About this Presentation
Professor Ferguson presents the plus and minus-minus buy-in process steps and comparing and contrasting these two methods for overcoming resistance to change. Then, Dr. Ferguson will present some ideas on how to write S&T trees using each process. Finally, the last part of the webinar will be open for discussion regarding thoughts and/or experiences writing S&T trees using each method.
What Will You Learn
To help you get the most value from this session, we’ve highlighted a few key points. These takeaways capture the main ideas and practical insights from the presentation, making it easier for you to review, reflect, and apply what you’ve learned.
The session reveals why many improvement initiatives stall: organizations build Strategy & Tactics Trees (S&T) but leave them unused on the shelf, failing to translate strategy into actionable change.
It shows how applying TOC’s core Thinking Processes (CRT, Evaporating Cloud, FRT, NBR, PrT, TrT) within the S&T framework helps leaders clearly define what to change and why, turning vague goals into precise logic paths.
The presentation illustrates that achieving true buy-in requires navigating both minus-minus and plus buy-in processes — addressing fears, objections, and implementation stumbling blocks, not just generating agreement on goals.
It emphasizes that durable organizational change emerges when strategic direction is linked explicitly to logic, assumptions, tactics, and execution agreements, helping teams move beyond symptoms to real system solutions.
Instructor(s)
Dr. Lisa Anne Ferguson
Dr. Lisa Ferguson's goal in life is to illuminate the way to utopia for individuals, organizations, and the rest of society. Our strategies and tactics are based on using the Theory of Constraints (TOC), combined with other best practices to dramatically improve strategic planning and execution, retail, education, healthcare and the health/happiness/success of individuals with a holistic approach. TOC was founded by Dr. Eli Goldratt to achieve his goal in life of teaching the world to think. For a decade, Dr. Ferguson was a full-time professor of operations management before resigning to teach for The Goldratt Group full-time training consultants (both TOC experts and Supply Chain Logistics implementers). Next, Dr. Lisa Ferguson spent a year (2007 – 2008) working as the apprentice to best-selling author and business guru, Eliyahu M. Goldratt as he trained her to become an even more successful writer and speaker, while further developing her TOC expertise. Her service on the TOCICO Board of Directors in an elected, unpaid position is from 2008 – 2011 and 2020 – 2021. Professor Ferguson is the author of the chapter on Strategy and Tactic Trees in The Theory of Constraints Handbook. Dr. Ferguson began teaching online classes for Illuminutopia in 2010. She is a published author (as well as an editor) and consultant with experience guiding Fortune 100 companies down through small businesses.