In the previous post we looked at interdependencies and establishing the goal of the system. In order to steer our system in the right direction we have to know how to make the right decisions. To do this it is essential that we be capable of assessing to what extent our system is achieving its […]
Business Performance Metrics Every Entrepreneur Needs
“Without this information I would have gone out of business long ago.” Those are the words of a CEO in a recent conversation and he was not talking about Cost Accounting. Cost Accounting is not giving companies all the information they really need. That may seem astonishing but it is a fact. There is a […]
Why Doesn’t Every Company Use the Theory of Constraints to Succeed?
While visiting a plant last month, our Founder, Dr. Domenico Lepore, told the dramatic story of his experience at a German aluminium plant, part of a multi-billion, multi-national business. The General Manager had invited Domenico to give a presentation after hearing him speak at a Theory of Constraints (TOC) conference. In that plant, the hot mill […]
Avoiding Compromise with a Win-Win Solution
I recently re-posted on LinkedIn something from Goldratt Consulting with a quote from Dr. Goldratt: “Our fear that conflicts will lead to a tug of war diverts management attention to constantly struggle with unacceptable compromises.” This is part of the introduction to a book Dr. Goldratt was working on called ‘The Science of Management’ before […]
Cause and Effect Reasoning Is an Essential Skill for Leaders
An article in the Harvard Business Review draws attention to the problem of confusing correlation with causation. “Western management has failed to understand cause and effect” W. Edwards Deming Mistaking correlation for cause can be dangerous.because it prevents us from understanding reality. Most importantly, if we do not nurture the ability to think cause […]
20/20 Foresight? How Decision Makers Can Look Ahead for Unintended Consequences
How to think is not a skill that we learn at school, or even university. We take it for granted that by receiving an education we also receive information about using our brains in a more effective way. Sadly, every day we live with the consequences of poor decision making at every level, government, corporate […]
The Theory of Constraints on Wall Street – a SPAC Experience
This post is by Angela Montgomery, author of ‘The Human Constraint‘. Many people lump the Theory of Constraints together with Lean and 6-sigma as “techniques for continuous improvement”. This is a woefully inadequate perception of the Theory of Constraints (TOC). In all our publications we attempt to illustrate the universal scope of Dr. Goldratt’s achievement […]
How CEOs Can Expand and Compete with a Collaboration Culture – a Systems Approach
Many CEOs know that their organization has the potential to multiply its results but they are stuck in a bind: they must expand but they must also control and manage risk in the way they operate. Result: the company is unable to express its full capabilities. Moreover, it is harder than ever to compete. There […]
Is the Theory of Constraints Systems Thinking?
Someone reading our business novel ‘The Human Constraint’ asked us if the Theory of Constraints is different from Systems Thinking so we would like to address that in this post. It is a particularly relevant question this week when an Italian physicist, Giorgio Parisi, was awarded the Noble Prize for his work on complex systems. […]
Changing the Conversation with the Customer to Achieve Win-Win Sales Part 2
One of the greatest opportunities that businesses have today lies in changing the conversation with their customer to alter the perception the customer has of them in a positive way. This sounds like a good idea but how can you actually do that? Fortunately, there is a highly effective and structured way that we can […]
