Wolfram Müller - June 28, 2025
25 years ago, when I started as Head of PMO of 1and1.com (aka ionos, one of the international internet service provider pioneers), there was nothing like this available! I had to learn the hard way about FLOW, Projects, Agile, and TOC!
Now, 25 years later, I wrote down all my learnings from 530 projects delivered in hyper-productive mode and supporting over 42 companies to reach the same, often by a factor of 2 to 5 more output in a shorter time. Knowledge that has already brought two CIOs the title "CIO of the YEAR" and many other managers into the CEO position.
So, I would have loved to have this knowledge 25 years earlier - and that was the reason I wrote these 16 articles on LinkedIn. Now refurbished and sorted - just for you to have a jump start.
The Basics - Practice without Theory is just Try & often Error
#1 The Laws of FLOW - all you need to know, Little and Goldratt, and a few more.
#2 The Theory of Constraints (TOC) in a Nutshell - What is this "thing" called constraint? What to do with it
The Solution Elements - Methods and Frameworks based on TOC
#3 TOC Lego Bricks - all the 6+1 concrete ways to manage flow in different situations.
#4 Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) Deep Dive - the most important and most used TOC solution element for agile and classic multi-project management. Attention, this is a real deep dive! I'm very proud of this, even if it's not an easy read and very nerdy.
#5 The 3 Layers of Frameworks - the deeper pattern behind any framework for managing work. Necessary to evaluate any kind of solution framework for your delivery and foundation of the TOC frameworks.
#6 TOC Frameworks - three more ideas how you can build your own individual delivery framework out of the TOC solution elements. And maybe you find a new one for your own.
FLOW, organizations, and changes are self-organizing systems, so you have to know all about this, not to be surprised
#7 Self-Organization Part 1 "Why Managers Should Know about Self-Organization" - the basics to understand complex systems and how order emerges out of the chaos.
#8 Part 2 "Middle Managers are Not the Blockers - They Are the Hidden Drivers" - more to say? If you have never felt valued as a middle manager, then you were right! You are the heroes.
#9 Part 3 "Why Self-Organizing Changes are Cool for Managers!" - if you understood self-organization you can do the biggest changes with a wink of your hand - more or less!
How to get prepared for such a Breakthrough Performance Change (Boost)
#10 How to Prepare a Self-Organized Performance Change - this is our most precious knowledge. Preparing a self-organized change is just selling it, but please, without triggering the immune system of the company!
#11 First Step: Flow Screening - see how bad your flow is, identify potential constraints, and most importantly, gather data that convinces top management to take the next step.
#12 Second Step: How to Find the Unicorn Called Constraint - maybe you already realized that managing the constraint is key! But how to find this unicorn?
#13 Third Step: How to Find the Optimal Priority - the constraint shall never be overloaded, so you have to prioritize. Here it is explained how to find the optimal priority. The best algorithm ever.
#14 How to Find the Optimal Priority Experiment - just a check whether you understood #13. ChatGPT got it right - what about you?
Learning Alone is No Fun and Challenging - Fortunately, We Are Many
#15 Do you want more exchange with experienced implementers? Welcome to the DolphinUniverse - here you find something around 1000 and growing fast.
Advanced Tops - for Managers, Architects, and Nerds
#16 Advanced Thinking - The Utilization Paradox
The content is all mine, but the writing of this book is AI-supported! DeepL, ChatGPT, and our DolphinGPT.ai helped a little. In the end, it was me who edited the final version - so any mistakes, it's my fault!
