TACTics Journal

A Publication for and by TOC for Education Practitioners

January 19, 2001

 

CONTENTS

Networking

(1)          POOGI Forum Letter #12, (Part 2), Eli Goldratt

Editors’ Notes

    (2)      Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

Connections

    (3)      5th Annual TOCFE International Conference/First Annual TOCFE International Student’s Conference, Cheryl A. Edwards

 

NETWORKING

(1)        POOGI Forum Letter #12, (Part 2)

By Eli Goldratt

 

In last week’s TACTics, we featured POOGI Forum Letter #12, (Part 1).  Here is an excerpt: 

X is pressing on Y to use TOC in order to improve.  Y tries to explain that "it won't work here, we are different."  War starts between X and Y.  A war that usually ends with X being defeated and the TOC implementation stagnates or even disappears.

 

Let's investigate the X-Y syndrome in more depth.  There are three questions that beg an answer:

1. Why does X go out of hes way to poke Y?

2. Why doesn't Y accept X’s common-sense recommendations and improve?

3. Why does X lose the war?

In part 1, Eli provided  three plausible answers to question #1, above.  This week, part 2 of the letter will give us insights on questions #2 and #3.

 

POOGI Forum Letter #12, (Part 2) —

Communicating with many Xs helped to gain a deeper insight to the first question.  As for gaining answers for the latter two questions, I was very disappointed.  The answers that I’ve got from the Xs for the second question (why Y doesn’t listen) were always in the form of unflattering remarks about Y’s management.  The answers that I’ve got for the third question (why X loses) were even more bitter opinions about top management.

 

Since my basic assumption is that people are not bad or dumb I could not accept such answers.  I was stuck.

 

But, as it usually happens, when your mind is concentrating on a problem you become much more attuned to the hints that reality constantly throws your way.  Early this year, I was invited to be the keynote speaker of a conference organized by Industry Week, a conference that was dedicated to the announcement of the "10 best plants in the U.S."  The groups that led the implementations in each of the ten plants gave the other presentations.

 

I was asked to give the first presentation, probably to set the theoretical ground.  As I frequently do when speaking with people from production, I asked the audience about The Goal.  Overwhelming, majority did read it.  They love this book.  They call it common sense.  But when I asked how many actually implemented it, only a handful raised their hands.

 

When I was sitting there listening to the testimonials of the "10 best plants," it started to dawn on me that I actually don’t know why only a small percentage of the readers implement TOC.  I realized that all the explanations I raised to this strange phenomenon are false.

 

You see, the presenters, even though they were aware of The Goal and agree that it make perfect sense, none had used any of the ideas in their efforts to improve their plants.  Rather they were talking about efforts that extend over four to six years and were listing long lists of action items.  For example, the first group had presented a list of thirty-two action items.  One of the items was "improvement projects.”  They said that just in 1999 they have completed 1,742 improvement projects.  The plan for this year is to exceed 2000 improvement projects.

 

And the results?  I was not overly impressed.  Regarding improvements in inventory, lead time and due-date performance, they were on the level that I come to expect as standard after six months of TOC implementation.  But most have achieved only a modest increase in the plant throughput.  And that is after mammoth efforts over many years.

 

So what is actually happening?  Why didn’t they use the common-sense ideas they read in The Goal and achieve much more, with a fraction of the time and efforts?  All my usual explanations were clearly false.  These people had the authority to implement major changes.  They had the time and the budget.  They had phenomenal determination.  These people were real doers, no doubt about it.  The conclusion that I was forced to make is that there must be something that I still don’t know what it is, a force powerful enough to block most people from using the TOC way.

 

Once we accept that there is some powerful force, whatever it is, that blocks most people from using TOC, we shouldn’t be surprised that Y is usually not listening to X.  We also shouldn’t be surprised that usually top management is not residing with X but with Y.  In other words this, still unnamed, force is probably the one blocking the movement from bottom up. 

 

The only thing that, at that stage, I knew about this "mysterious" force is that since the process of moving a company from top down is working extremely well, there must be something in the process of the 4x4 that naturalizes this force. 

 

That was not enough of a clue.  But these same ten presentations gave me the key.  It turns out that these plants are widely used as references by the JIT/TQM/LEAN community.  No wonder that delegations from other plants are visiting to find how exactly to improve.  All presenters, without any exception, were complaining that their visitors are "looking for a silver bullet.”  “There is no ‘silver bullet,’" the presenters passionately stressed. "It is hard work, by everybody in the plant.  Hard work for a long, long time.”

 

During the two days conference I heard the phrase “There is no silver bullet” so many times that at last it penetrated my thick scalp.  They all believe that there are no silver bullets, that you can not achieve something meaningful without hard work for a long time. 

 

No wonder that most of us are open to believe that the long way is the only way.  That notion, almost a way of life, is what all of us were brought up to accept; by our parents, by our teachers.  We have been taught that "a cent,

plus a cent, plus a cent plus...” is the way to make a fortune.

 

We were trained to accept it, except when technology is involved.  When dealing with technology, we are always looking for a breakthrough, for the thing that will double performance without a change in efforts.  As a matter of fact, it is not just technology, it is all of hard sciences.  I think that one of the first scientists had verbalized it in the most beautiful way:  "If I can find a leverage point and a long enough lever I can move the earth."  —Archimedes.

 

Which one of the two philosophies, "a cent plus a cent" or "a leverage point," is currently dominating the field of management?

 

End Part 2.  Next week's installment will conclude POOGI Forum Letter #12..

 

EDITORS’ NOTES

(2)           Kay Buckner-Seal, Cheryl A. Edwards

 

In part 2, of POOGI Forum Letter #12, Eli asks: “Which one of the two philosophies, ‘a cent plus a cent’ or ‘a leverage point,’ is currently dominating the field of management?”  This question can very well be applied to the field of education:  Which one of the two philosophies, “a cent plus a cent” or “a leverage point,” is currently dominating the field of education? 

 

What do you think?  If you would like to share your responses directly with the network through TACTics, then send them to Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, MI 49719, USA.  Or, send hyperlink to <redwards@sault.com> or <bucknek@earthlink.net>.

 

Remember, if you would like to keep your responses off the record” then send them to Kathy at, suerken@nwfl.net.

 

Eli, thanks for the challenge!

 

CONNECTIONS

(3)        5th Annual TOCFE International Conference/First Annual TOCFE  International Student’s Conference

From Cheryl A. Edwards

 

The best way to predict the future is to create it through TOC."

TOC for Education, Inc. presents the 5th Annual TOCFE International Conference and the First Annual TOCFE International Student’s Conference!

Date:                           June 25-28, 2001

 

Location:                   Detroit, Michigan USA

 

Hotel:                         Northfield Hilton

                           5500 Crooks Road

                           Troy, Michigan 48098

                           248. 879. 2100

The Northfield Hilton is adjacent to Interstate 75 at Crooks Road, Exit 72

 

Reservations:            1. 800. HILTONS

                           Ask for TOC for Education’s special room rates.

                    Single or Double Occupancy

Per night $139.00 U.S. + Tax (6% Michigan Sales Tax and 7% Occupancy Tax).  This rate includes breakfast for two.

 

Transportation:         Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)