A company's growth is limited by one of five constraints in a specific hierarchy. Leaders should diagnose them sequentially. First, ask if you have enough demand. If not, that's your only focus. Once solved, move to internal capacity, then external supply, then cash, and finally management attention.

Asking an exhausted leader to make critical decisions is like asking someone to solve a complex problem while running uphill. The cognitive load leads to poor choices, decision avoidance, or total paralysis, directly wasting human potential and creating significant business risk.

Juggling multiple roles requires moving beyond task management to actively managing mental capacity, or "cognitive load." This involves strategically delegating and letting go of responsibilities, even when ego makes it difficult, to focus on core strengths and prevent burnout.

At scale, the biggest threat isn't a lack of opportunity but mental overload. The key is to treat your focus as a finite resource and actively protect it. This means becoming comfortable saying "I'm done for today" and disappointing people, realizing that protecting your mind is more strategic than satisfying every request.

With AI removing traditional resource constraints, leaders face a new psychological challenge: "driven anxiety." The ability to build and solve problems is now so great that the primary bottleneck becomes one's own time and prioritization, creating constant pressure to execute.

Effective leaders don't just run faster meetings; they understand that most internal discussions and priorities are irrelevant. The singular focus should be on what the consumer wants. Prioritizing the customer above internal metrics is the ultimate key to focus and speed.

Attention isn't a single resource. Neuroscientist Dr. Amishi Jha explains it as three systems: the "flashlight" for focus (orienting), the "floodlight" for broad awareness (alerting), and the "juggler" for managing goals (executive control). Understanding these helps leaders manage their cognitive resources more effectively.

In a fast-moving world, the best leaders don't just react faster. They create the perception of more time by "settling the ball"—using anticipatory and situational awareness to pause, think strategically, and ensure actions are aligned with goals, rather than just being busy.

Applying the Theory of Constraints, a startup's growth is limited by a single bottleneck in its factory (pipeline, sales, or delivery). Improving onboarding is useless if you have one sales call a month. All focus must be on solving that single constraint to make progress.