Podcast appearances and mentions of eli goldratt

Starting from a spare-bedroom setup, Tinyme has expanded internationally with high-tech, made-to-order products. In this checkout episode we chat to the trio behind the brand: Ben Hare, Mike Wilson and Nick McLennan. They discuss how brands like Bellroy and Bird's Nest are inspiring their approach and discuss the tech essentials that power Tinyme's operations, including their custom-built production system and Looker Studio. The trio also give their hottest must-reads and listens, including The Goal by Eli Goldratt and the How I Built This podcast, that keep them driven as they continue to carve out new possibilities in the world of personalised products.Check out our full-length interview with Ben, Mike and Nick here:Saying Yes to Bad Ideas: How Tinyme's Founders Built a Mass Customisation Ecommerce Machine | #465About your guests:Co-owner and Director of Tinyme, Ben Hare oversees many of the operational functions of the business. Since joining in 2010, Ben has been instrumental in developing Tinyme's export strategy, building out the business platform, implementing a new factory in the UK and launching its new brand Opiqo. Ben is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events and has served on a number of advisory boards in the eCommerce industry.With a passion for entrepreneurial business, Mike Wilson has a knack for converting ideas into commercial reality. With a background in industrial design, Mike launched tinyme.com, from his spare bedroom in 2006. With purely organic growth the "made-to-order" manufacturing business has expanded to now have 10 different country websites. With 5 premises moves, growing staff levels, and two other directors coming on board, Mike's role has changed from general management, to working on strategy and R&D while heading up design and marketing and product development.Nick McLennan joined Tinyme in 2007 as a director and co-owner and currently holds the role of Operational Development Director, where he oversees production management and new product development. Nick has over 20 years experience working in a range of roles that marry his technical understanding and design innovation. As an Industrial Designer, Nick worked 10 years in the manufacturing sector in roles including Operations Management and continuous improvement. Nick's passion for mass customisation has driven Tinyme to the forefront of innovation for the last 18 years.About your host:Nathan Bush is the host of the Add To Cart podcast and a leading eCommerce transformation consultant. He has led eCommerce for businesses with revenue $100m+ and has been recognised as one of Australia's Top 50 People in eCommerce four years in a row. You can contact Nathan on LinkedIn, Twitter or via email. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Software Process and Measurement Cast we have a replay of an interview of Jim Benson from 2019.  Jim and I focused on prioritization and how prioritization can be a reflection of more deep-seated problems. One of the ideas Jim shares is that processes are the social contract for getting work done.  In the foreword of Mastering Work Intake, I wrote with (published in January 2024), we reflected that Mastering stood on the shoulders of Jim's Why Limit WIP. Reflecting on this interview I continue to see the relationship between work intake and the travails of prioritization.  All of us at SPaMCAST look forward to your thoughts. Contact Jim LinkedIn: Personal Kanban: Modus Cooperandi:   Learn To Tame Your Work Intake Beast! Jeremy Willets and I are celebrating summer in the northern hemisphere with a summer camp. We'll look at the primary causes of work intake problems… and how to solve them! Join us for an entertaining and informative LinkedIn Live event weekly beginning June 19th at 11:30. Register at  - registration is not necessary but it will help get a count for virtual juice boxes. Re-read Saturday News This week we revisit our first re-read from 2015, The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement ( or ) written by Eli Goldratt. If you are interested in the flow of work you need to read The Goal – more than once.  The link is     Re-read Saturday Instalments                                                                            Next week we will return to our re-read of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, .   Next SPaMCAST  On the next Software Process and Measurement Cast, more of the story of Innovatech and what happens when responsibility and accountability get muddled.   We will also have a visit from and his Alpha and Omega of Product Development.

