the three-question test that shows which one your business actually is.
Short answer: You can loosen a business constraint in 14 days without new spend by using the first three of the Theory of Constraints' five focusing steps: identify the link, exploit it (get more from what you already have), and subordinate everything else to it (pause the work that competes with it). Spend money only at step four, and only if the first three are not enough.
You have found the link that limits your growth, perhaps with the 8-link growth chain check. The temptation now is to buy your way out: an agency, a hire, new software. Hold off for 14 days. A constraint is often being wasted by the work around it, and fixing that costs time, not money. What you learn also tells you whether spending is needed at all. This is the second half of the Simple-Growth approach to SME business growth and finding the real constraint.
Eliyahu Goldratt's method has five steps, set out by the Theory of Constraints Institute. Most owners jump to step four.
After day 14, if your number has moved, find the new weakest link and run the cycle again. If it has not moved and the link still caps your results, you have earned the right to invest. Set a measure and a review date before you spend, so you know when the investment is working. That is the difference between spending to hope and spending to fix.
"Kevin has the ability to make everything so simple. He can take something that seems like a complicated task and break this down to 1 or 2 key things, so that achieving the desired outcome becomes easier and very achievable."
Christiana Thomson, Johnson and Laird Talent Management
Individual results vary and depend on the business and the work the owner puts in.
It means no new money on tools, hires or advertising. It does cost your time and attention, which is why the plan limits you to two or three moves.
Exploit what you already have: invoice sooner, chase overdue accounts and check which jobs actually make money. Avoid new borrowing until you have run the cycle once.
Check that you picked the right link and measured the right number. If both are right and the link still caps results, move to step four and invest with a clear measure and review date.
Fix one at a time. Working on several spreads your attention thin and hides which change made the difference.
Not sure which moves fit your constraint? Talk it through in a free 30-minute call with Kevin.
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Written by Kevin D'Ambros-Smith, a New Zealand business coach who has coached 200+ companies one-on-one across 30+ industries. Updated 22 October 2026.
Kevin and The Simple-Growth Team