Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [464]
Let us start with solving daily problems.
When reviewing daily problems that managers encounter, we can see a broad spectrum of situations and challenges confronting managers while performing in their roles. On one side of the spectrum, they have to deal with their own inner dilemma of making a clear choice between options. On the other extreme, they have to deal with open conflicts between them and other people in the organization or conflicts between two parties that they are expected to resolve. In between there are problems with the system or sporadically with other people (peers, supervisors, and even family members) that need to be addressed.
The objective of this chapter is to enhance your ability as a manager to address these problems in such a way that produces an immediate solution without blocking the long-term solution for these issues.
Application of the Cloud for Daily Problem Solving
Let us look at five applications of the Cloud for daily problem solving:
Addressing inner dilemmas—issues when the person is faced with two major options and is not sure which route to take.
Describing and solving day-to-day conflicts between two people.
Analyzing fire-fighting situations—when the manager is forced to deal with emergency problems (fires) to find ways to prevent them from reoccurring in the future.
Analyzing a problematic area or a specific issue within the current reality—by detecting an Undesirable Effect (UDE) in the area under analysis and building the UDE Cloud. The UDE Cloud is also instrumental for preparing for a sales meeting or developing a sales offer made better by understanding the reality of the buyer (the customer).
Handling multi-problem subjects through the Three-Cloud approach—to help the manager build a more comprehensive view by building the Consolidated or Generic Cloud when there is more than one UDE. This approach is used for group consensus, accelerating existing initiatives, and the buffer analysis for a process of ongoing improvement (POOGI).
All problems are handled by one general process of seven steps covering:
1. Building the Cloud and its logical components (Steps 1–5).
2. Constructing the solution (Step 6).
3. Communicating the solution to the relevant people (Step 7).
Building the Cloud is done through raising questions and writing the answers for each box. Thereafter, when you have a first version of the Cloud, apply the logical checks and make the necessary changes and upgrades.
The questions and the sequence of asking them differ from one Cloud application to another. The different applications of the Cloud also differ by the way we find a solution and the way we apply the solution and communicate it to the people who are involved and affected by the problem and the solution.
Let us start with addressing inner conflicts. Our experience shows that this type of problem is the easiest way for learning the mechanics of building the Cloud, as it does not pose any personal uneasiness in developing the solution and communicating it (we hope).
What Is a Cloud?
The Cloud2 is the foundation in the TOC TP. It is, in my eyes, TOC in a nutshell. The Cloud is the process of framing the conflict and the generator of the breakthrough solutions. We use the term breakthrough in the sense that we bring to the reality of the environment under study a new and fresh solution. Frequently solutions that were used under emergency conditions solved the problem but were not introduced into the system under the perception that they are not suitable for regular conditions of the system, many times due to perceived conflicts of the “emergency” solution with the current procedures of the existing system.
In TOC, we define