Riccardo Cosentino takes an ongoing LinkedIn debate with Ian Heptinstall live in this episode of Navigating Major Programmes for a fascinating conversation with one common goal: to elevate major programmes. The pair discuss the use of reference class forecasting, the predominance of strategic misrepresentation, and optimism bias during project estimation—both drawing on their practical and academic experiences to substantiate their points. “One of my concerns, if we think the problem with projects is that our estimates are too light and the answer is to increase the estimates, is that it is a vicious spiral. That just means expected costs will go up and up and up over time. If we separate the three elements of time, and think maybe we missed the target, not because the target was impossible, but our methods of execution were such that it made it very hard to achieve the target. That actually gives us an opening for a virtuous cycle because there are, so called, black swans that show that the same estimates are achievable and can be done reliably. ” –   Ian Heptinstall   Ian Heptinstall combines over 35 years of industry experience with academic expertise, to bring a unique perspective to CapEx & Construction Project Management and Procurement & Supply Chain. As an Associate Professor at the University of Birmingham, Ian focuses on practical methodologies like Theory of Constraints (TOC), critical chain, and collaborative procurement, which he advocates for practically improving performance in various industries. Key Takeaways:The importance of focusing on execution and preparation over quality of estimations  Tipping the Iron Law on its head with collaborative contracting, IPD and alliance contracting  Reference class forecasting in project management: advantages and limitationsImpact of strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias; the political influence on project estimates and management  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox. The conversation doesn't stop here—connect and converse with our LinkedIn community: Follow Ian Heptinstall on LinkedInFollow Navigating Major Programmes on LinkedInFollow Riccardo Cosentino on LinkedInRead Riccardo's latest at wwww.riccardocosentino.com Transcript:Riccardo Cosentino  0:05  You're listening to Navigating Major Programmes, a podcast that aims to elevate the conversations happening in the infrastructure industry and inspire you to have a more efficient approach within it. I'm your host, Riccardo Cosentino. I bring over 20 years of Major Programme Management experience. Most recently, I graduated from Oxford University Saïd Business School, which shook my belief when it comes to navigating major programmes. Now it's time to shake yours. Join me in each episode as I press the industry experts about the complexity of Major Programme Management, emerging digital trends and the critical leadership required to approach these multibillion-dollar projects. Let's see where the conversation takes us.   Riccardo Cosentino  0:53  Hello, everyone, and welcome to a new episode of Navigating Major Programmes. I'm here today with Ian Heptinstall, who is Associate Professor in Programme and Project Management at the University of Birmingham and he's joining me today from Birmingham, I assume. How are you doing, Ian?   Ian Heptinstall  1:09  Hi, Riccardo. Not quite Birmingham, I live in Cheshire. So I'm closer to Manchester or Liverpool than Birmingham.   Riccardo Cosentino  1:15  Okay.   Ian Heptinstall  1:16  But fortunately, most of my students aren't at Birmingham either, they're all over the world. Riccardo Cosentino  1:21  And I mean, maybe just for the audience, you and I connected a few times on LinkedIn exchanging views, exchanging comments on various posts on various topics. And so I think we finally, I think you finally prompted that we could have a more productive conversation on the podcast rather than on comments on LinkedIn, which is always helpful, but probably not the most conducive way of having a conversation. And so why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?   Ian Heptinstall  1:48  Exactly, thank you, Riccardo. I am Ian Heptinstall. I'm a late career academic, I've been working in academia at the University of Birmingham now for five years, primarily in a teaching role, although I've started to add some research elements to that. And I currently teach on an MSc program that's delivered to part-time students who study by distance learning. So my students are working in project organizations on projects all around the world. And they want to add to that master's level insight. And as we were chatting too before, our focus in the UK is that at master's level, the key component of that is critical thinking, critical analysis, critical thinking, understanding the evidence behind ideas. But before I joined academia, I had 35 years or so in practical experience. I qualified as an engineer. I started working in the chemical industry in the mid-80s, mostly in project-related roles, either managing small projects or manufacturing facilities, and managing larger projects, being a technical expert, often supporting projects. That was back in the days when project owners had a self-delivery capability, so they had their own engineering organizations. Interestingly, in the 90s, the company I worked for was known as ICI, which doesn't really exist anymore. But it was the third largest chemical company in the world, so-called bellwether of the U.K. business environment and the U.K. stock market. But during the 90s, it was one of the many organizations that started to sort of what Professor Stuart Reid calls "hollowing out," that in-house capability of employees was reduced with a view to what we can but that service in as and when we needed it. And actually, in the late 90s and early 2000s, client organizations could buy that in because the contractors and consultancies had ex-employees there who had got that 20 years of experience of how to think like a project owner and what impact that had on managing the project through its own lifecycle. So that gave me the chance to see projects from the owner's perspective and a supplier's perspective. Later in the 90s, I was involved in one of the first collaborative contracted project alliances in the U.K. that wasn't in the oil and gas industry. And now, I don't understand why all project procurement is not done collaboratively using project alliances. But that's not the topic for tonight's discussion.  Riccardo Cosentino  5:08  Yeah, that's another podcast. That's another long podcast. You and I exchanged on this a few times.   Ian Heptinstall  5:14  Yeah, definitely.   Riccardo Cosentino  5:17  So what are we talking about today, then? Ian Heptinstall  5:20  We, as you said, we had some chats on LinkedIn about the ideas of the use of reference class forecasting, the predominance of strategic misrepresentation, optimism bias during project estimation, all wrapped up into what I've started calling the optimistic estimate hypothesis. In the debts, a proposed way that project environments work. The idea being because the data shows that most estimates, sorry, most projects fail to achieve their targets, Flyvbjerg made famous as the Iron Law of projects, was the Iron Law of mega project management, but became projects, that is about over time, over budget, under benefits, over and over again. And I think there's a significantly strong range of data that says a large proportion of projects fail to hit their own targets. So my argument wasn't with that conclusion. What I'm calling the optimistic estimate hypothesis says the reason for that is that the targets themselves were always impossible to achieve. And because they're impossible to achieve, that's why we never hit them. And therefore, the solution to that is to stop impossible targets being associated with projects when they get approved. And then the proposed intervention is using a technique known as reference class forecasting or a variation of reference class forecasting. So not always based on absolute values but relative percentage performance, which is another concern of the implementation of the method. It basically says, let's make sure that the target is at least compatible to targets we've had in the past. And on face value, I've got no issue with that. If, like me, you've come up from fairly mature project management and engineering environments, one of the estimating methods that has always been used is based on past performance. Riccardo Cosentino  7:56  Benchmarking.   Ian Heptinstall  7:57  Yeah. It's not performance benchmarking in the true sense of the term, it's taking your own data and seeing how compatible it is. Parametric estimating is a method, so long as you've got the feedback cycles from actuals that keep your estimating databases up to date. Now maybe tying into the observation about the hollowing out of project-owning organizations, maybe that feedback loop of capturing actuals and feeding it back into estimating data was broken. I don't know, you're probably more closely associated with that than I am. Professional estimators should not be naive of real estimating data in the past. I can't see it just as being biased from professional estimators. Amateur estimators, I can understand how they would be naive and miss things, but not professionals. Riccardo Cosentino  9:02  Look, I'm a big subscriber of your theory. I am 100% in agreement with you. In fact, I think your theory or thesis has got a lot of strength and in fact.   Ian Heptinstall  9:21  Can we clarify which one because I don't think the optimistic estimate hypothesis is valid. I'm just describing what it is. We're here for me to fix some holes in it.   Riccardo Cosentino  9:31  So, I actually think it's, I think it's actually very valid. And the reason I think it's very valid, because in my experience, I have always looked at a project, you know I've 25 years experience in this industry, and I always wondered from a purely technical standpoint, if you had unlimited access to data or if you have a lot of data and you have a lot of experience and you have a lot of experienced individuals, you can approximate an estimate. However, historically, or my experience was that all of the projects I worked on were over budget, all of them. So I could not understand how very capable, very intelligent human beings, with great experience could not estimate a closer to the actual. Because statistically speaking, I mean, if it was random, it will be 50/50. Right? You know, sometimes.   Ian Heptinstall  10:33  Why? There's many phenomena in the world that are not normally distributed. So why would we expect it if it was really random? But I don't think it is random? I think it's (inaudible). Riccardo Cosentino  10:48  I don't think it is random either. But that's what I'm saying. It's like, if it was random, it would be 50/50. Right? So if he was really, if it was impossible to estimate something, or really, really, really difficult to estimate something, then it will be a random outcome, which will be a 50/50. But that's not a problem we have because the majority of the projects are over budget, right? It's not, or at least the mega project. Let me define it a bit, a bit better, it's not really the mega project that I have experience with.   Ian Heptinstall  11:25  Shall I give you a mega project that smashed the reference class?   Riccardo Cosentino  11:31  Yes.   Ian Heptinstall  11:33  Anyone who travels a lot long distances will know Embraer who work along with Bombardier, make the sort of medium-sized passenger jets, with Boeing and Airbus on the much bigger jet. The reference class for designing, developing and bringing to operations a new passenger jet was between 80 and 100 months. And in the new jets that have been produced the century since the turn of the millennium, many have estimated six years, but they've all taken about eight years. Embraer estimated five years and completed the project seven weeks early. So had they planned and achieved to the reference class, they'd have brought the second generation E-jets, the E2 jets to market just before COVID struck. As it is now, the E2 jets have had, for them, record sales performance and one of the most efficient in their class on the market at the moment. So they didn't follow the reference class. And it's extremely complex to about a four to $5 billion project. Riccardo Cosentino  13:08  And I don't, okay, I think, I think, I don't, I think we were saying, I think I was trying to explain why I believe that the, how do you call it, the optimism estimate hypothesis, because it resonates with, why it resonates with me is because I think there is something systemic in the way the estimates are put together. I couldn't put my finger to it before I started reading, got myself educated on the topic. And that sounds a fairly rational explanation that, you know, strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias play a role in that. The reference class forecasting, I think I need to clarify, because I would never make an estimate out of a reference class forecaste. Like, that's not how you estimate things. And I think when you don't have the certainty, when you're talking about things where you making assumptions, you're never going to be 100% correct. So the way, personally, I think you have to do it and this is done in other industry, you triangulate, you know, you start from a bottom up, then you do a top down and then you start layering on qualitative factors and then at the end, you make a decision on what number to pick, but it's a decision based on on multiple parameters. And to me, reference forecasts, you know, I give the example many times about the mergers and acquisition industry, right? In M&A, you start with the discounted cash flow, lets you bottom up estimate of how much your company's worth and then, but whenever you do a DCF you need to make assumptions you know, you got to predict what the revenue growth over the next five years is going to be, blah, blah, blah. And so those assumptions might or might not be right. So you have one data point, then you have another data point, which is your reference class forecast. So in the finance industry, it's going to comps ratio, comps analysis, where you're looking at similar companies. You're looking at how much they're worth on the stock market and you trying to draw similarity. And that's your second data point that will be different from your bottom up. It'd be your top, right? So now you got two data points on trying to identify what a company is worth, and the worth of a company is very subjective as well. So then you got to layer in your qualitative analysis. So to me, yeah, I'm not here to debate the reference class forecast. It is an estimating tool. I'm here to debate that there is optimism bias and the risk strategic measure representation. And so what do we do about that? Ian Heptinstall  15:56  I agree that those things exist. The optimism bias, I'm not sure. I'm still still thinking about that bit. Because if you, in reading the literature, a strong link is made to the work of Kahneman and Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's introduction of the term optimism bias and estimates. And what's interesting is if you look at, Kahneman use as an example that he was involved in developing a new educational course and textbook in Israel, and when you read it through, the bad with retrospect estimates were from the non-experts, the expert in the room knew it would take seven years and had the reference class in their head. But they were not, you know, they were in a support role. So actually, the expert estimate was quite good. It was the amateur estimate that was deemed to be optimistic. But when thinking about that, it seemed to me that when we're talking about time and money, either spent or estimated, they, an estimate will have three components. The first component is what it is feasible to do with it. The perfect position. Then there's another set of factors that relate to things outside your control, outside influences, unknowable risks and things that could emerge that have an impact on how long something will take. But there are two separate components. There's actually a third component particularly relevant when we're talking about projects, and that the whole collection of, of managerial practices of how we go about doing the thing, so that the time that we estimate and the time that it takes, I like to see us having at least those three major components. Now, the "iron law of projects" tells us that the total time estimate was less than it actually took us. I think we get much more insight, if we think okay, well, which of those three components had the biggest role to play? Was it, it being feasible or unfeasible? Was the estimate that bad it was physically impossible to do? Were there things that were unreasonable that professionals to have known about in advance? Were there the black swans, so to speak? And if there were, at least that explains to us where the issue arose? Or was it how we go about managing and implementing our projects? Are they inherently inefficient? Are they the reason that we struggle so much to deliver to our estimates? So, I'm questioning is it the feasibility of the estimate that's wrong? Or is it how we've gone about doing it? Because in the field of construction capital projects, the methods around the world are fairly consistent. You know, where I've done my straw polls over my career, I see great levels of similarity. People often, "How do you know so much because you've never been to our country before?" Colombia, you're not that different. How do you know African oil and gas industry? I've had the same conversations. Because I've said you're not as different as you think you are. But I think that third element is where the differences arise. Now, an analogy that I often use is if we think about the winning a marathon, world class athletes have no problem running a marathon in two and a half hours. Now, if I estimate that I will run my first ever marathon in two and a half hours, that estimate is not unfeasible. It's very unlikely. But it's unlikely because of the managerial aspects. Will I put the time and effort into the training? Will I do the preparation? Will I drink less and eat better food? Will I? So it's how I go about preparing for the marathon. One of my concerns if we think the problem with projects is our estimates are too light, and the answer is to increase the estimates, that's a vicious spiral. That just means expected costs will go up and up and up over time. If we separate the three elements of time and think maybe we missed the target, not because the target was impossible, but our methods of execution was such that it made it very hard to achieve the target, that actually gives us an opening for a virtuous cycle because there are so-called black swans that show that the same estimates are achievable and can be done reliably. We touched upon the area of collaborative contracting, IBD, project alliancing. This project from hundreds of real-life projects that have tipped the iron law on its head, you probably know, well know the Walker Hartley and Mills paper from 2013 from Australia, they had, 4% of projects went over budget, and about 20% went over time. So 90% were on or under budget 75% were on or under time. And all they changed was how the projects was procured. Riccardo Cosentino  22:13  So you're not going to get an argument from me on on that topic because I do believe, I, you know, another hypothesis, I do believe that collaboration is the answer when you're dealing with complex projects. However, just going back challenging a little bit on the is it the estimate was not feasible to begin with, is it actually the execution, if we increase the budgets to begin with, are we just to even cover the poor execution. I'm paraphrasing what you're saying. But, having said that, well, yeah, and this, this is more on the, you know, when you are dealing with lump sum, turnkey contracts rather than Alliance contract, where ultimately, a client comes up with an estimate, right, they have their own estimate, they have a budget, and especially for public sector clients, those budget are, even are fully disclosed and known in ballparks. And now you have a contractor trying to win the work. And, I think we talked about this, before we came online is you know, the contractor knows that in order to win the contract will have to be near or below the client estimate. And so now, the optimism bias, the strategic misrepresentation is perpetuated in the bidding process by the contractors because they need to secure the work. Right? So in in an environment where you have lump sum turnkey fixed price, I do think it matters to start with the right budget, because that dictates the behaviors of the parties in the following steps.   Ian Heptinstall  23:57  But what is the right budget? If you want a budget that is very feasible to be achieved? If people work in a particular way, yes. But then you risk just wasting lots of money because a fixed price lump sum contract is that what it will cost you whether it's needed or not. And yeah, if there weren't these high-risk pressures on the participants to sort of play games, hide things, not be totally open and honest. And one of my concerns with the idea of strategic misrepresentation and the term deception, these people are being deceptive, no, they're playing by the rules of the game that are set in. Now, as Eli Goldratt once said, "Tell me how you measure me, and I'll tell you how I will behave. If you measure me in a dumb way, don't complain about my behavior." And I think that's what we're observing in many of the practices in the construction sector where owners are using processes and then they're complaining when they don't win, or change the rules of the game or the approach they take is to get better at this adversarial aggressive game. So we see projects where the most experienced, the most capable and the most highly-salaried individuals are those trying to control and police the contractual loopholes and administrating and nail everything down, and the lawyers, the commercial managers, the senior (inaudible). Yep. A fortune is being spent on people who are not thinking about   Riccardo Cosentino  26:00  Solving problems. Ian Heptinstall  26:01  How do we get this hospital built quickly? How do we get this hospital built so that it's open and treating people 18 months sooner than we have in the past? Or that we can have 20 more beds, or that we can free up some money to employ so many more healthcare practitioners? It's focusing on the skills on the wrong thing. And actually, I think the industry is going to have a big problem if we get our way and collaborative contracting becomes the norm. What are we going to do with the hundreds of thousands of professionally qualified contract police? That's what a lot of people do. Riccardo Cosentino  26:46  Ian, again, I'm not gonna argue with you, because on that you and I agree, 100, like, to me, I think you said it and I always say it, like, there are resources on projects that add no value or solving problems for the success of the project. And so redirecting the the effort to those results, or redirecting those resources, to more meaningful, yeah, as I said, a lawyer, you know, a claim against the client does not make concrete being poured faster, you know? A schedule analysis in order to substantiate a claim does not make concrete being poured faster. Ian Heptinstall  27:29  And actually, the the issue with that is I think that the skills and the capability to manage the detail flow of work so that concrete is poured faster and worked on sooner, that sort of logistics flow management capability is also petrifying. Now, projects that are getting into techniques and methods like lean construction, are starting to work on that, or project production management are starting to bring in some of those skills and knowledge of how to how to manage the flow of work. But it's suddenly become a niche rather, whereas it should really be core. And the core skill is actually contract administering and locking up (inaudible).   Riccardo Cosentino  28:23  No value add, right? There is no value add to the ultimate goal, which is building infrastructure.   Ian Heptinstall  28:29  Back to the strategic misrepresentation, maybe. Riccardo Cosentino  28:30  No, I actually wanted to probe you on this, because I've had a few people in the past challenging me, and you and I have exchanged messages on this topic. But you know, one of the big criticism, and this is a small parenthesis because this is not what we're talking about today, but like the cost certainty, right? You know, I have people telling me, well, you know, if you don't have a fixed price contract, you don't have cost certainty. Ian Heptinstall  28:58  And they have got evidence that the contracted price is the final price. I have not seen that evidence. And whenever I ask experienced practitioners, they say none of the final price is always more than the tender price. So if you want cost certainty, put so much padding in there that everybody can fill their boots. But if you're in the public sector, that's almost malfeasance. Yeah, just just wasting taxpayers money just so that you can have an easy life. That's not what a professional job should be about, in my view. And I think the important point in there is focusing on reliability. Are you hitting our targets? The only thing that we can do is we take the target as sort of wherever it comes from that's the important thing and we've just got to match it. What about absolute value?  