Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [496]
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.
—Albert Einstein
Goldratt’s description of science and his concept of inherent simplicity are not new. Not surprisingly, his messages can be traced to one of the most important scientists of all time, Sir Isaac Newton. Newton’s Rules of Reasoning in Philosophy (Newton, 1729) have guided scientists since the early 1700s to recognize that “nature is simple and consonant with itself,” and thus few causes are responsible for many effects rather than the other way around; to avoid attributing more causes to an effect than are both true and sufficient to explain its existence; and to enthusiastically analyze and learn from (rather than ignore) the situations in which reality contradicts (or appears to contradict) our understanding of it (see Appendix A on the McGraw-Hill website: http://www.mhprofessional.com/TOCHandbook).
Copyright © 2010 by Lisa J. Scheinkopf.
When it comes to the use of the TP, people generally fall into two categories. The first consists of the people who make the decision to adapt the mentality of a scientist and the second category consists of the people who don’t. Those in the former category create meaningful improvements. They work hard at it—they exercise the muscle between their ears rigorously—but instead of feeling drained, they are energized not only by the results, but by the expansion they have made to their knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
What are the TP tools? Why are they so effective in analyzing business and personal problems? How is the application of logic, language, and structure brought together for penetrating analysis of problems and conflicts? How do the TP tools then help in laying out the transition from an undesirable present to a desirable future? How do they help protect a plan from unanticipitated pitfalls? How do they link together as an integrated system of logical capabilities for bringing about positive change? I hope to answer these questions in a way to show that almost anyone willing to do the work can achieve deep insight and make significant and meaningful improvements to environments both simple and complex; with step-by-step instructions on how to do it.
I begin with discussion of the tenets in logic and fundamental assumptions in philosophy that underlie the TOC TP. Then I illustrate how the discipline of diagramming helps in guiding our analysis. Each of the TP tools is discussed in sequence with instructions on how to use it. The chapter moves on to examples, some of them real application cases.
The Basic Building Block—Cause-and-Effect Logic
You see there is only one constant. One universal. It is the only real truth. Causality. Action, reaction. Cause and effect.
—The Merovingian, The Matrix Reloaded
When we accept the premise of inherent simplicity, we accept the premise that every element of a system is connected to the system via cause-and-effect relationships with the other elements of the system. This means that the better our capability to uncover and understand the actual cause-and-effect relationships that exist today, or that we intend to put into place tomorrow, the better our capability to improve.
What do we mean when we say there is a cause-and-effect relationship? We mean that by the mere fact that one condition exists in a system, another condition is an inevitable result. Let’s look at a simple example which may seem trivial because it is obvious, yet it does illustrate clearly the basic building block of the TP.
It is evening, and you have just arrived home from a day at work. You open the door to your home and turn the switch that operates the lamp in the hallway to the “on” position. The lamp doesn’t turn on. What could be the reason? After verifying that you did in fact turn the switch to “on” rather than “off,” you check to see if the lamp is plugged in. Why? Your life experience has led to your