Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [728]
FIGURE 38-9 EC of training hours dilemma.
Sheila’s Epilogue
I took this paper very seriously. I implemented the solutions, but it was not without challenges. I followed through with addressing every issue at some point before 1996. Some areas take more effort to correct than others do. For instance, drinking water in order to stay hydrated was much easier to implement than the visualization techniques and positive thinking. I did not wake up one day a positive thinker! The process developed over time with practice.
The benefit that individuals will see the most from doing a productivity analysis is the identification of core problems and a logical way to find a win-win solution. Implementation depends on the conviction of the individual. I was determined to follow through with every effort in order to realize my positive effects. I moved home to Michigan in 1994 and trained with the coach I had been with since age nine, Greg Phil. Greg was not my first choice of a coach because the pool where he trains his swimmers is not a first-class facility with high-tech equipment. An interesting side story is that the team that I wanted to join in Colorado would not invest their time in me because they did not believe that I could make the team. Greg believed in my plan, and together we added what was needed that I had not yet identified. We even set a benchmark. It was simple: if I did not swim a 2:02 or better by the summer nationals in 1995, then we should put swimming behind us. Thank goodness, I swam a 2:02 that summer!
FIGURE 38-10 EC of the athlete’s and coach’s communication dilemma.
FIGURE 38-11 EC for the type of training dilemma.
FIGURE 38-12 EC of the training schedule dilemma.
I will never forget the day when my full plan came together. Greg and I went out to breakfast the week before the 1996 trials because I was getting nervous about swimming. He and I had developed an action plan two years prior for how we were going to swim a 2:00 in the 200 freestyle (much of the action plan was derived from my MAN 577 paper). He pulled out that plan while we were eating. He read down the list, asking me if I had kept my promise throughout the past two years on every item on that list. I could answer “yes” to everything. He looked at me and said, “I don’t know if you are going to make the Olympic team next week, but I do know that you are going to have the best swim of your life. You have already succeeded because you did everything in your power to give yourself a chance.”
He was right! The weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders at that moment. We drove to Indianapolis and I had the best swim of my life. I made the Olympic team by a fraction of a second. Then, beyond my wildest dreams, in Atlanta, in the 4 × 200 free relay, on which I swam the third leg, won the gold medal in an Olympic and American record time. My preliminary time in Atlanta: 2:00.57, my target time!
FIGURE 38-13 Prerequisite Trees of implementing Sheila’s swimming program.
Upon returning from the 1996 Olympics, I went back to my job in the auto industry as a quality representative. About nine months later, I saw the opportunity to start my own speaking business, and for 2 years I traveled the country giving swim clinics and motivational talks. Finding myself terribly out of shape in 1998, I decided to try a local triathlon (in Ann Arbor, Michigan). The race director saw me and approached me to say that he thought I had some potential in the sport and that he would be happy to give some guidance if I wanted to pursue it further. I initially turned him down, but then I decided to join his running group to stay in shape. It turned into a fun hobby, and before I knew it, I was flying to Africa to race (first pro race in March 1999). I made the Olympic team in 2000, and placed sixth in Sydney. The distance is in kilometers: 1.5 K swim (approximately 1 mile), 40 K bike (approximately 24.8 miles), and 10 K run (6.2