Why are we not focusing on what is the absolute value? Yeah, but by the reliability school of thinking, it's better if your company makes $10 million a year, having targeted $10 million, that's actually better than making $15 million of profit in the year, because your target was 18. The 15 is rubbish, because you were 18% underneath your target, it's much better to have 100% reliability even if the profit is lower. I don't buy that. There is a role for a stretch target. The idea of smart has caused a lot of damage to performance improvement. Now, if you're looking to strive to continuously improve the performance, you don't want to put too much pressure on the individual if they miss what they're trying to achieve. Now you need to be able to manage in different ways. You need to be able to, the accountability is about how somebody goes about doing the job. Not the trivial, easy to measure accountability of numbers on a spreadsheet. I don't need to know how they're doing the job, I just need to look at some numbers. Well, if you want a simple career, become an arm's length investor or go buy a casino in Las Vegas. Because then you don't care about the individual gamblers and who makes or less. You're managing by the average statistics of the organization. On project, we want to be the individual who knows what to do. We need to be striving for what is it we do to deliver a P-10 project? Not let's make our life easy, and plan for P-90. And that's my other concern about if we blame the estimate, we're taking the focus off our leverage improvements or improvement, our leverage opportunities for improvement rather, those are how we go about doing projects. And I actually believe that if we focus first on absolute performance, reliability will get better. Yeah, that I don't whether you play golf, I (inaudible). Riccardo Cosentino  32:45  Unsuccessfully. Yes. Ian Heptinstall  32:47  My son is very good at playing golf. And he's got a very low handicap, certainly much lower than mine. And his focus, the focus of low handicap golfers is getting better at golf. Their focus is absolute performance. And you know what comes with it? They're much more reliable, their variability of play also goes down. But if you focus on just playing to your handicap, yeah, you will do some very different things. And you might, you might play to your handicap, but you won't do very good rounds of golf. And I think on project, we should be focusing on how can we make your project performance significantly better? Yeah, I think if I was still operating in large, mega projects, I'd be frustrated that the Starrett Brothers and Eken could build the Empire State Building and formed it in 10 days in 1929 when we can't do anything like that today, and I don't believe it's because we have safety rules these days. It's nowhere near as simple as that. If the industry had started to perform like other industries have, the Ford was making the Model T around that time, yet cars are just as affordable these days, but you get much, much, much more for your money. Construction projects cost more and take longer.   Riccardo Cosentino  34:31  Yeah, I take your point. I mean, you know, absolutely, I mean, we should be focusing on measuring performance and focusing on the performance because ultimately, that's the stuff that gets things built. It's not, an initial estimate is not what gets things built. But unfortunately, stakeholders and shareholders focus on it.   Ian Heptinstall  34:57  They want to make more money. If you've only got a business, the idea of risk comes with any entrepreneurship and business. They know all their forecasts or estimates. Yeah, if sales come in on forecasts, somebody's been playing with the numbers. Yeah, nobody can see the future. So where do you think that comes from? Riccardo Cosentino  35:23  Again, I think cooperation and public, especially public company, by any corporation, has to deliver, has to provide indication of future performance.   Ian Heptinstall  35:37  Yeah. Let me give you an example. Because my other set of black swans that disprove the optimistic estimate hypothesis, so I've mentioned all the data on collaboratively contracted budgets, so all done. All projects are not overspending. It is possible to deliver and achieve the estimates. There's no evidence on those projects that the estimates have been done in any different way. And if they have, then that approach has helped avoid optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation. Which surely must also be a good thing. But one of my other set, and this is the Embraer example that I used earlier on, that's an example that have used the critical chain of both scheduling and execution management, which is, needs a collaborative team. But exploits that collaboration to identify issues much earlier on and overcome them. So it focuses on that doing the work. Even though from one perspective, it's just a way of scheduling and reporting. If it's done well, it helps to introduce a much higher frequency, a higher cadence of reporting and decision making at a much lower level. That is what achieves more efficient performance. So on critical chain, critical chain, scheduling and execution projects, hit their project-level commitments, very, very regularly. I know many organizations and I have talked to people in many organizations who have sort of moved from 20% projects on time in full to 95-100% in all sorts of project domains, simply from changing how they're scheduing and managing execution. They've also increased productivity as well. But if we're just looking, the reliability has gone up at the project level. What hasn't changed is the ability to predict how long individual tasks take. So that's the sort of strange dilemma, the individual tasks are nowhere near as predictable and reliable. But the overall project is, and I think if you're striving for reliable project level, cost and time is quite feasible, I think. I think it's quite feasible to live it. But if you pass the same mindset down at the detail levels of projects and try and get each individual task and activity to give an estimate, turn it into a commitment will hold you to accountable for it, that actually drives the behaviors that makes the project level achievement much worse. Riccardo Cosentino  38:56  Yeah and why is that? Ian Heptinstall  38:59  I think its inherent in the behavior of complex systems. Because the future is unknowable. And we all know that estimate is a fancy professional name for guests. So the important thing when you're working is to work efficiently and flag up issues that can have a consequence to the rest of the project as soon as you notice them without giving the boy who cried wolf signals that sort of says I've got a problem when it's not a real problem. And methods like critical chain, try and sort of do that damping. So individual tasks that are just taking a bit longer than normal the project to accommodate because we know that some projects, some tasks will have problems and some will go smoothly. But in advance we don't know which. So methods like critical chain and the costing equivalent for collaborative contracting, let's not worry about it. Because if we don't make those estimates into commitments, they will average each other out. That's one of the ironies of organizations that use Monte Carlo simulation to try and sort of aggregate up the numbers and produce and use the central limit theorem to get overall probability distributions at the project level. Because the the basic method of sorry, the basic algorithm for Monte Carlo assumes that the pluses balance the minuses. That's built into the maths. The trouble is, behaviorally, the managerial behaviors inhibit that, because the task estimates are commitment, what tends to happen is tasks get completed, on the due date or later. It's the managerial behaviors that inhibit a project or task saying ours finished three weeks early, the next task can start earlier. But that plus and minus is built into the maths of Monte Carlo. So when critics say well, Monte Carlo analysis is inaccurate, because the numbers never look like the analysis, and you know, a P-80, we never, we don't have 80% of the cases coming in, under or on that number. So the method must be wrong. Or actually, maybe it's giving us some insight into our managerial practices, or inhibiting the sort of pluses and the minuses. So I think that's what critical chain builds in. It allows and encourages the Task Managers to, so long as they're working in a focused way and they're reporting regularly, if it takes longer, it takes longer, because we know, there'll be other tasks in the project that go shorter than expected. And because we've removed the managerial obstacles to reporting admitting an early finish, nobody's going to come back and said, You must have added your estimate. We will reduce all of your other future estimates. We'll say, great, well done. Look who's with you. So in effect, you're embracing the inherent uncertainty, so that the central limit theorem will apply. And so that the project actually gets a tighter normal distribution. So the reason we don't get that in reality, in more common conventions, is that the management practices inhibit the pluses and the minuses averaging out. That's one hypothesis. That's the underpinning thinking.   Riccardo Cosentino  43:05  So if we link that back to the initial, at the beginning, you were talking about the three element of the hypothesis, right? Is a project over budget because of the inherent lack of feasibility of the initial estimate, poor, at the other spectrum, is the poor management, sorry the management practices we're not running these jobs properly and that's why we're late and over budget. And what was the middle one? The middle one was   Ian Heptinstall  43:34  Those are the true black swans and unknowable risks that come along with that, you know, they, that the the ground conditions on your chosen route, really were bad. Yeah, whether you do lots of geotechnical surveys before or after that is still at risk. Riccardo Cosentino  43:57  So your, one of your hypothesis, if I'm not mistaken, is that if we focus on the unfeasibility of the estimate, if we assume that is the unfeasibility of the estimate that is creating the delays we were hiding, that allows us to hide the true reasons why the project is going bad. Ian Heptinstall  44:20  Yeah, and it   Riccardo Cosentino  44:21  It could be the black swans or it could be poor performance.   Ian Heptinstall  44:24  Yeah, it hides it and it stops us focusing on getting our performance well. So yeah, back to my marathon running analogy. I had someone looked at some data from the London Marathon. So the P-90 duration for winning the marathon is six hours 15 minutes. And if I planned for the P-90, six hours 15, and managed to achieve it, great but no big thing counts a great winner. And to be honest, I will be dissatisfied myself. Because I know if you've, if you've put some time and effort in, it's quite feasible for average humans to hit the P-25 or the P-10 number. So it's not it's not the estimate, it's how we go about doing it. That's, that's my main concern. We've lost, we're blaming the estimate, and we're losing focus on execution. And there's so much actual strategic opportunity for executing differently. I, once we get the estimate, right, we turn the handle, turn the handle, churn out the railway easy.   Riccardo Cosentino  45:47  Okay, so now, the comments on LinkedIn are not very conducive to understand each other's points. So I think that's the conclusion I draw. And I agree with you, I 100% agree with you. My only note is that I also tried, the reason I'm a big defender of optimism bias, which is human representation is for very similar reason to yours, but I'm coming from a different perspective. You know, I am so fed up of seeing, especially in large, mega projects, sponsored by the public sector, they end up becoming political, in Canada will be a hockey puck, a political party, right? They just get tossed around. And, you know, there's a new government and an old government and you know, there's a blame game that happens. And the blame games is always around project over budget and late, right? And there is never a recognition of, you know, there's, the management of the project was very poor and that's why he's over budget. Well, you don't actually know that, Mr. Politician, or Miss Politician, you don't know that. You just, you're using that situation to your political to create political advantage. And so to me, I find that it's also disingenuous, right? It's both sides of the coin, it's two sides of the same coin, right? Where, you know, estimate could be used not to focus on the performance, but that performance being good or bad? Because a lot of time, my experience is that project leaders get blamed for project being late. And the analysis is never done why was the project late? And there's never an analysis around was it ran properly and you had a bad estimate? Or did you have a good estimate and and they were ran badly? I think I agree with you that the conversation should be about the project performance, always should be about the project performance. And I would, I, sometimes, you need a proper estimate to have a proper conversation. Ian Heptinstall  48:01  Oh, yes, you, you definitely need to have a decent estimate that in the same way, that the iron law of projects doesn't prove that the management was bad, it doesn't prove that the estimate was bad, either.   Riccardo Cosentino  48:16  Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  48:17  You need to scratch below the surface. That's my concern about the optimistic estimate hypothesis is it's being used in many environments as the explanation for the iron law. And therefore we focus on the estimate. And there's promotion of reference class forecasting, which good estimates are always based on the reference class anyway. And if they're not, there's something sort of structurally strategic wrong with the organization that's delivering the projects. And that will touch upon your comment there regarding that. Where's the analysis being done? Where's the evidence being gathered from an individual project and fed back so that future projects at least don't suffer from those particular issues and problems? How's that being built in? When I started, we had such a system, this so-called double loop feedback, so that project managers on a project, the guidance was reasonably well up to date, whether it was estimates, methodologies, checklists, they were kept up to date. If you don't have that, it's very difficult for organizations to manage and continuously improve their performance. But, having said that, I see these so many execution, efficiency opportunities that I'm not sure why that's where we don't start. Yeah, there's some opportunities in that I've mentioned and discussed that there's also the idea, which also has a very strong evidence base, that projects that move into execution, before sufficient preparation has been done, the extensive data from IPA, Independent Project Analysis and the CII, Construction Industry Institute, in the U.S. Yeah, that sort of 30-year-old data, a strong correlation between the degree of preparation before execution is commenced. But how many projects today, the politicians want to talk, they talk about shovels up, get shovels on the ground. I want some shovel-ready projects. Okay. But that does mean we've spent seven to 10% of the capital value to get them to shovel-ready state. No, you can't do that. I know one of the Canadian public sector bodies has that, oh that's done on out of operating expenses. And we don't want you to spend more than 2% of the capital value, getting it to a final business case. Well, that's bonkers. Because as soon as the business case is approved, somebody's going to rush into execution. And that's going to be wasteful.   Riccardo Cosentino  51:35  Absolutely. Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  51:37  So I think, once we've sorted those things out, then we can start using the once we've crossed the execution and the preparation things off the list, then we can start looking at the quality of the estimates, I think.   Riccardo Cosentino  51:54  I mean, as project practitioners, I mean, researchers in the U.K., I mean, there is, unfortunately, sometimes we discuss and discuss these topics with a certain amount of preassumptions in, there are some things that I assumed are understood, right? And so my starting point is always I assume that we have capable contractors and capable supply chain. So that's typically the starting point for my analysis, which is not always true, but that I want to, I always try to start from there. So if you start from there, then obviously I've already solved that problem. And then now I want to focus on the strategic misrepresentation and optimism bias in the estimate process, right? Because my starting assumption is that we have a capable supply chain. Ian Heptinstall  52:55  Let me give you just one example from my own experience, when I worked at a contractor. We had a probably one of our largest clients, we had a strategic relationship with actually the project owner that we did all the building services work on their projects, and they had dozens of projects every year. When we estimated, and interestingly, we put an estimate for the building services together when the conceptual design was put together. And this, although our pricing was through an agreed mechanism, this particular client had a fixed-price approach, I want to go to a main contractor, but your work will be sort of given to them on a platter, they will be told to use you etc. But we want single point of contact. That meant that when we estimated the amount of man-hours we put in on a job, it ranged from x to 2x. Simply dependent upon who we were working alongside. And that was not just competence. It wasn't even at the level of the company. Yet the people who came and the way they managed the worksite could double the demand on our resources. And that that's a significant impact. And strangely, it was the same number that I had when I was buying spray dryers in the chemical industry 20 years earlier. And one of the global manufacturers told me yeah, depending who the client is, some clients take two times the demand on our engineering hours than others with the questions they asked. They're all competent. So there's enormous differences with how you put competent people together. You can't just assume a team forms like putting a hockey team together.   Riccardo Cosentino  55:01  I said, I made that assumption and never said it was the correct assumption. But, you know, I need to simplify certain things in order to have certain conversation. But yeah, you're right. I mean, it's not the right assumption. Ian Heptinstall  55:15  And it's a common one. And the, particularly, if you tie it with this assumption that a competitive market force will drive innovation within your supply base. It may do but it won't necessarily, particularly since main contractors are basically, variable cost organizations. They're not high-fixed cost. They're not major upfront investment that they react and increase temporarily, their variable costs only after they've won a contract. I'm not sure that that sort of market will drive innovation, you, you just need to be similar or slightly better than your fellow competitors. You don't need to be world-class, you just need to beat the other guy or gal in the room. Riccardo Cosentino  56:12  That's the bear story, right? We have that. Ian Heptinstall  56:15  That's it. That's exactly the bear story. And I think there's many from back in my procurement days, there's many examples where owners facilitating supply-side innovation, drove significant improvements. But if they just sat there and waited for responses to tenders, nothing would have changed. They the whole topic of so-called reverse marketing, where it's the customer who encourages suppliers to enter new supply markets, or to work in different ways. It's a known technique that I wish I saw more of it amongst major project owners in the construction space. Riccardo Cosentino  57:07  Look, I mean, I might not have time to unpack this, but like, and it goes back to your alliance contract, right? I mean, that the reason and it's a very crude description, and you're probably gonna cringe the way I say it. But you know, when you have alliance contracting, especially the public sector clients have to be at the table, right? Now, the cost overruns are no longer somebody else's problem. They're our collective problem. And so you need to come to the table. So the, you know, for the contractor, it basically removes the unproductive resource, legal and commercial resources. And so now you have all of the resources, just focusing on problems. On the public sector, you actually create skin in the game, where now you don't longer have a command and control posture, because you have transmitted fixed price risk to somebody else, you're at the table, you need to contribute to problem solving, and you need to help, like you said, innovation. But that only happens if you have the legal and the right legal commercial framework that is associated with alliance, in my mind. I don't think you can achieve that through any other, because any other commercial contractual method, because the behaviors that those frameworks create, are not conducive to collaboration and innovation. Because exactly what you said, I mean, a contractor, a contractor will do what a contractor will do. Like it's a variable cost organization, they're not going to invest in R&D because the next project might not need the R&D you just developed for this project. And an owner wants to, as you said, there was an all-knowing how to most of the owners worldwide. And now the owner organization doesn't actually have the resources and the capability to be at the table, to be the informed or capable owner that is needed to run these projects. Ian Heptinstall  59:10  They got to have some of it. Because I think that input depends on what the project is about. I'd like to start thinking about the inherent project and forget who employs the people that you need in your project team. So doing a project is a team sport. And you need people around that table with the sort of operating experience for what the asset will be used for. And you need that mix of expertise. And very often the owner organization is the obvious place to provide that kind of expertise. Now, I'm less convinced that the owner has to be the one with the team facilitation syncronization skill. I think that depends on the individual you've got. And that can come from any, ideally, any one of the participants. And if you're short there, you might have to bring in an additional individual or party to manage that synchronization. But that could that could come from any of them, not necessarily the owner. But which is, you know, thinking lifecycle cost, an understanding of needs, regulatory environment, the political environment, those sorts of changes will probably come from the owner. So their representatives, there's a lot of value they can add, rather than being arm's length, and hoping that the, your contractors will sort that out by themselves is, as one of my friends would say that you're taking hopium. Riccardo Cosentino  1:01:01  The command and control posture right, I think you call it arm's length, I call it command and control posture. Anyway, I'm conscious of time. (Inaudible) Yeah, I mean, this has been a fascinating conversation that I want to thank you for, for joining me, thank you for suggesting that we do this. And honestly, I'd love to maybe, on another episode, to pick up the collaborative contracting versus lump sum debate, right? Because it's a very live debate right now in where I am in Canada, even in the U.S. a little bit. But Canada, or we are certainly now starting to enter the collaborative space and you can see, yeah, I love to have a conversation with you about that on another episode.   Ian Heptinstall  1:01:57  That sounds like a plan, Riccardo we'll work on it. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:01  Great. Okay. Ian, on that note, again, thank you for joining me, and I look forward to further exchanges, both on another episode or on LinkedIn. Ian Heptinstall  1:02:14  Thanks, for the opportunity. And yes, this gets around the 125 or 1250 character limit of LinkedIn. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:23  Absolutely. Ian Heptinstall  1:02:24  Thanks for the opportunity. I've enjoyed it. Thank you. Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:26  Thank you. Bye now.   Riccardo Cosentino  1:02:29  That's it for this episode of Navigating Major Programmes. I hope you found today's conversation as informative or provoking as I did. If you enjoyed this conversation, please consider subscribing and leaving a review. I would also like to personally invite you to continue the conversation by joining me on my personal LinkedIn at Riccardo Cosentino. Listening to the next episode, we will continue to explore the latest trends and challenges in major programme management. Our next in-depth conversation promises to continue to dive into topics such as leadership risk management and the impact of emerging technology in infrastructure. It's a conversation you're not going to want to miss. Thanks for listening to Navigating Major Programmes and I look forward to keeping the conversation going. Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the hosts and guests on this podcast do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy, opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Disenyo.co LLC and its employees.

