(2007-09-12) Richards Dettmer Goldratt Boyd

Chet Richards reviews William Dettmer's Logical Thinking Process ISBN:0873897234 coverage of Eli Goldratt's Theory Of Constraints. As Goldratt demonstrated, conflicts often represent the effects of invalid assumptions, and his charmingly entitled "evaporating cloud" is a tool for dragging assumptions to the surface where we can shine the cold light of day on them. The focus is on breaking any implicit Trade-Off-s, "compromises" as Goldratt calls them - such as between cost and quality - so that both can improve simultaneously. There were times when such a cloud would have come in handy... Then he does a very unusual thing for a technical text. He introduces John Boyd's "Principles of the Blitzkrieg" (POB) as a way to get competence and full Commitment, "even if you're not there to guide or direct them" (p. 8-11). Which means that people have to take the initiative to seek out and solve problems, using the common GTOC framework to harmonize their efforts (Culture). In that sense, the POB can be considered as a powerful doctrine for connecting leaders and subordinates for implementing change.