Slack

A stretch objective wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that it's hard to plan, prioritize, and eat lunch when you're doing the job of two or more people. Tom DeMarco, a prominent management consultant to Fortune 500 and emerging organizations, has identified a paradoxical concept that explains why improving efficiency can occasionally slow a company down. If your true organizational aim is to become more responsive and agile, he suggests that you need more slack rather than greater efficiency. What exactly is slack? Slack is a company's degree of flexibility that permits it to evolve.