How structured is your thinking? No less a figure than W Edwards Deming made the theory of knowledge one of four pillars in his System of Profound Knowledge. And yet, in my experience, very little structured thinking goes on in our modern workplaces.
Despite the disruption brought about by the pandemic, we already know some aspects of our future. Regardless of when and how we reboot our economy, it will no longer be in our national interest to rely on China for the manufacture of products critical to our lives and livelihoods.
As we all face the unprecedented challenges of a world constrained by the COVID-19 virus, how can we mitigate the effects of the pandemic? I offer a view shaped by the Theory of Constraints (TOC).
How do you make sure you have the right amount of inventory to service your commitments, without tying up any more cash than you need to? This problem lies at the heart of distribution and replenishment. Luckily, there’s an unconventional solution.
When you’re buying services from a contractor, you want to minimise your risk at the lowest possible cost. If you’re the contractor, you want to minimise your risk while maximising your revenue. This adversarial tension is the core reality of most contracts. What to do?
Think of your life as a project. You’re born, get educated, go to work, typically start a family and want to make a difference before you hop the twig. But what difference can you make with your remarkably fleeting biblical allotment of three score and ten years? What motives sit beneath the activities you manifest