The Alberto’s Effect: Why Doing Everything is the Fastest Way to Do Nothing

There’s a Mexican place near me called Alberto’s. They have everything. Burritos. Breakfast. Nachos. Fries. Tacos. Burgers. Tamales. Probably lasagna if you know the right person. Their menu is so long that by the time you finish reading it, you’re either late for work or eligible for Medicare.

It’s delicious — and yes, their rolled tacos are worth the existential crisis — but from an operations perspective, it’s chaos.

The “Albertos Effect” in StartupsHere’s the parallel: many healthcare startups do the exact same thing. They try to do everything.

• A telemedicine platform that also wants to run an e-commerce store.

• An AI radiology company that’s also thinking about weight-loss prescriptions.

• A clinic that decides to add botox, testosterone, and… pet vaccinations?

  
  

It’s the business version of ordering “one of everything” off the menu and wondering why the kitchen is behind.

Lean Six Sigma Reality Check In Lean Six Sigma terms, Alberto’s has high menu variance. This means:

• More ingredients (inventory complexity)

• More training time for staff (knowledge complexity)

• More opportunities for mistakes (process complexity)

Meanwhile, In-N-Out Burger has six items. They crank them out with near-military precision, and their customers keep coming back.

Why it’s OK to Do Less In medicine (and in startups generally), focus doesn’t mean being boring — it means getting really good at what you do best before you start adding metaphorical lasagna to the menu.

Startups that survive don’t just have a good idea; they have repeatable, efficient processes. They don’t try to be the Alberto’s of their industry from day one. They become the In-N-Out, then earn the right to experiment.