Unlocking Fortune 500 Efficiency: Conquering Backlog, Optimizing Workflow, and Overcoming Multitasking No one is more familiar with the world of business constraints than Dr. Alan Barnard. By optimizing companies like Nike, ABB, Cisco, and Intel, Dr. Alan BArnard of Goldratt Research Labs has become one of the world's leading decision scientists and theory of constraints experts. His accolades speak for themselves as one of the world's leading decision scientists and theory of constraints experts. If you're familiar with ‘The Goal', an optimizer's bible, then you will know Dr. Barnard was the powerhouse behind Goldratt Research Labs, and partner of the late Eli Goldratt, the mind behind that groundbreaking book.  In this episode, he unveils a framework that promises to revolutionize the way we approach constraints in business and beyond. Whether you're aiming to streamline workflow, eliminate backlog, or master the art of multitasking, Dr. Barnard's insights are not to be missed. Episode Highlights:  Dr. Barnard presents mathematical proof of how multitasking significantly drains productivity, shedding light on why it defies intuition. He unveils his method for persuading the mind to tackle tasks that appear daunting or impossible. Eugene and Alan go through several examples and thought experiments to relate his concepts to the vision industry  

In today's episode, we talk about the counterintuitive process of prioritizing based on critical path. This is not a novel concept that I've invented, but rather a revisiting of the classic discussion started by Eli Goldratt in his book "The Goal", and later in his book "Critical Path", based on the theory of constraints.

In this episode I delve into the lifeblood of our chiropractic practices—converting patients to care. But here's the crux: how do we do this without resorting to sales tactics that feel pushy, fear-driven, or like we're bullying our patients? That's exactly what we're unpacking together. We both understand the importance of turning patients into long-term partners in care, but it's about finding a path that feels authentic. This episode takes a closer look at the barriers we face in our practice and the genuine concerns our patients have. I'm exploring the real reasons behind their hesitation and how to address these issues directly, but in a way that aligns with our values of care and empathy. The key? Understanding the root causes of our patients' concerns. Inspired by business and change guru Eli Goldratt, we'll be applying his insights on objection handling through the lens of his six layers of resistance. Goldratt's approach offers a structured yet compassionate framework to navigate these waters, helping us to identify and address the real issues our patients face. Join me as we explore how to apply these principles in our practices, ensuring our growth and our patients' well-being through understanding, authenticity, and genuine connection. Let's make a real difference, one patient at a time, with no tricks, no pressure—just care. Thanks for all you do. Keep saving lives! AngusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, Val and Dale interview Ali Maffey about project management and the importance of lean thinking. They discuss the challenges of project planning, the role of technology in project management, and the complexity of project management tools. They also delve into the difference between identifying threats and shortening programs, the flaws of long-term planning, and the benefits of small projects. The conversation concludes with final thoughts and anecdotes from Ali.Takeaways Lean thinking is crucial in project management as it focuses on eliminating waste and improving efficiency. Project planning can be challenging, especially when it comes to long-term planning and forecasting risks in novel projects. Technology plays a significant role in project management, but it can also add complexity and hinder progress if not used effectively. Identifying bottlenecks and addressing them is essential for successful project execution. Improving project management requires a collective effort from all project professionals, and a focus on collaboration and breaking down silos. Ali started on-site as an engineer in Terminal 4 in 1980. I worked my way up to the project management role and, after two projects, decided how projects worked wasn't for me. Nothing seemed to work and I felt that it wasn't intellectually engaging. It was all chasing sub-contractors and engaging in energy-sapping toxic behaviours such as blaming and defensive reasoning. Ali left construction to do an MBA and then worked at a large automotive company looking at life cycle cost and productivity. It was during this period that I discovered an environment where things worked. The right colour door arrived at the right colour car every time. Ali came back to construction and joined Balfour Beatty Civils and Rail major projects. Early on, I was asked, based on my automotive experience and MBA, to join the Business Improvement Team (BIT) which was probably the first of its kind in construction. The BIT was made up of 5 of the smartest people I have met in construction. We then spent 6 years testing out everything and anything we read or heard about. Ali started with implementing TQM before Lean Thinking. We helped Eli Goldratt with his first trial of Critical Chain. We met Gelen Ballard soon after his Last Planner paper was published. We tested out ideas from Semco and Riccardo Semler, setting up self-managing front-line teams on major projects. In 1999, Ali was seconded to Egan's M4I (backed by the cabinet office) as an innovation advisor. I helped develop the Construction National KPIs, promote offsite manufacturing, and encourage the use of partnering PPC2000 forms of contract. Ali also set up and ran the first Lean Thinking training workshops in construction. Ali was also responsible for validating the innovations claimed by the 68 Egan complaint demonstration projects and producing the ministerial report for the parliament. In 2004 he helped set up Lean Thinking Ltd and became a member of Buildoffsite. At a later date, he supported the first BIM trial project. Ali has been involved with more than 200 projects and have experimented with more ideas, tools, techniques, initiatives, etc, on more live projects for a longer period than probably anyone else in the industry globally. Proudly Supported by Deltek - ⁠www.deltek.com⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/project-chatter-podcast/message

You are only as strong as your weakest link. We've all heard this before. So what? What if i told you that THIS IDEA is actually one of the secrets to process improvement of all kinds? Again.... what cares about boring things like "process improvement?" Well... let's think about that. If you improve your process for: sales -- you make MORE MONEY hunting -- you get MORE MEAT Finding a wife -- MORE WIVES You get the idea. Journey with myself and Eli the golden Rat, to steal the immortal secrets of the Unicorn and continue our path to become Rich. Jacked. and Gods among Men.

On today's show we are talking about a concept in project management that is rarely discussed. When we think about the items that determine a project's timeline, there are all of the text book steps in developing a project plan. More advanced project management means identifying those project constraints that are critical in nature. This is taken from the theory of constraints work by Eli Goldratt. The idea behind the theory of constraints is that there can be other critical resources apart from time. The impact of a critical resource can result in time delays, but in that instance it is not time that is the critical resource. This is a subtle but important distinction.  ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

In this podcast we cover: Why people may not be improving. A glimmer of hope. The rules of flow by Eli Goldratt.   If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode.  And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 

Why do even the best of us sometimes make poor decisions? Why do we often repeat these mistakes? Delve into the science of decision-making with our esteemed guest, Dr. Alan Barnard. An entrepreneur, strategist, and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, Dr. Barnard's multifaceted career spans roles as a research scientist, app developer, author, coach, philanthropist, lecturer, and podcaster. Renowned globally as a leading Decision Scientist and an expert in the Theory of Constraints, Alan co-founded Goldratt Research Labs with the legendary Dr. Eli Goldratt, author of the game-changing book, ‘The Goal' and creator of the Theory of Constraints. Join our conversation as we uncover the secrets to making swift, effective decisions when they matter most

Why do even the best of us sometimes make poor decisions? Why do we often repeat these mistakes? Delve into the science of decision-making with our esteemed guest, Dr. Alan Barnard. An entrepreneur, strategist, and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, Dr. Barnard's multifaceted career spans roles as a research scientist, app developer, author, coach, philanthropist, lecturer, and podcaster. Renowned globally as a leading Decision Scientist and an expert in the Theory of Constraints, Alan co-founded Goldratt Research Labs with the legendary Dr. Eli Goldratt, author of the game-changing book, ‘The Goal' and creator of the Theory of Constraints. Join our conversation as we uncover the secrets to making swift, effective decisions when they matter most

In another compelling episode of GGG Unleashed, Beyond the Office, host Bill Keller takes a deep dive into two remarkable books that guide us in understanding the complexities of the future as it relates to work and life. First, he explores "The End of the World Is Just the Beginning" by Peter Zihan. This profound analysis examines the shifting dynamics of global trade and the potential unraveling of the post-World War II order that championed globalization and free trade. It offers an insightful look into how these changes could reshape the world, particularly in the areas of manufacturing and job markets. Next, Bill delves into "The Goal" by Eli Goldratt. Unlike conventional books on operations management, "The Goal" unfolds through the story of Alex Rogo and his struggles to save a failing manufacturing plant. By introducing the theory of constraints, he provides a unique perspective on how identifying and overcoming bottlenecks can be applied across various industries. A few takeaways from this episode include: Understanding the Evolving World Order: A thorough exploration of how changes in globalization and trade might transform industries and careers.  The Reshaping of Manufacturing: A deep look into how current global trends may bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., affecting growth opportunities and the job market.  Applying the Theory of Constraints: An enlightening discussion on using Goldratt's unique approach to optimize performance and tackle challenges within organizations. Tune in to GGG Unleashed, Beyond the Office to uncover the implications these books have for the future of work. Whether you're an industry professional or simply interested in the future, this episode promises to be both informative and captivating.  

