Critical Chain - Eliyahu M. Goldratt [25]
"Don't you think that we should add it to the survey article? It will enable us to support the mathematical model with some real-life examples."
"We don't have to combine the two things into one article in order to support the model with case studies. As a matter of fact, I can make some telephone calls to my students from last year and you can ask your students. Maybe we can gather enough of the missing data to write a third article."
I'm uncomfortable with it. It shows, because Jim bursts out laughing. "Rick, Rick, when are you going to grow up? Join the real world? You never combine two articles into one; you always try to turn two into more."
He comes around to pat me on the back. "One day we'll make a mensch out of you," and he heads out. As he opens the door to leave he asks, "Did the class rebel because of the homework assignment you gave them?"
"Almost," I smile.
"It will be another excellent article. We are cooking." And with those words of wisdom, he leaves my room.
"Jim, wait a minute. Jim." He doesn't hear. I hurry after him, catch him near the elevators (it's amazing how fast he walks), take him aside, and ask the question that has bothered me since my last brief discussion with Miriam.
"I heard there are some rumors about a budget cut," I'm careful not to reveal my source. "Do you think it might jeopardize my chances of getting tenure?"
"Don't worry, Rick."
"But, I am. You know how important it is to me. I'll never get a third chance."
"Richard, it's okay! You'll get your tenure. You earned it fair and square. Everybody thinks so. I personally checked with everybody on the committee. It's not the tenure that should bother you, it's the promotion to full professor. You are way behind on publications. So will you start to concentrate on what counts? Work on those articles. They are your future."
"And what about the budget cuts?"
"Relax. There are some games between B.J. and the dean. High politics. But, I assure you, it has nothing to do with you." And he disappears into the elevator.
Chapter 9
"How many of you are familiar with PERT and Gantt techniques?"
Almost everybody raises their hand. "What do you mean by ‘familiar'?" Ruth asks.
For lack of a better answer I say, "Good working knowledge."
"Then, I'm afraid, I'm not familiar."
"Ruth, I don't mean that you did a Ph.D. dissertation on it. Have you ever come across a Gantt chart?"
"Yes, more than once. Still a brief review would be helpful."
From the look on the other students' faces, I see that Ruth is not the only one who would like a review. Frankly, I didn't expect this; they should have learned the basics in undergraduate courses. I have such a good collection of real charts, with which I could demonstrate every possible configuration. It's a pity I don't have them with me. Should I go to my office to fetch them? It's a waste of valuable time. I'll improvise. No big deal.
"Let's take a very simple example, just enough to demonstrate the concepts."
"Good," Ruth remarks. They all laugh; no student likes complicated examples. Me either.
"Suppose," I start, still not sure of the example I'm going to pick, "the project is to...to build a plant. We need to build the building and then to make it functional."
Before Ruth asks me to define "functional," I continue, "To install the electricity lines, the water and compressed air pipes, et cetera. We also need to select and contract the various vendors to build our machines, and allow the vendors enough time to build them. Once the building and the machines are ready, we can install the machines. The plant is now ready."
"Not until you've hired and trained the people," Fred must remind us.
"What's your point?" Ted is less polite than I would have been. "Plenty of other details are not mentioned here, either."
"Let's keep the example simple," I tell Fred, and invite him to come to the board and draw the relevant PERT chart. Confidently he comes to the front. It takes him less