Critical Chain - Eliyahu M. Goldratt [80]
"There isn't one."
"If they will bother to implement what you are teaching, there will be," he presses.
"If you insist. But I don't see the point."
"Don't you see that such a contractor won't have to compete on price?"
"I don't get it." I'm not stubborn. I really don't get it.
"Look, contractors know about future projects well ahead of time. They have their connections, and updated lists periodically appear in their professional magazines. What a fast contractor has to do is get in touch with a developer before a formal request for proposal is out. Contractors usually have good connections with several developers, so it shouldn't be a big problem. And then, all our fast contractor has to do is persuade the developer to put, in the request for proposal, a demand for relatively short lead times and hefty penalties."
"Hefty bonuses, you mean."
"No. Penalties."
To persuade the developer to put in hefty penalties? It doesn't make any sense. Then it dawns on me. It makes perfect sense.
"I see your point. If the request for proposal specifies relatively short lead times coupled with penalties, no other contractors will dare to bid. The developer will get a much higher return on his investment with much less risk, and the fast contractor will make much more profit." I smile at Johnny. "You are right after all. What contractors have now is not a win-lose, it's a lose-lose. The developers suffer from long and unreliable lead times, and the contractors suffer from a throat-cutting, price-sensitive market."
"And the contractor who realizes it can have a tremendous competitive edge," Johnny continues my thoughts. "Such a contractor could take the market while commanding good prices. The problem is that, like everybody else in projects, contractors think that they cannot do a thing to cut their lead times. The first ones to wake up will make a killing."
When Johnny leaves, I start my search for Ted's phone number.
Chapter 21
A pink note is on top of the pile in my mailbox. "Please call Mr. Brad Newbolt." And a telephone number. Who is Mr. Brad Newbolt? Probably a salesman of some kind trying to interest me in something. I put it aside. There are more pressing things to do. Jim is all over me to complete our third article in the series. Not that it matters now, but I don't like to let Jim down.
I'm deeply into it when the telephone rings.
"Professor Richard Silver?"
When I respond, the voice says, "I have Mr. Newbolt for you."
"Wait," I say. What gives salespeople the guts to think that they are allowed to command other people's time? Interrupting whenever they want. "Who is Mr. Newbolt?" I demand to know.
A deep baritone answers, "I'm the president of Q.E.C." I gulp. Charlie works for them.
"I've wanted to call you for some time," he continues. "I'm very impressed with your work. We are using it, and it works very well."
"Thank you," I say. So Charlie also implemented it. He didn't say a word about it. Did he?
"Can I invite you to give us a lecture? I mean, to the YPO."
Y...P...O...? I try to decipher the acronym.
I don't have to. "YPO is the Young President's Organization," he explains. "We get together every month for dinner, a small group. Only presidents of companies. Pullman from Genemodem is in our group. We usually have a guest speaker, and we share experiences. I discussed it with the others, and we would all like, very much, to hear your ideas on projects."
I'm flabbergasted. "I'd be delighted," I politely say. Pullman? From Genemodem?
"Next Wednesday all right? A dinner talk."
"Sure."
I try to keep my head from swelling. Next Wednesday. So soon. Probably their originally scheduled, respected guest speaker canceled on them at the last minute. I'm just the fill-in. Still . . .
"I'll fax you all the details. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Professor Silver. We'll see you next Wednesday."
Before I lose my courage, I write a memo to B.J. A short memo, just saying that I'm still trying to get students to the Executive MBA program.