Welcome to our podcast, where we unveil the incredible secrets to achieving massive success in both your personal and professional life. In this captivating video, we delve into the groundbreaking concepts of renowned management guru, Eli Goldratt, and his revolutionary book, 'Isn't it Obvious.' Eli Goldratt, a renowned physicist-turned-business consultant, is famous for his Theory of Constraints and his ability to identify and eliminate bottlenecks that hinder productivity and growth. 'Isn't it Obvious' is a powerful masterpiece that encapsulates Goldratt's wisdom and practical strategies for overcoming common obstacles and reaching unparalleled levels of success. In this podcast, we break down the key principles and ideas from 'Isn't it Obvious' and explain how they can be applied to transform your personal and professional life. Prepare to be inspired as we explore Goldratt's thought-provoking concepts, such as the importance of clear objectives, the power of questioning assumptions, and the significance of focusing on the vital few. We also delve into Goldratt's Theory of Constraints, which helps identify and alleviate the bottlenecks that limit our progress. Discover how to identify constraints, implement effective solutions, and propel your productivity to new heights. Goldratt's methodologies have revolutionized countless businesses and individuals worldwide, and now you have the opportunity to harness these transformative principles for yourself. Join us as we explore case studies, success stories, and practical examples that demonstrate the incredible impact of Goldratt's ideas. Whether you're an entrepreneur, business professional, or simply an individual striving for personal growth, this video offers invaluable insights that can accelerate your path to success. Don't miss out on this eye-opening journey into the world of Eli Goldratt's 'Isn't it Obvious.' Subscribe to our channel, hit the notification bell, and be ready to unlock the secrets to massive success that have eluded you until now. Get ready to transcend limitations and embrace a future filled with unlimited potential! Remember to like, share, and leave your thoughts in the comments section. Your feedback and engagement help us bring you more insightful content. Together, let's embark on a transformational journey towards achieving extraordinary success. #ecommerce #eligoldratt #business #theoryofconstraints #amazonseller #productivityhacks #profitability #isntitobvious #bookanalysis #growth

Vector Consulting Group has developed a unique thinking process that combines the work of great philosophers such as Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Karl Popper, scientist David Deutsche, and management guru Eli Goldratt. This approach that we call the Scientific and Systems Thinking approach, has been instrumental in helping us find breakthrough solutions for our clients. Our commitment to sharing our knowledge and expertise with the world continues in Season II of the Counterpoint podcast. In the second episode of this season, Satyashri Mohanty, dubbed "The Coach" at Vector Consulting Group, will be explaining one of the facets of Vector's Thinking Processes - Deep Causal Thinking. Satya provides an extremely simple example to first explain the Deep Causal Thinking approach and then describes its significance in conducting diagnostics for business situations. We encourage you to listen in and try to apply these concepts to your own environment.

In this week's pod, we welcomed Dr Alan Barnard to discuss the theory of constraints & decision-making. Dr. Alan Barnard is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, strategy advisor, research scientist, app developer, author, coach, lecturer, podcaster, and lifelong learner. Alan is considered one of the world's leading Decision Scientists and Theory of Constraints experts. Alan is the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, which he co-founded in 2009 with Dr. Eli Goldratt, author of THE GOAL, creator of Theory of Constraints and Critical Chain Project Management. Dr. Alan's research focuses on understanding why good people make, and often repeat bad decisions, and how best to avoid these. From this research, Alan and his team at Goldratt Research Labs have developed a range of award-winning Decision Support Apps that help organizations and individuals make better faster decisions when it really matters. Their clients include Fortune 500 companies, Government Agencies, and people from over 70 countries that are using their apps to make difficult life and business decisions. The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows: There is a massive amount of invisible simplicity on major projects How do you decide on a goal if you do not know what resources will limit you reaching that goal? Many people become successful due to factors outside their control such as luck and good genes, however almost all successful people make good decision and are hard working, which is in their control To create a stable system, have a single constraint that doesn't move Projects are always looking for the inherent but invisible simplicity. Critical path methodology enabled projects to simplify how they represent project delivery, however this usually ignores resource and capacity constraints Many people are better at estimating work durations in big chunks rather than at a lower level / individual task based detail Hard to quantify capacity, availability and capability of resources in a project plan. The easiest thing to track is whether a project is waiting for resource The main planning mistake is to ignore capacity when making commitments and launch too many projects at the same time AI is better suited to production environments where there is repetitive information A key skill of a manager is the ability to keep the team “in flow” Here are links to some of the topics we discussed: Flow Theory: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/flow-theory Impossible Unless: https://www.impossibleunless.com/special-copy-registration Project Portfolio Digital Twin: https://www.projectdigitaltwin.com/sale1648625245366 Goldratt Research Labs: www.goldrattresearchlabs.com Harmony Apps: https://harmonyapps.com/ Dr Alan Barnard Website: www.dralanbarnard.com Critical Chain - Eliyahu Goldratt: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Critical-Chain-Business-Eliyahu-Goldratt/dp/0566080389 How to Improve Work Flow in any Environment - keynote by Dr. Alan Barnard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AkrjO55VBQ&feature=youtu.be Join us next week when we speak to Paul Waskett to discuss Project Controls in design and engineering stages For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.com If you'd like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website. You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there's something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast. Proudly sponsored by: JustDo - https://www.justdo.com/ InEight - https://ineight.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/project-chatter-podcast/message

TODAY´S EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FLOW RESEARCH COLLECTIVE Are you an entrepreneur, a leader, or a knowledge worker, who wants to harness the power of flow so you can get more done in less time with greater ease and accomplish your boldest professional goals faster? If you´ve answered this question with “hell yes” then our peak-performance training Zero to Dangerous may be a good fit for you. If this sounds of interest to you all you need to do is go to getmoreflow.com right now, pop in your application and one of our team members will be in touch with you very soon.  ABOUT THE GUEST: Dr. Alan Barnard is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, strategy advisor, research scientist, app developer, author, lecturer, podcaster, lifelong learner and coach.  Alan is considered one of the world's leading Decision Scientists and Theory of Constraints experts. His research focuses on understanding why good people make, and often repeat bad decisions, and how to avoid these. Alan is the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, which he co-founded with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints and author of THE GOAL. GRL's goal is to help individuals and organizations make better faster decisions when it really matters. From their research, Alan and his team has developed the range of award-winning Harmony Apps. Their clients include Fortune 1000 companies, Government Agencies and people from over 70 countries that are using their apps to make difficult life and business decisions. For more information, visit www.dralanbarnard.com, www.goldrattresearchlabs.com, www.harmonyapps.com  and www.tocodyssey.org  ABOUT THE EPISODE:  In this episode, you will learn about: Multitasking Doesn't Work (03:08) Challenge basic assumptions (14:37) 5 Steps to better decision making (20:33) Defining problems properly (31:41) Eliyahu Goldratt & his research (33:26) Counterintuitive Theory of Constraints (38:38) How Dr. Alan helps organizations (45:25) Theory of Constraints Parent Category (52:44)   Social media Handles LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralanbarnard/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dralan.barnard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralanbarnard  Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralanbarnard  ‍ STEVEN KOTLER is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and Founder and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective. He is one of the world's leading experts on human performance. His books include The Art of Impossible, Stealing Fire, and The Rise of Superman. His work has been translated into over 40 languages and appeared in over 100 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Wall Street Journal, TIME, Wired, Atlantic Monthly, The Harvard Business Review and Forbes.

The Goal is about new global principles of manufacturing. It's about people who try to understand what makes their world tick so that they can make it better. As they think logically and consistently about the problems, they are able to determine cause and effect relationships between their actions and the results. Developed by Eli Goldratt, The Goal contains a serious message for all managers in the industry and explains the ideas, which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Goldratt believes that the goal of an individual or an organisation shouldn't be defined in absolute terms. A good definition of a goal is one that sets us on a path of ongoing improvement. Pursuing such a goal necessitates more than one breakthrough—if anything, it requires many. In this week's episode, Jonesy and Ashton identify the breakthroughs that we should have to understand the underlying rules of our environment, and hopefully help us elevate the constraints in our personal or professional life. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Intro.(1:40) - Start of interview.(2:00) - Matt's "origin story". He grew up in San Diego, CA. He's lived in and around New York City for the last 30 years. After college he worked as a consultant (Mercer Consulting) and VC (General Atlantic). In 1995 he joined the executive team of MovieFone, a small cap public company. He helped the company "figure out what the internet was all about." They sold the company to AOL in 1999 (for $388M in stock). Then he started a company called Return Path in 1999. It was a 20-year run where they scaled the company to about $100m in revenue and 500 employees worldwide. They sold the business in 2019 to Validity. In 2020, he founded a new company called Bolster, a marketplace for on-demand executive and board talent. Along the way he wrote a couple of books (Startup CEO in 2013, and Startup CXO in 2021), and he's sat on several boards (such as those of Oblong, Authentic Response, Moz and Feedburner), one major trade association (DMA), some community/academic (local Little League, and a couple of different Princeton fundraising boards). He has been "increasingly spending time on board matters as his career has gone on."(5:50) - On the first edition of the book Startup Boards (2013), by Brad Feld and Mahendra Ramsinghani. Brad and Matt will publish the second edition of the book this June. It takes a fresh look at the topic, with more diverse voices. They added a section for aspiring board members (interested in becoming independent directors).(8:51) - On why he started his new company Bolster, a marketplace for executive and board talent. "About a quarter of our business is focused on running board searches for private venture-backed and public companies (in their first year they did about 30-40 board searches)." They want to "help startup CEOs rethink the way they use and find senior talent."(11:41) - On his focus on increasing the number and diversity of independent directors in venture-backed companies. Bolster's benchmarking study on independent directors in startup boards (based on a study of 250 private company boards):Only 32% of private company boards have independent directors. Half of boards have open independent director seats they expect to fill in the next 12 months.Compared with investor or management directors, independent director seats are 3 times as likely to be held by women. 86% of director seats overall are held by men, and 56% of early stage private company boards have no gender diversity at all.Four out of five seats on private company boards are held by individuals who are White, and 43% of boards are completely homogenous with regard to the race/ethnicity of their directors.CEOs are broadening their searches to diversify their boards. Two-thirds of CEOs are open to bringing on first-time directors, and 41% of independent directors have either some college or an under-graduate degree only (vs. a post-grad degree).Board composition tends to over-index on investors and management directors. 59% of boards have more than one management or founder director and 59% of boards have 2 or more investor directors.Men seem to have a slightly higher average earning potential (measured in basis points per year and grant value) compared to women directors at like companies.(12:40) - "Our Mantra is the 'Rule of Ones' : you should be putting independent directors from day one, private company boards should only have one founder on the board, and for every one investor you should have one independent."(13:59) - On Fred Wilson's Board Diversity Proposal. "Fred walks the walk on that one, as does Brad Feld and Greg Sands." (all 3 VCs are board observers on Bolster's board). "At the end of the day, they all have very meaningful voices in and outside the boardroom, but they have made room for us to bring very good and diverse candidates." [Bolster's board has 4 first-time independent directors.](18:50) - On the impact of record-breaking VC financings, SPACs, IPOs and M&A on startups. "It's put a lot more money and valuation into startups."(19:52) - On his advice to CEOs on how to manage their boards: "The CEO should think of it as having two teams: one team is the executive team, the other is the board." "Start by making sure board composition is right". Scott Weiss: "boards eat whatever you put in front of them." Matt's rule: "No slides in board meetings, it's not a dog and pony show."(23:41) - On virtual board meetings via Zoom or otherwise post-pandemic. "It used to be that boards would have four in-person meetings per year." "In the private company world, VCs are constrained by the number of boards they sit on, but with virtual board meetings their ability to sit on boards has gone up 40-50% [since they don't have to get on planes so much anymore]." Matt's best practice approach: "Once or twice a year the board should meet in-person, and the rest is OK to meet virtually."(26:23) - On ESG in private companies. "This is an area where private companies are ahead." On growth of public benefit corporations (PBCs).(30:03) - On diversity in startup boards. "There is a lot more awareness on the need and benefits for more diversity on boards." "It has to start with the commitment to add one or two independents."(35:43) - On the difference between CEO coaches and mentors: "A coach is someone who helps you be the best version of you. A mentor is someone who has done your job before, knows how to do it cold, has probably done it at your stage and the stage beyond. He/she can help you teach the craft of the job." "Executives need both a coach and mentor, sometimes it's the same person."(37:07) - What makes Bolster different for board searches? "It's faster and cheaper [because we have a curated and qualified marketplace.]"(39:08) - On how the pandemic has changed the geographic distribution of talent.  "People can live anywhere now." "NY has become a crypto talent pool." "I think there is a role for DAOs, but I don't think there will be a mass movement away from traditional corporate structures." "I think leadership matters, and companies would be hard pressed to make hard calls by vote [if you don't think that's true, look at Washington DC]."(41:30) - Matt's favorite books:The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand (1943)The Goal, by Eli Goldratt (1984) [in business books]The Advantage, by Patrick Lencioni (2012) ["my CEO bible"](42:32) - Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them?His grandmother "I really learned resilience and grace from her."His dad "I learned perseverance and the importance of having a strong moral compass."(43:33) - Quotes that she thinks of often, or lives her life by: Theodore's Roosevelt "Man in the Arena" speech (1910): “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ("for me that's the entrepreneurs' quote").(45:05) - An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: Mexican food! "I also love reading American and Presidential history."(46:21) - The living person he most admires? Oprah Winfrey is super interesting and inspiring. Jeff Bezos (innovation gene and perseverance). Jeremy Bloom, CEO of Integrate (the only athlete in history to ski in the Olympics and also be drafted into the NFL).Matt Blumberg is the founder and CEO of Bolster, a marketplace for on-demand executive and board talent. You can follow Matt at the following links:matt@bolster.comwww.linkedin.com/in/blumbergmattwww.startupceo.com (blog)www.twitter.com/mattblumbergwww.bolster.com__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Welcome to Building Brand You, the podcast that helps you accelerate your success by unlocking your greatest asset – you. KEY TAKEAWAYS: What we believe can change our decision making. It's more useful to think of assumptions and beliefs as helpful versus harmful than right versus wrong. Real results come from focus. Investing in your own ability to make quality decisions provides really high leverage. You don't have much control over what happens to you but you always have control over your response.   BOOK MENTIONED: The Goal by Dr Eli Goldratt - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0566086654/     ABOUT OUR GUEST: Dr. Alan Barnard is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, strategy advisor, research scientist, app developer, author, teacher, podcaster, and lifelong learner. Alan is considered one of the world's leading Decision Scientists and Theory of Constraints experts. His research focuses on understanding why good people make, and often repeat bad decisions, and how to avoid these. Alan is the CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, created to help individuals and organizations make better, faster decisions when it really matters. From their research, Alan and his team has developed the range of award-winning Harmony Decision Maker, Harmony Change Maker and Harmony Change Simulator Apps. Their clients include Fortune 500 companies, Government Agencies and people from over 70 countries using their apps to make difficult life and business decisions.     CONNECT WITH DR. ALAN BARNARD: Email - alan@goldrattresearchlabs.com Website - www.dralanbarnard.com, www.goldrattresearchlabs.com and www.harmonyapps.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dralanbarnard/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dralan.barnard Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dralanbarnard Twitter: https://twitter.com/dralanbarnard ABOUT THE HOST: Kym Hamer is an international business coach, serial entrepreneur, and the creator of Building Brand You™, a methodology helping organisations, teams and individuals to build visibility and reputational rigor as essential building blocks for delivering sustained business value. In 2020, she was nominated as one of the Top 100 Women in B2B Leadership influencers, and in 2021 as one of the Top 50 in Change Management and Top 30 in Marketing, Mindset/Mental Health and Top 10 in Entrepreneurship, by Thinkers360, the world's first open platform for thought leaders.  Kym is Founder & CEO of Artemis Futures International, a Founding Board Member of the Customer Experience & Service Association Middle East & Co-founder of CXSA Group Ltd. as well as a member of the strategy faculty for Homeward Bound, a global initiative reaching 1.8 billion people that is equipping women in STEMM to lead and shape the future of our planet. In between all of these things, you'll find her curled up in a corner with her nose in a book. CONNECT WITH KYM HAMER: LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/kymhamer/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kymhamerartemis/ Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/kymhamerartemis/ BBY Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/buildingbrandyou Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kymhamerartemis/ Website - https://www.artemisfutures.co.uk/ Schedule a Call at https://calendly.com/kymhamer/bbychat     HOSTED BY: Kym Hamer   DISCLAIMER: The views, information or opinions expressed during the Building Brand You podcast series are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily represent any other entities, agencies, organisations, or companies. Building Brand You is not responsible and does not verify for accuracy of any of the information contained in the podcast available for listening on this site. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast does not constitute legal advice or services. Subscribe to Building Brand You on Soundwise

