The job took six weeks. The work took four days.

Most of what a customer waits for isn't work being done, and the gap between the two clocks quietly sets your lead times, your cash cycle and your reputation.

By Steve 5 min read
Abstract bridge artwork for The job took six weeks. The work took four days.

Ask a delivery team how long a typical job takes and you will usually get two very different answers depending on how you phrase the question. “How many days of work is it?” gets one number. “When will it be finished?” gets another, often four or five times larger. Nobody finds this strange. The gap is treated as the weather: an unavoidable feature of running a business with more than one customer. That gap is the most under-managed asset in most service and job-shop businesses. It is where quoted lead…

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