Critical Chain - Eliyahu M. Goldratt [76]
She takes both my hands. "We'll see. I have more faith in you than you have." Then she adds, "In the meantime we are rich."
‘'I wouldn't say that," I laugh. "But, I agree, an additional three thousand dollars a month can make a huge difference in our life. It will make a real dent in our pile of debts."
"And that will make a huge difference in our life?" Judith asks softly.
It takes me awhile to realize how insightful her question is. She is right. It won't really make any difference. I know I will find something for next year. Nothing spectacular, but I'll make a living. Reducing our debts would be nice, but it won't make a huge difference. Certainly not huge; maybe not even significant.
"What are you suggesting we do?" I ask.
"How long will your work with Genemodem last?"
"Four months, maybe six. By then they won't need me anymore," I answer, giving her my best evaluation.
She takes her time, choosing her words carefully. "Rick, for the last thirteen years we have had to count every penny."
"We should have," I tease her.
"Maybe, for the rest of our lives we'll have to do the same."
"I'm afraid so," I say bitterly. "There is no point in dreaming about an academic chair. Not anymore."
"It's okay, darling." She looks deeply into my eyes. "I mean it." After a pause, she continues, "Rick, can't we, for once in our lives, feel that we have enough? For six months? Even for four months."
I try to digest what she is saying. She wants us to spend it all.
It's crazy. It's crazy, but it makes sense.
"Think about it as an investment," she says. "We will invest the money in what is most valuable. Good memories. Good, lasting memories."
I think about it. Judith doesn't press me. She just sits there, staring at the fireplace. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
Finally, I agree. "As the money comes, it will go."
She smiles at me. Proudly. And I know I have made the right decision.
"We are going to have the best winter and spring of our lives," I promise her. "Easter in the Bahamas. No, a cruise." She starts laughing. "Better still," I say, "I'll leave it up to you. You do the planning."
Miriam is not at her desk. I poke my head into Jim's office. "Jim, I'm stuck and I need your help."
"What is it?"
I interpret that as an invitation and walk in, closing the door behind me.
He puts his pen down and leans back in his chair. "There is one bad thing about teaching. You have to go over the homework assignments you give them."
"Give it to your Ph.D. students. Why lean on them less than you used to lean on me?"
"I wish I could," he sighs. "But you see, because of Johnny's ideas, I changed so much of my systems course that my Ph.D. students are as new to this material as the undergrads. But, enough crying on your shoulders. What do you want?"
"To cry on your shoulders," I smile. And then, more seriously, "I have a problem. I don't know what to do in a case where several projects are done by the same pool of people and one of the skills is a bottleneck."
"Rick, since when are you interested in such theoretical cases?"
"That's the problem," I sigh. "It isn't theoretical. That's what I'm actually facing in Genemodem. Several projects, and digital processing, which is involved in all of them, is a bottleneck." "So, why don't you go about it systematically? First step: ‘Identify the constraint.' Is there a problem finding the bottleneck in your case?"
"Suppose not. But why do you decide that the bottleneck is the constraint?"
Jim uses the words ‘constraint' and ‘bottleneck' synonymously. No wonder his response is, "I don't get you." "We are talking about projects. In a project the constraint is the critical path."
"Hmm. The