Every successful goal has 4 things in common: results, action, time, and motivation. Results are first on the list for a reason. If you don't determine where you want to end up, you'll never know when you've crossed the finish line. Listen to this episode for the three simple words that will help you define the results that will measure your success.From This Episode:Here's my conversation with Alone producer Ryan PenderI talked with Brendan Leonard about having fun goalsFollow me on GoodreadsNinja Selling by Larry KendallThe Goal by Eli Goldratt and Jeff Cox Book me to speak at your event or to your team!Grab a 2022 Finish Calendar!Check out the Finish CourseYou can get more info on the Soundtracks Video CourseFollow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Are you working on a goal that has you feeling stuck? Or maybe it feels really overwhelming or frustrating? If you can relate, chances are, your goal is too big. That's why this episode is all about the power of a micro-goal, AKA a small goal that generates big results. It's sort of like having a Roth IRA. You invest small actions over time, and eventually, you've got massive dividends. Listen in to learn how to set a micro-goal that can slingshot you over the finish line of 2022.From This Episode:Follow Jon on GoodreadsNinja Selling by Larry Kendall The Goal by Eli Goldratt and Jeff Cox The Molecule of More Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. LongThe Gift By Lewis Hyde  Grab a 2022 Finish Calendar!Check out the Finish CourseYou can get more info on the Soundtracks CourseFollow Jon on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.Order Soundtracks, Jon's newest book available wherever you find quality books!

Summary Keywordsorganisation, people, tps, books, management, Shingo, called, problem, kaizen, company, create, lean, business,  understand, productivity, direct observation, manufacturingIntroduction Welcome to Episode 59 of the enterprise excellence podcast. It is such a pleasure to have Mr Bruce Hamilton back on the show with us today. Bruce has created some of the most engaging knowledge transferring content I've ever come across in Lean, one of those being Toast Kaizen. In this episode, we chat about the importance of thinking longer-term and bigger picture and supporting the journey with visionary leadership. I encourage you to listen to episode 58 before this one if you haven't already. Let's get into the episode. We are proudly sponsored by S A Partners, a world-leading business transformation consultancy.FREE DownloadGo to enterpriseexcellencepodcast.com/downloads to download an Enterprise Excellence Big Picture map which will allow you to analyse your organisations systems in line with your longer term vision, meaningful goals, culture and customers.  Two Minute Tip06:17min Well, there's a quote from Eli Goldratt, "think globally and act locally", that is always on my mind. If you kind of look at that time frame, we arbitrarily have divided a continuum into buckets, you know, seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months, and so on. And somewhere, there's this long-term view, and that's distant. So, where do we focus? We're right here in the present. We're always focusing on the present. What are we doing today? And yeah, it's out there somewhere. So, our actions are never, or not often enough, based upon that big picture. And I think we would all be better off if we were doing that. We wouldn't be having these awful news stories about the environment. And, you know, those worries if we were thinking out in the future, but then, you know, doing something about it every day. So, everybody every day, that's the slogan of our organisation. We've got to; you've got to do something every day. And you'll learn that way.Links Brad is proud to support many Australian businesses. You can find him on LinkedIn here. If you'd like to speak to him about how he can help your business, call him on 0402 448 445 or email bjeavons@iqi.com.au. Our website is www.bradjeavons.com.Bruce's LinkedIn profile:linkedin.com/in/bruce-hamilton-a09a4616Websites: oldleandude.org  (Blog), gbmp.org  (Company), neshingoprize.org  (Company)Email: pokayoke@comcast.net What next?1.     Watch our 2 min tip: Common Goal with Rugby and subscribe to our YouTube channel.2.     Listen to the Enterprise Excellence Podcast,  #31Theory of Constraint Innovation and Optimising Outcomes with Lewis Trigger.3.     Join our membership page to access free planning resources.

Our book this month is "The Goal" by Eli Goldratt. This book was originally published in 1984 and was the groundbreaking book on the Theory of Constraints. The book is written as a narrative surrounding a manufacturing plant manager named Alex who moves to a small town to take over the management of the plant. But the plant is struggling. Deliveries are late, the plant is losing money, and customers are unhappy. Senior management is threatening to shut it all down in less than 3 months if things don't improve. Along the way, our hero encounters a scientist named Jonah who leads our protagonist through the thinking process to discover the principles that lead him to solving the problems that are plaguing his organization. In the story, Jonah clearly sees through all the talk of efficiency and correctly identifies the business is in trouble. The problem is that the business is being measured against the wrong goals. By focusing on efficiency and lowest cost per component, inventories were building in virtually all areas. Work in process inventory was growing, finished goods inventory was growing, but still shipments of some products were continually late. The theory of constraints centers around practical methods for identifying solutions to business problems by deciding: What to change What to change it to How to cause the change The specific book I'm recommending today is the first in a series of books that apply to theory of constraints to specific business problems. This first one is a manufacturing plant. But the method can be applied to project management, and to sales, and retail management. The theory of constraints is a universal way of thinking that can be applied to virtually any business problem. ----------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Want to learn more about the Theory of Constraints? In this episode Matt sat down with Sridhar Chandra, a partner at Goldratt Consulting and expert in the field. Sridhar has been in the TOC realm since 1997, worked directly with Dr. Eli Goldratt who created TOC, and has implemented the methodology in a diverse set of organizations in the private sector. Sridhar has been working directly with Tesseract the last several years helping maintenance and logistics organizations reach operational excellence through the five focusing steps of the Theory of Constraints. In less than half an hour, he can get you up to speed with what TOC is and how you can start applying it. Want to learn how to implement TOC at your unit? Shoot us a direct message on LinkedIn!

On his deathbed, Eli Goldratt was asked if he could advise, in the most general terms, where one should be looking for the constraint. After all, if the constraint governs the rate at which we create value, wouldn’t it help to know where it consistently shows up? [ Listen to audio version, read by David The post Paying attention appeared first on Ensemble.

On his deathbed, Eli Goldratt was asked if he could advise, in the most general terms, where one should be looking for the constraint. After all, if the constraint governs the rate at which we create value, wouldn't it help to know where it consistently shows up? [ Listen to audio version, read by David The post Paying attention appeared first on Ensemble.

Proudly brought to you in association with S A Partners, a world-leading business transformation consultancy.IntroductionWelcome to episode 31 of the Enterprise Excellence Podcast. I am so pleased to have Mr Lewis Trigger on the show with me today. Lewis is a constraint innovation expert, a specialist helping organisations and people realise vast untapped resources and capability. Lewis studied with Dr Eli Goldratt, the founder of the Theory of Constraints and has taken these learnings to new levels. Lewis has dedicated his career to helping others unlock potential and create a better future. Let's get into the episode. Lewis, thank you for joining us today.Key Take-AwaysThe key takeaways for me from this episode were:Clearly understand your organisation's goal. Does your organisation know it? Does everyone in your organisation understand it and have a relatable plan aligned to it?Take the time to think slowly and understand your constraint. Lewis had a great point relating to getting your hands dirty, going and seeing the operation, where the work is done. Once an organisation clearly understands its constraint, it can run improvement and overcome it to keep moving towards its goal. This focus within an organisation will bring clarity and focus in a world that often lacks it. With focus, improvement becomes much more straightforward.Consider how you are measuring and rewarding people within your organisation. Is it aligned to your organisation's goal, and does it help or hinder your current constraint? Measures, recognition and reward drive behaviour. Suppose these systems are not aligned to your organisation's goal and supporting your constraints? In that case, you will have an organisation working against itself rather than aligning in a cohesive way towards your goal. Quotes17:29min This type of mindset of TOC, where you focus on where your constraint is, and you leverage it, makes a tremendous change and makes sense.22:33min any system that's viable, it's always got a goal that's going to be infinite, and it can be proven over and over again that the goal is not a target. The goal is going to be infinite.28:20min Wow, look how much more we're able to get out of the system without adding anything by using those principles 42:39min well, TOC challenges that and says it's not true. In fact, the only if you want to say, resource, if you want to say, that has to do its very best is your constraint.44:07min a certain level of insufficiency has to be built in, in order to be able to make sure that you're always going to be available for the constraint number one. Number two, we talked about it before when I told you about the 5S story with Lean, that you don't introduce work there that shouldn't be there.48:26min with leadership, if you are able to then show the leadership the logical thinking of TOC, of basically saying ok, we have to have a change of mindset of being efficient at local levels to being effective, effective at all levels, by the way, also at local level, but it will have that effective result for the organisation.LinksLewis' Profile: linkedin.com/in/lewis-trigger-5ab2371Email:  trigalon@netvision.net.ilWebsite: http://lewistrigger.com/CI2/

