Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [520]
The S&T for a company whose DCE is reliability (of due dates) provides the instructions for a core meeting between the salespeople and potential clients who would appreciate the company’s offer of reliability. The TRT is used to design (choreograph) that meeting. Step 5.123.2 in one such tree is provided in Table 25-8 (See Appendix F):
TABLE 25-8 Step 5.123.2 Mastering the Core.
FIGURE 25-38 TRT cluster from reliability selling example.
I am providing a section of the TRT that was developed for the salespeople to use in order to learn how to conduct the meeting, and to debrief each meeting that they held.26 It is based on the specific verbiage contained in the S&T step above, along with the TOC Expert’s knowledge of the Layers of Buy-In,27 and thus to prevent any objections that would otherwise be raised (see Fig. 25-38), such as:
1. You don’t understand what the problem is.
2. I/we don’t agree on the direction of the solution.
3. Your solution can’t possibly deliver the level of success you claim (too good to be true).
4. Your offer will cause bad side effects.
5. Even if I/we wanted to do this, there are obstacles that block us from implementing the solution (actually buying from you).
6. Other unverbalized fears.
Action will remove the doubts that theory cannot solve.
—Tehyi Hsieh
From TP Analysis to S&T
Every assumption in the S&T should be an entity that is part of the current reality, and can (should) be validated as such. Therefore, the assumptions can be found in the CRT, the EC, and the obstacles of a PRT. The FRT provides the strategy at the highest level, which is essentially the summation of the desired effects (DE), and NBRs provide the input to Level 4 of the S&T. Level 5 comes directly from the obstacles that are verbalized in the PRT process and thus frames at the lowest level the initial actions to be taken to achieve the strategy. Table 25-9 provides a cross reference between where you will often see elements of the TP analysis and the components of S&T steps. The S&T will present the various elements in the form of the actual entities, causalities, and summaries of the various trees or branches of trees. While you will see elements of the PRT and TRT in the S&T, it is typically not necessary to create complete PRTs or TRTs in the process of creating an S&T.
TABLE 25-9 Cross Reference Between the TPs and the S&T tree.
The Knowledge Organizer
I hope that I have conveyed how a well-written S&T can provide an organization with the ability to achieve levels of communication, synchronization, and performance not previously thought possible. It organizes the answers to the three questions of change in a single document, providing cascading levels of logic and detail needed by each level and function in the organization. By making every assumption explicit, it provides a means by which we can exercise the mentality of the scientist and carry out our implementations with confidence. Personally, I can no longer envision leading or participating in a major change effort without using the S&T as the blueprint and roadmap for the initiative.
We are rapidly learning more and more applications for the S&T. For instance, by the time the next TOC Handbook is published, we should be able to provide the detailed guidelines for using the S&T to analyze and define an organizational structure, and to analyze and detail the scope of a project. Stay tuned!
Chapter Wrap-Up
Dr. John Grinnell’s Project Leadership Model (2007), depicted in Fig. 25-39, is an appropriate aid to conclude this chapter on the TOC TP.
Every organization has a goal. Achievement of a goal is an effect—a result—of actions taken by people.
FIGURE 25-39 Project leadership model.