It's Not Luck - Eliyahu M. Goldratt [49]
“I think that you are right,” Jim agrees. “And I think that UDE number three is somehow involved in the connection.”
I check the list to see what UDE number three is. It is ‘In more and more cases the price the market is willing to pay doesn’t leave enough margin.’ He has a point; what is the difference between margin and product cost? One is just price minus the other. If the concept of product cost is misleading in operations, it might be that the concept of margin is as harmful in marketing.
We play with it for a while but don’t reach any firm conclusions.
It’s almost twelve and four UDEs are still not connected:
UDE #3: In more and more cases the price the market is willing to pay doesn’t leave enough margin.
UDE #4: More than ever the market punishes suppliers who don’t perform according to expectation.
UDE #10: Most new outlets and most new/improved products eat into the sales of existing outlets/products.
UDE #11: A large percent of the existing sales force lacks sufficient sales skills.
Brandon stands up and stretches. “Shall we call it a day?”
“Yes,” I hurry to agree.
“Alex,” Jim still wants something from me, “tomorrow you have to join us only for the noon meeting. Are you going to continue to work on it in the morning?”
“Sure thing,” I sigh. “I did promise that before we return to the States, I will find the core problem that is the cause for all the UDEs.”
“Yes, you did. And now I believe that you might succeed.”
Back in my room I try to continue, but I’m too tired. It’s after midnight, which means that it’s after 7:00 PM at home. Julie won’t be home yet, but since I’ve been here I haven’t talked with the kids. I place the call.
It was a very brief call. How many times can you ask, “Everything all right? How do you feel? How is everything? What’s new?” Once I’m back home I’m going to develop something to talk about with my kids. This is ridiculous.
16
Traffic is like a sales forecast, you can never predict it accurately. Knowing that London is even more congested than New York, we hurried through the last meeting; no one wants to risk missing his flight back home. So now we are stuck at Heathrow with more than three hours to spare.
The first class lounge in Terminal 4 is the best I’ve ever been in. A large variety of drinks, an impressive assortment of small, nicely cut sandwiches, delicious-looking cakes, and it’s all free.
So why am I complaining? Do I prefer to be still stuck in traffic jams? People are strange. If reality doesn’t mimic their expectations, if the precaution that they took turns out to be unnecessary, they feel disappointed. I even know people who complain about never collecting on their own life insurance.
I think that people deserve what they get. Just now, we got a real reason to complain—they announced that our flight is delayed because of a mechanical problem. They will tell us more in one hour. Yeah, sure, I’ve been here before, it’s how the worst delays usually start.
Julie claims that you can always turn a problem into an opportunity. Well, not this one. Actually, I can. I’m unhappy with the gift that I bought her. It’s a nice cashmere sweater but I couldn’t find a color that will do justice to her complexion. I had planned to roam the shops this morning, but instead I worked on Jim’s tree. Now I have some time, and they say that there are nice jewelry stores in this terminal. Maybe I can find something that will scream, “buy me.”
Back in the lounge, with a unique platinum bracelet and a dent in my bank account, I’m relaxing over a bottle of cold beer. Over all, this trip went much better than I expected. I definitely