FBU Club 42 - Il Valore del Vincolo, con Claudio VettorA volte vorremmo liberarci dei vincoli per poter essere più liberi senza comprendere che sono proprio i vincoli, o meglio la loro gestione, che ci può aiutare a conquistare la libertà.Parliamo di concreti vincoli produttivi ma anche di vincoli di pensiero e relazionali, insieme con Claudio Vettor, uno dei massimi esperti italiani di TOC, la teoria dei vincoli formulata da Eli Goldratt per la gestione delle organizzazioni.Il profilo di Claudio Vettor su LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiovettor/Il sito di Win Win la sua società di consulenzahttp://www.winwin-consulting.biz/Qualche video di Goldratthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8AkHw1J2d4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HStf-XbsSohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU2iWZEYbKAE il suo libro-racconto da cui partirehttps://www.amazon.it/Goal-Process-Ongoing-Improvement/dp/0884271951/

Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI). His PhD thesis was titled “How to identify and unlock inherent potential within organizations (private & public) and individuals?” Alan is very active in a number of Non-Profit Professional Organizations and Universities within his fields of interest. Alan is the former President of SAPICS (www.sapics.org), and former chairman of TOCICO (www.tocico.org). Alan is also the Chairman of Odyssey Institute (www.tocoydssey.org), a Non-Profit organization he co-founded with Dr. Eli Goldratt in 2005. Alan also serves as board member of BHP's Science and Innovation Council (www.bhp.com) and frequently serves as field supervisor of PhD students and guest lecturer at the DaVinci Institute and Duke University. Dr. Barnard's research over the past 20 years has focused on creating practical decision support methods and apps that can help young and old identify and overcome the limiting beliefs or assumptions that cause usto make and often repeat bad decisions. An example of a simple but powerful technique Dr. Barnard developed to overcome a common self-limiting belief — “It's impossible (to achieve an important goal)” — simply involves asking yourself or them… “It's impossible unless…?” Dr. Alan Barnard and his team at Goldratt Research Labs has developed a series of HARMONY DECISION SUPPORT APPS to provide users easy access to the breakthrough step-by-step decision support methods previously only available to their Fortune 500 clients. Each of these Apps were specifically designed to help individuals and managers apply the latest advances in decision science to avoid common decision mistakes. These include mistakes when making tough decisions, making complex changes or evaluating the likely global impact of local changes on organizations and/or their supply chains. Dr. Alan Barnard is also the creator of the ODYSSEY MASTERCLASS PROGRAM SERIES, offered either as an online or live experiential learning event. These events give individuals and managers the unique opportunity to master the Decision Making, Change Making and Change Simulation skills they NEED to SUCCEED using examples from their own life or organization. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world’s leading #Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints’ experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints.

Eli Goldratt wrote a book called The Goal, which Verne Harnish has described as one of the most important business books ever written. With such an accolade, we had to have Andy Watt, MD of Goldratt, on the show. Andy is a founding member of the Theory of Constraints International Certification Organisation (TOCICO) and a Chartered Fellow of CILT (Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport). He's also the owner and driving force behind Goldratt UK, and he has the singular aim of increasing the exposure of Theory of Constraints (TOC) in the UK.Over the last fifteen years, Andy and Goldratt UK have worked with hundreds of organisations implementing TOC including Bentley, McLaren, Honeywell, Masterfoods, Bombardier, Eurostar, Siemens and Johnson Matthey.Today, Andy talks about managing constraints, not just in a manufacturing or engineering business, but in any business that runs project work. The idea that constraints should be managed is applicable to so many businesses, regardless of their industry. The common thread is that people often know what the constraint is, and what the solution to the problem is, but somehow can't fix it themselves. “Fundamentally, it's how you release work into the system, which is really important. So we release it at the rate at which the constraint can produce it. So shoving it in doesn't make it come out, which is a lesson that most people don't understand.”We also discuss how many CEOs and business leaders have a belief problem that they need to overcome and that the actual constraint might be a belief and not a real thing. This is a fascinating conversation, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did. On today's podcast:Why a physicist wrote a business bookEli's algorithm to release work into the systemThe constraint is often the most simple thingFlow dynamics/ flowing capacityKnowing what done/good looks likeOvercoming beliefs

Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. They were both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals.Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher, and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP, and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget.Discover more details here.Some of the highlights of the episode:[06:25] South African Breweries Supply Chain – Identifying the difference between the best day, the average day, and the worst day[14:30] A life's goal is simply a dream taken seriously – the importance of powerful goals. [20:46] The goal of Goldratt Research Labs – help individuals and organizations make better, faster decisions when it really matters.[26:23] Simulation Models – How a 1% change in average selling price can create a 20% reduction in net profit[31:22] Working with the largest book publisher in the world – how they doubled their profits using the theory of constraints [40:33] Microsoft project – how they saved a quarter of a billion dollars by using the right decision support appsFollow us on:Instagram: http://bit.ly/2Wba8v7Twitter: http://bit.ly/2WeulzXLinkedin: http://bit.ly/2w9YSQXFacebook: http://bit.ly/2HtryLd

In one of Eli Goldratt’s last essays, his introduction to the TOC Handbook, he wrote: ‘Can we condense all of TOC into one sentence? I think it is possible to condense it into a single word: focus.’ [ Listen to audio version, read by David Hodes] This is Part 1 of our series on The The post The 5 Step FOCUS – Identifying the System appeared first on Ensemble.

Melanie Parish is a public speaker, consultant,workshop leader, author, and Master Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, from whom she received the Prism Award. An expert in problem solving, constraints management, operations, strategic hiring, and brand development, Melanie has consulted and coached organizations ranging from a Fortune 50 company to IT start-ups. Her individual clients include those in FAANG and other top global IT companies. Melanie is a Certified Professional Coactive Coach and Organization and Relationship Systems Certified Coach, and a Theory of Constraints Certified Jonah. As an author, educator, and creator of the Experimental Leader program, Melanie shows people new ways of thinking about their leadership,informed by her understanding of the fast-paced ride of technology innovation. She is based in Dundas, Ontario and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Specialties: Executive Coaching, Team Coaching, Sales, Organizational Strategy, Strategic Planning, Executive Onboarding, Leadership, Change Management, Toyotakata, continuous improvement, exploiting constraints, Eli Goldratt, experimentation

The Software Process and Measurement Cast 602 features my interview with Duncan DeVore, the co-author of Reactive Application Development. Duncan and I talked about reactive design patterns, adopting a reactive architecture, and how writing a book changes your outlook on life.  It was a really cool discussion that covered technical and non-technical topics. Note -- I am sorry for missing a week. I did not expect a new laptop (less than a month old) would have its motherboard and SSD fail. I am thankful for backups!  Duncan’s Bio: I specialize in the design and implementation of distributed systems using the tenets of the Reactive Manifesto with Scala, Akka, and the Typesafe stack. I believe in responsible design through functional programming with an abundance of test coverage. I love to code, present, and help others work through the challenges of distributed computing. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncandevore/ Twitter: @IronFish Re-Read Saturday News  Week 2 of the journey through Tame Your Work Flow by Steve Tendon and Daniel Doiron finds us discussing the Prologue.  The prologue introduces concepts and provides a bridge for readers to this book from the Goal by Eli Goldratt and Steve Tendon, and Wolfram Müller’s book Hyper-Productive Knowledge Work Performance, The TameFlow Approach and Its Application to Scrum and Kanban.  Next week we start Chapter 1, so buy a copy of Tame your Work Flow to support the authors and blog!   Week 1: Logistics and Front Matter - https://bit.ly/2LWJ3EY Week 2: Prologue (The Story of Herbie) - https://bit.ly/3h4zmTi Next SPaMCAST The Software Process and Measurement Cast 603 will feature my interview with Austin Chadwick. Austin and I talked mobbing, but perhaps more importantly to me, Austin talked about the impact of finding joy in everything you do.  

In today’s episode, I am interviewing Orion Avidan about the process of elimination and delegation, and what that means for her. Also, we touch on topics like replenishment, and what her processes would look like if done manually.  Orion is the chief inventory profitability expert at Retail Adventure. In addition, she helps Amazon sellers increase their Margins by 20% through excess inventory elimination, and does this using the balanced inventory system. She is a caring, detail-oriented individual who has worked at hospitals, a chemical plant, startups, marketing agencies, etc.  Tell us about yourself and your origin story? (01:58) Orion says he came from a very academic background, where they were taught to go to school, go to college, and obtain numerous degrees. Finally, you enter the job world where you work to get promoted.  Life happened, and everything didn’t go according to plan for her. She didn’t fit into the job world, and couldn’t get along with employers.  She realized that she wanted to do something valuable that could contribute to the world. She didn’t want to be stuck in just another job.  She accidentally ran into Dr. Eli Goldratt, who developed the theory of constraints. She was mesmerized, and before long, she was attending all his conferences and challenging what he was teaching.  She started looking for a niche she would fit into and found that inventory was her passion, and she could add a lot of value to it.   What process are we focusing on today? (04:33) She says our topic at hand will be replenishment, which is the process of deciding how much inventory is needed, which exact SKU to bring in, where you want them in your supply chain, and at what time.  Looking at it from a manual standpoint, replenishment is a big data process; a lot of decisions have to be made for every item at the SKU level.  Doing it manually is very intensive, and requires a lot of data collection. There are a lot of dots to connect, and heuristics to abide by. Big decisions have to be made with little data to rely on.  What’s more; they don’t know how their decisions will impact, or be impacted by the future. This process is hard, complex, and very fragile.  In terms of where the data is now, where it needs to go, and what happens to it in between, what is the spark for you? (07:09) Orion says some of the data is readily available, or easy to obtain. For instance, how many units do you have available on Amazon? That data is available and trustworthy on Amazon.  Other pieces of data are not only unavailable, but they also don’t exist.  This non-existent data contain questions like how many units will your customer wants in two months, or who will be your keyword competitors in three months’ time?  She says our current situation with COVID-19 is a good example; no one predicted a lockdown, yet you have to run your inventory through it.  What does it look like when you decide to delegate a task? (15:25) Orion says she is currently delegation two tasks in her life, the first is financial tasks like bills.  She says it’s very hard to automate this process, because the data shifts around, but its always the same data that has to be entered into the system correctly. Her 15-year-old son is in charge of completing this task. The second task she delegates is content creation. She writes her own content for LinkedIn and articles, but someone else proofreads and edits it.  Her writing is very technical, so she has someone who edits her writing in such a manner that it’s understandable for everyone else.  This process requires someone who is not a machine, who can apply judgment. It has to be an external person because she is too involved.  How do you decide whether a process should be eliminated? (16:48) Orion says it’s a difficult question for her because she’s very bad at eliminating. She’s quite attached to her processes.  She doesn’t like letting things go, but the first thing she eliminated was her tendency to jump in and help when the other person didn’t necessarily want her help.  In inventory, you need to eliminate the idea that you know what will happen in the future so that you can work on what is happening now. Let the market pull you, instead of trying to push back.  In her own life, she is trying to stop pushing herself, and those around her, into doing things. She’s trying to find a way to pull, instead of push.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get the transcript at clarkeching.com

We'll digest how measurement impacts our incentive to innovate, before debating the return on investment of learning from failures. What changes in measurement are required to drive innovation in construction? How can AEC professionals, project owner/operators, and technology solutions provide a new level of transparency and accountability to thrive in the digital age? What metrics will drive the right behavior changes and deliver measurable improvements to the bottom line?   Guest Perspectives: Ken Schneider, UA Local 268 St. Louis | @UAFIRE_UAVDC Mike Zivanovic, UA Local 597 Chicago | @VDCmikeZ Stephan Schnell, UA Local 467 San Jose | @stephanlschnell Damon Hernandez, AEC Hackathon | @MetaverseOne Kalyn Lengieza, StructionSite | @Just_Ducky Dixon Wright, US Insurance Services | @KDixonWright   Special thanks to 2019  Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Technology Conference and AEC Next | SPAR 3D for providing space to record these interviews.    Learn more about the UA Training Initiatives at https://UA.org/training Attend an upcoming AEC Hackathon - https://aechackathon.com/upcoming-events StructionSite user? Check out SmartTrack - https://structionsite.com/smarttrack/  Learn what Surety Resource Connection has been up to - https://sbrm-data-exchange.com/meetings Learn about Eli Goldratt and his "Theory of Constraints" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_constraints Deloitte Article - ‘Rewriting the Rules for the Digital Age' https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/hc-2017-global-human-capital-trends-gx.pdf

