About this Presentation
This presentation describes large-scale decision making under uncertainty. In TOC terms these are the Step 4 elevate types of decisions. Different environments are described with different types of decisions as examples: a medium-sized property developer understands that all large land acquisition decisions face significant uncertainties (wrong decisions are costly); a chemical company serving international markets (what country do we enter; do we acquire or build); a large steel company (what is the product mix for the market buffer) and a pharmaceutical company (capacity decisions for contract research). These decisions are organizational (many parties, individual and organizational differences, different frames or views, etc.) and analytically complex (uncertainty, dynamics, many interrelated factors, many alternatives, many criteria, etc.). Six types of elevation opportunities are identified each with a higher level of difficulty and uncertainty. Elements of decision quality are discussed with respect to the decision-making process. Framing of the problem is also discussed. Examples are provided throughout the presentation.
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 speaker discusses the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and its application in strategic decision-making within organizations. The focus is on 'elevation decisions', which involve significant resource commitments and uncertainties.
The speaker presents a case study of a chemical company facing an 'elevation decision' about whether to pursue a new high-performance product. The decision involves both analytical and organizational complexity, with different parties within the organization backing different choices.
The speaker introduces a decision-making framework that includes six elements of decision quality: appropriate frame, creative and doable alternatives, meaningful and reliable information, clear values and trade-offs, logically correct reasoning, and commitment to action.
Instructor(s)
Prasun Chowdhury
Prasun Chowdhury is a founding Director of Avenir. He leads Viable Vision implementations and other TOC engagements. Prasun believes in experimenting with integrated solutions to deliver results.
Sanjay Ghoshal
Sanjay Ghoshal is a recognized leader and practitioner in Project Management leveraging over three decades of consulting and industry experience. He has implemented Critical Chain Project Management and advanced Theory of Constraints (TOC) methodologies in both Indian and international organizations across diverse sectors.
Key Expertise and Project Experience
Sanjay has led successful Project Management implementations in some of the most complex and high-profile project environments, including:
• Large Indian EPC Company: Implemented CCPM to streamline project execution and cut lead times in large-scale industrial and engineering projects, delivering significant gains in schedule reliability and resource utilization.
• Leading Indian Real Estate Developer: Championed the adoption of Critical Chain principles in real estate projects, enabling faster completions and strengthening cross-functional collaboration.
• Greenfield Integrated Steel Plant (2.5 MTPA, India): Drove the application of CCPM across greenfield and brownfield steel plant projects, transforming execution performance and ensuring on-time delivery.
• Largest Social Housing Company in Mexico: Led the deployment of CCPM in large-scale residential construction, removing execution bottlenecks and enabling aggressive delivery timelines despite market challenges.
Broader Consulting Experience
Sanjay has worked hands-on with the pioneers of TOC—including direct collaboration with Dr. Eli Goldratt—to evolve pragmatic solutions tailored to different industry contexts. His client list includes Tata Steel, L&T, Dalmia Cements, Godrej & Boyce, BPCL, TKIL, Vedanta Steel (previously Electrosteel Steel), Godrej Properties, Homex (Mexico), Nicomed (Denmark), Dynegy (USA), and ARA (Mexico), Philips NV (Netherlands).
He brings extensive expertise in complementary areas of Project Management, including multi-project portfolio management, constraint identification, buffer management, and large-scale organizational change, across diverse sectors such as Engineering, EPC, Construction, Software, and Electrical Engineering.
Thought Leadership and Credentials
• Presented papers on CCPM and TOC at international TOCICO conferences.
• Contributed to the TOC body of knowledge with a focus on strategy execution, project acceleration, and resource optimization.
Sanjay holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Nagpur University and post-graduate management qualifications from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
Sanjay continues to enable organizations to drive breakthrough performance in project-driven environments by embedding Critical Chain Project Management and TOC as pillars of strategic and operational transformation.