Theory of Constraints — A Concise, Expert Management Briefing

Recommended Books The Satellite Program The new TOC Insights for your PC The ultimate TOC workshops

Books, Videos, DVD's, classroom courses, webinars ... where to start?

If reading is your preferred entrance point, there is a wide-ranging variety of books available, some attempting to cover the whole body of knowledge, some (naturally) focusing on specific applications.

Production

If you are most interested in the Production application then of course The Goal is the best introduction; however, while it is an excellent read it is 90% "fluff" and at most 10% content (some would claim 98:2). The fluff makes it an un-put-down able novel, of course, so I'm not knocking it. But if you want more content ...

In my opinion, the most content-rich book is a duo: "Synchronous Management" Vol 1 and 2 (often you can only find Vol 1 and that's OK, Vol 2 is mostly case studies). The books are by Mokshagundam L. Srikanth and M. Michael Umble, published by the Spectrum Publishing Company (I think it's Sri's own company). We've typically bought our copies from Amazon.

Another, also packed with content, is "Manufacturing at Warp Speed" by Eli Schragenheim and H. William Dettmer. The book introduces a simplified approach to DBR ... in effect, it removes the "D." The material on Buffer Management is especially good.

Throughput Accounting

If you are most interested in the Accounting implications, or in case studies, then I recommend "Theory of Constraints and its implications for Management Accounting" by Noreen, Smith, Mackey. It is NOT an accounting book but the researchers were nominally charged with researching the TOC approach to decision-making that we position as an alternative to using cost accounting data, and this explains the title; the emphasis is much more on examining a handful of real implementations.

On the same accounting/measurement/policy based agenda, "The Measurement Nightmare" by Debra Smith (who co-authored the book mentioned above) is excellent. Many people dislike her writing style (not too structured) but the content is excellent. Debra has been in public accounting practice, worked for years as a senior financial exec in a Fortune 500 corporation, been a Professor at a highly regarded University, and been one of the top TOC consultants on earth for quite a while now.

Thinking Processes

If you are most interested in the Thinking Processes, the best introduction is "It's Not Luck" by Eli Goldratt. Again, it's 90% fluff, 10% content, oh ... perhaps more like 80:20 this time, but it's still a solid and easy reading introduction in the style of The Goal. This is the only book that covers the Unrefusable Offer (the market Solution) in any depth.

The book with the most solid Thinking Processes content is "Breaking the Constraints to World Class Performance" by H. William Dettmer. It covers the Thinking Processes in full detail ... but be aware, it's still very, very difficult to actually learn to use the TP from even this book. Note the politics, by the way; Theory of Constraints is not a "sexy" topic so publishers often demand that the title include a then-more-popular "movement." So for example, World Class Manufacturing was the "hot" improvement technique when this book came out. Another had to include the word "Reengineering" in its title because Business Process Re-engineering was the hot topic at the time. The Warp Speed book has a sub-title that commences "Optimizing the Supply Chain ..." Amusing!

Critical Chain Project Management

"Project Management in the fast lane" by Rob Newbold is a content-packed book from an expert, focusing exclusively on the CCPM technique.

"Critical Chain Project Management" by Lawrence Leach is a more broad-based book, looking at the bigger picture of project management, not just the Critical Chain Scheduling technique itself.

TOC Material for a company

In a smart marketing move a few years ago, Eli Goldratt presented a course in a castle in Europe, where he addressed each of the 8 TOC applications and had the sessions videotaped. These became the basis for a Satellite Program; today you can buy the 8-videotape Satellite program, and use it with a group of people.

The material is excellent. If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend you bring a TOC Expert in to work with your group or groups; even the best, most mind-grabbing material can become a chore when it's not broken into small sections, discussed, etc.

PC-based material for individuals

Eli's Self Learning program is a series of 8 workbooks with 2 CDs per book, each presenting the material from the corresponding Satellite Program session. These are intended for single-person use, and are licensed explicitly for this.

Recently, Eli worked with his son Rami to develop the TOC Insights. These are interactive learning tools covering the logistical-oriented applications — production, finance & accounting, distribution & supply chain, and (stretching my classification a little) project management. I was compelled to use them in a certain situation; I wasn't looking forward to it but I found them to be excellent tools, and my client's managers thoroughly enjoyed them.

Workshops

In 1987/88 Eli Goldratt developed a series of 2- and 3-day workshops using PC-based simulations of a production environment. Although just recently there some new simulations available, these workshops remain probably the best workshops in the world for many managers of manufacturing businesses. I have taught many workshops of this kind, and even when participants are advanced in technologies such as Lean or just the Just-In-Time aspect of Lean, their feedback tells me that 50% to 80% of the material is new to them. managers NOT familiar with Lean often report 90% plus being new to them. And so far, I have close to 100% reporting the material as "extremely relevant" to their company ... and of course, there is a wide variety of businesses represented in my sample.

These workshops are today available from a variety of TOC consultants, and also on occasion from organizations such as APICS.

The ultimate ... the "Jonah" material

The man with all the answers in the book The Goal is called Jonah (although he never gives answers, just asks questions). In 1987 Eli Goldratt presented the first JOnah Course, a 10-day workshop focusing on production scheduling and aiming to teach people how to schedule a variety of plants by thinking like Jonah did.

By 1994 the Jonah Course was still 10 days, but it was used to teach the TOC Thinking Processes rather than the TOC scheduling approach. Today, while I believe there are some disputes over trademarks or something similar, several consulting organizations offer some equivalent to the material that was taught in the Jonah Program. One colleague teaches a year-long program, meeting every month to cover all the TOC applications and the Thinking Processes by the end of the year.

Webinars

APICS (an educational organization, used to stand for American Production & Inventory Control Society, they're re-branding themselves as The Association for OperationsManagement ... an organization I recommend) from time to time offers TOC-oriented "Webinars." I've had mixed feedback from clients but remember, they've already tasted my company's services so it's an unfair comparison!