Edwards Deming went to post-war Japan in the late 1940s to help with the census. While there, he built relationships with some of the main manufacturers in the region, helping them understand the value of building quality into a product as part of the production process, thus lowering time to market, eliminating rework and saving company resources. In his 1982 book, "Out of the Crisis", Deming explained in detail why Japan was ahead of the American manufacturing industry and what to do about. His "14 Points on Quality Management" helped revitalize American industry. Unknowingly, he laid the foundation for DevOps 40 years later. Eli Goldratt published "The Goal" in 1984, focusing on the "Theory of Constraints", the idea that a process can only go as fast as it's slowest part. In fictionalized novel form, Goldratt was able to reach a wide audience who would utilize the theory to help find bottlenecks, or constrainsts, within production that were holding back the entire system. Once again, the theories espoused in The Goal were a precursor to the DevOps movement 40 years later. In January 2013, 40 years after Deming and Goldratt reshaped the manufacturing processes in American, Gene Kim published "The Phoexnix Project". He used the same format as Goldratt, telling the story in a fictional novel format with characters who were easily identifiable within the software manufacturing process, from a manager's point of view. The Phoenix Project is now one of the most important books in the industry, and is used as a starting point for companies interested in participating in a DevOps transformation. It's now six years later, 2019. Gene's new book, The Unicorn Project, will be released at the upcoming DevOps Enterprise Summit in Las Vegas on October 28. This new book has an interesting premise: What was going on with the software development team in the Phoenix Project as the management team was flailing to get the project back on track. It's a novel approach to have parallel timelines in separate books, looking at the same project. In this broadcast, Gene and I talk about how the Unicorn Project aligns with the Phoenix Project, the overlap in storylines, and why he chose to speak for software developers in this iteration of the story. Do a quick review of the Phoenix Project, which is probably already on your bookshelf, and then listen in as we discuss using Deming, Goldratt and Kim as the foundation of the principles of the DevOps movement.

In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Learn more and order the book from Dr Alan Barnard here. Read more... In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Learn more and order the book from Dr Alan Barnard here. Read more...

In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Read more... In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world's leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints' experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO's and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Read more...

In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world’s leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints’ experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO’s and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Read more...

In this episode of Lykken on Lending we have Dr. Alan Barnard in our Hot Topic segment for a conversation about the Theory of Constraint and how it applies to the mortgage industry. "Whether you believe you can do something or can't do something... you're right." Dr. Alan Barnard is one of the world’s leading Decision Scientist and Theory of Constraints’ experts. Alan, a serial entrepreneur, is the Founder and CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, a company he co-founded in 2008 together with Dr. Eli Goldratt, creator of Theory of Constraints. There was an immediate connection between Alan and Eli after their first meeting in 1993. Alan and Eli were both curious about understanding why good people make and often repeat bad decisions within their life and in managing organizations. They were also both passionate about applying a robust scientific approach to developing new Thinking & Decision making methods and advanced Technologies to help people make better, faster decisions – decisions that move them closer to their goals. Today, Alan works as a Strategy advisor, Researcher and Theory of Constraint (TOC) expert and educator, with both Fortune 500 companies as well as NGO’s and Government Agencies. His clients include Microsoft, Cargill, Tata Steel, Nike, ABB, BHP, Cisco, South32, SAP, Intel, Penguin Random House, BC Rail, Larsen & Toubro, Premier Foods, Fujitsu, Habitat for Humanity, UNDP, UNWFP and Utah Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Alan holds a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering (Cum Laude, 1991) and MsC and PhD in Management of Technology & Innovation (MOTI).   Learn more and order the book from Dr Alan Barnard here. Read more...

James Schramko here and today I want to talk about a very small change that can have a very big impact. I love this expression that small hinges swing big doors. I'm not sure who to credit with that, but I'm sure someone very clever came up with it. And I use this a lot in my own business. I remember following Eli Goldratt, who published some fantastic books, one's called The Choice and the other is The Goal. And he had this idea that the more complex a system is, the simpler it is to change the entire system. So that really relates to the hinges on a door. A door is a big item, it's heavy, but with a small hinge it can go from open to closed over and over again. So think about this in your business. What are the small hinges that could swing the big doors? Maybe you shift from one-time to recurring. Maybe you add an upsell somewhere in your process. Maybe you improve the follow-up system that you have. There will be small changes you can make, even if it's just changing a team member, that can make a profound impact on your business. Hopefully you can find that. And remember, it's the small changes sometimes that can have the biggest impact. See our products HERE

Do you have a Mental Model which helps you with better decision-making and clearer thinking leading to appropriate action? Today, Nicola Cairncross and Judith Morgan introduce a choice of Mental Models, one of which will be right for you, your business and your life.  In the Show The beach has been bulldozed in Stoupa which means it is officially Summer. Nicola’s been offered superfast broadband and her 30 Day Challenge has converted well to paying clients. Judith’s found a helpful holistic, Helen, who has contributed (along with kefir and vitamin C) to her feeling like a new woman. She was also hot for the first time in April. There’s talk of intrepid folks Hal and Linda, and Lisa and Glenn, and more on the Women’s Equality Party. What’s Fuelled Their Fire? Both Nicola and Judith have been delighted by their respective clients having great experiences, doing good work, paying promptly and generously, and providing top reviews on Facebook and Amazon. There is nothing like the feeling of being a good match for your client (and vice versa) and both parties being amply rewarded in every sense. Focus of the Week Nicola gives the listeners and Judith a rundown of various mental models including the Law of Attraction (which takes J by surprise that Nicola would include it), and those offered by such luminaries as Gary Vee, James Schramko, Eli Goldratt and Stephen Covey. Judith and Nicola discuss the 80/20 rule (the Pareto Principle), the Kaizen theory of continuous improvement, focusing on finding, repairing and improving the weakest link (Theory of Constraints), being able to distinguish between urgent and important, deathbed decisions and more. They realise the important thing is not just to discover and study these mental models but pick one as your own and use it as often as necessary. Nicola shares a video on YouTube that demonstrates one of her favourites, the Post-it Note exercise at 1:09 of the video https://youtu.be/SmOMX511rTs Words of the Week Judith picks Wisdom and Nicola picks Smart. Project Updates Nicola’s got a new website for the Clicks & Leads Academy thanks to her sister, Sarah and she’s back using Facebook Ads. She updates Judith on the much bigger download numbers the podcast is achieving now that the show is being distributed via Radio Public. Judith is happy to share with Nicola that she’s achieved her first book sale via Amazon’s Expanded Distribution, she explains what this is and what it could mean for her book, Your Biz Your Way. Who or What’s Impressed? Nicola’s impressed by Matt Duggan and Russell Brand, and Judith by Amazon Prime’s Harry Bosch 4. Thanks for listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a rating and review via your podcast app Ask a question in our Facebook Group  To help the show: Subscribe via Radio Public, iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube, TuneIn, Libsyn Please share on Twitter, Facebook or whatever social media platform you love to use and tag us if you can - we love to read your comments! Website: OwnItThePodcast.com

This week on RPG Lessons Learned: Dusty, Brian, and Mike change gears and discuss The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eli Goldratt! ‘The Goal’ is a business novel about solving problems by understanding your goal, and how to mitigate the effects of constraints which get in the way. On this episode we look... The post RPG Lessons Learned 040 – Brainstorming on The Goal (Theory of Constraints) appeared first on Radio Free Cybertron.

In this episode I'm introducing the show and its purpose and talk about what I'm planning on covering in future episodes. Also I'm talking a little bit about Dr. Eli Goldratt and his publications and finally covering in highlights the 5 focusing steps of the Process Of Ongoing Improvement (POOGI) with a little anecdote about the name.

Come si può presentare al meglio una offerta che vende valore? Da dove cominciare ? Ci viene in aiuto l’approccio proposto da Eli Goldratt padre della Theory of Constraints o teoria dei vincoli. Nella puntata di oggi, dopo un accenno a come comprendere i principali ostacoli che i nostri clienti devono affrontare per comperare i nostri prodotti e come superarli per battere i concorrenti, ci concentriamo su quale strategia seguire per porgere nel modo più efficace la nostra offerta di valore.Alcuni link a temi trattati nel podcastEli Goldratt https://www.toc-goldratt.com/en/biography-of-eli-goldrattTeoria dei vincoli https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teoria_dei_vincoliL’offerta irrinunciabile https://www.toc-goldratt.com/tocweekly/2011/05/above-and-beyond-the-competition/

Come si può presentare al meglio una offerta che vende valore? Da dove cominciare ? Ci viene in aiuto l’approccio proposto da Eli Goldratt padre della Theory of Constraints o teoria dei vincoli. Nella puntata di oggi, dopo un accenno a come comprendere i principali ostacoli che i nostri clienti devono affrontare per comperare i nostri prodotti e come superarli per battere i concorrenti, ci concentriamo su quale strategia seguire per porgere nel modo più efficace la nostra offerta di valore.Alcuni link a temi trattati nel podcastEli Goldratt https://www.toc-goldratt.com/en/biography-of-eli-goldrattTeoria dei vincoli https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teoria_dei_vincoliL’offerta irrinunciabile https://www.toc-goldratt.com/tocweekly/2011/05/above-and-beyond-the-competition/

Norm Blumenthal attorney for workers and consumers. Selected as the one of the Top Attorneys in Southern California. Regular contributor on Money For Lunch Warren Wilson his inventing story started in his backyard shed. He had idea for a children's toy BetterBlocks which, to his surprise, went on to become a $45 million business! Commercially-speaking it was his biggest shot. In its prime - he is proud to admit –it gave Lego Corporation a bit of a headache. He have experienced the highs of creating a $45m business to the lows of being bankrupt! Both experiences and all the ones in the middle have taught him great lessons in life Jeff Cox  creative writer and author who penned the famous business novel, THE GOAL, working with entrepreneur and consultant Eli Goldratt. THE GOAL has been named "one of the 100 best business books of all time." Jeff's most recent books are VELOCITY and HANGING FIRE For more information go to MoneyForLunch.com. Connect with Bert Martinez on Facebook. Connect with Bert Martinez on Twitter. Need help with your business? Contact Bert Martinez. Have Bert Martinez speak at your event!

In this episode we're joined by Bill Eureka who shares lessons learned from Eli Goldratt's "The Goal" during his work at Herman Miller, the internationally renowned furniture designer and manufacturer. We'll also share our experience with Trello, a free online organization tool. We'll cover the ins and outs of Process Walks, the latest Lean Six Sigma news as well as answer your questions from our Q&A section at GoLeanSixSigma.com. Join us at the cafe and we'll spring for coffee! The post Podcast: Just-In-Time Cafe, Episode 3 – How Simple Changes Can Transform Entire Factories, With Bill Eureka appeared first on GoLeanSixSigma.com.

Joining me for Podcast #178 is Drew Greenblatt, President and Owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products, a manufacturing company based in Baltimore. I was really impressed with Drew's keynote talk at the recent AME Southwest Region conference here in San Antonio.  Drew's company is successfully competing against cheap Chinese imports by using Lean and "theory of constraints" methods, being passionate about serving customer needs, and making a commitment to (and investment in) his employees. Whether you're a manufacturer who is considering "re-shoring" your production (or avoiding off-shoring) or if you're an organization looking to success by partnering with all of your employees, I think you'll find Drew inspiring. For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/178, which includes links to the following: - Check out Bill Waddell's recent blog post about Drew and Marlin Wire. - Inc. Magazine article on Drew - Video of Eli Goldratt's last speech, shared by Drew online You can find links to posts related to this podcast there, as well. Please leave a comment and join the discussion about the podcast episode. For earlier episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast, visit the main Podcast page at www.leanpodcast.org, which includes information on how to subscribe via RSS or via Apple iTunes. You can also listen to streaming episodes of the podcast via Stitcher: http://landing.stitcher.com/?vurl=leanblog If you have feedback on the podcast, or any questions for me or my guests, you can email me at leanpodcast@gmail.com or you can call and leave a voicemail by calling the "Lean Line" at (817) 776-LEAN (817-776-5326) or contact me via Skype id "mgraban". Please give your location and your first name. Any comments (email or voicemail) might be used in follow ups to the podcast.