TOCICO

The success of TLS implementations is reportedly mixed. Some have achieved very good results, others not so much. Whenever a tool, machine, process or methodology produces such mixed result, the cause is most likely in how it is being used and not in the thing itself. This thesis is reinforced by two factors. First the contrast between comments like “TLS is just another good tool in our tool box” and “TLS is the way organizations should be run” highlights the great gulf in the perception of TLS. Secondly¸ implementers of TLS often have quite different perspectives - TOC people look at the problem from one angle, Lean folks from another and Six Sigma supporters from a third. It should be no surprise that there is a wide diversity of outcomes. The problem is that none of these perspectives are sufficient to unleash the power of TLS. In order to do so, we need to start with three first principles – what are we trying to improve, where do we focus our efforts and how do we know when we have made an improvement? So what is it we are trying to make better – as Yogi Berra supposedly said, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there”. The workshop will explore this basic question, because until it is clearly answered, improvement efforts can be like shooting in the dark. Incidentally, the answer is not exactly the same for all types of organizations.