Jamming with Eli



Waaaaaaaaay back in business school - in the first semester of my first year in 1992 - I read a book called The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement for my Technology and Operations Management class. The book made a big impression back then and is pretty much a must-read for anyone interested in improving the performance of manufacturing or distribution operations.

Fast forward 16 years. One of our main priorities at work this year is to improve the performance of our supply chain - which in book publishing incluseds everything from printing to distribution to returns. Our work on supply chain led us to some consultants with a company called the Goldratt Group. As in Eli Goldratt. As in Eli Goldratt, author of The Goal along with a bunch of other books. Goldratt has a really interesting story as he's a physicist by training who has turned his scientific approach to solving business problems.

Eli (pictured above with me and my colleagues and two consultants - Eli is the one on the far right) took a particular interest in our project and offered to work with us for a few days to see if he could help address some of the challenges facing book publishing. A group of five of us flew over to Amsterdam and started our work with him earlier today. We had a great day with a great exchange of ideas and concepts. What I like best so far is that he starts from a place assuming everything is possible, which is consistent with my own view of the world. I'll be here for just one more day; the rest of the team will be here working into the middle of next week.

Comments

Chatham Gardens said…
There you are in Amsterdam and all I could do was take my guests to Skaket, Cookes and Buffys!!
May 30, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Anonymous said…
I discovered Goldratt in college in 92 as well. Great thinker, great books, lucky you got a chance to work with him!
August 5, 2008 at 2:51 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mystery Solved

Image
Funny story about the source of the maple syrup smell that has periodically occurred in New York City: Map of the Day: NYC's Official Maple Syrup "Odor Reports" . Most interesting to me is that the mystery was ultimately solved by overlaying calls to the city's 311 line on a map with dates and prevailing weather patterns (check the link for a detailed picture). Related articles by Zemanta Maple Syrup Smell Mystery Solved! [Metro] (gawker.com) NYC's Mysterious Syrup Smell Tracked To New Jersey (cbsnews.com) LIVE: Maple Syrup Smell...is FROM NEW JERSEY (gothamist.com)
Read more

A '59 Seconds' Exercise in Motivation and a 2010 Resolution

For a couple of weeks in 2008, during the peak of training for the Chicago Marathon, I was at my target weight: 165 pounds. Given the aftermath of all the running I did in 2008, 2009 was not a great year for running. I'm back on track now, though, and eagerly looking forward to the NYRR Manhattan half-marathon in a couple of weeks. I'm recommitting myself to achieving my target weight, and I'm using the steps outlined in the Motivation chapter of 59 Seconds: Think A Little, Change A Lot to focus my efforts. It's a fun book that I highly recommend. The key steps include: 1. Identify the overall goal 2. Create a step by step plan to achieve the goal (including specifics on how each step will be achieved and how you will reward yourself as each step is achieved. 3. Specifically identify the benefits of achieving the goal. 4. Tell lots of people about your goal. That's what's happening here, by the way..... For more background, check out this post on Wiseman's
Read more