First Tenet

From the "sounding" one's own horn section... If you were to look on the back seat of my wife's car, you would find a copy of my book, Purple Curve Effect. In the trunk, a partial case of the book. In the garage, laying in plain sight, a copy of the book. On kitchen table. The PDF is on my PCs desktop. People either love or hate the book. That is a good thing, if two hold the same exact opinion, then one of them is unnecessary! Among my favorite reviews: "Purple Curve Effect is an inspirational book that fills an interesting hole in the current TOC library. It is written in a light hearted, easy to read, and conversational tone. SKI's TOC is both practical and applicable to business and personal life." -- C. Grant Lindsay, Jonah So What Among the constructs to convey some pearls of wisdom, I offered a number of tenets to clarify the message. For those that thought perhaps these breaks in the action were mere window dressing: wrong! Tenet One Get the facts before committing Sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong. How many times have you been roped into a task (or worse, a project) only to learn the ramifications after the fact? Then your "word is your bond" forces you to make the best of a bad situation. Also, in the book, in the third and final part, I pull the message together, and share a number of "Purple Curve Insights". Perhaps they are related to the tenets. Stranger things have happened. Purple Curve Insight One You alone decide your Success Or Happiness Or Throughput Make a decision How much success will you experience if your talents are spent on the wrong task, or worse, the wrong project? What if you selected your task without all the facts? What, if as Earl Nightingale pointed out, you are simply following another follower? Life is too short... -ski P.S. Did I mention you can buy the PDF for just two bucks?

Smart friends and iTunes

It pays to have smart friends... I just received an update from one of my favorite business mentors: Tim Sanders. Often he includes a reference to some new music that he has discovered. This is the first time that I noticed it was done via iTunes and the iMix feature. Most of you know that I am one of the biggest fans of the results that Steve Jobs accomplishes... like the worldest greatest computer: the NeXT... and his other creations, the iMac, iBook, iPod and iTunes. Pixar too. So here is a snap shot of my unusual taste in music: iMix 101 by SKI The great thing about this link, if you do not have iTunes on your computer, it will take you to the download page. iTunes is free for both the Mac and the PC. You can run iTunes without owning an iPod... but why would you? FYI: Look for a biz podcast coming soon. I have been learning the ropes with my Turismo Cycles adventure. Here is the link to the iTunes podcast: Turismo Cycles Podcast So, please feel free to share your musical interests as well as your biz secrets with the world. -ski P.S. If you catch Tim's Like Ability Factor PBS broadcast, you will see "the SKI" in the front row... and will quickly notice which segments were shot after lunch! {grin}

Performance Review

Another great post from guest blogger, David Oakes Often, managers feel challenged when completing performance reviews They are a crucial step in the survival and growth of a team, organization or corporation. The following steps will guarantee success. Do each step with each direct report employee. I give them an assignment before the review:

1. Review their goals for the past year and bring to the review
2. Make a list of everything they did last year that they liked best (LB)
3. Make a list of everything they did last year that they would do differently next time (NT)
4. Bring a list of 10 goals they would like to do next year (probably based on the NT's)

You do these same four steps on each direct report you have.

At the review:

1. I have them go over their LB's
2. I give them my LB's for them
3. I ask them to give me their NT's (they will probably have many of the same items I have)
4. I add my NT's that are different
5. We agree on 10 goals they should accomplish for the coming year

Then I ask for their feedback:

1. Do you have any NT's that you want me to work on, as your boss, in the coming year?
2. Where do you see yourself in this organization on the next 1-3 years?

The Key to Success

You are looking for somebody who wants to grow with your organization.

The annual review should last an hour, but no more than two.

Dave Oakes www.achieverstraining.com

Goldratt's Viable Vision Offer

"How to turn a company's present sales into net profit in less than four years" RALEIGH, N.C.--March 15, 2006 The second 2006 Viable Vision event for North America will feature world-renowned business improvement expert Dr. Eli Goldratt, who will offer business executives his latest concept, Viable Vision, at the Hilton Hotel in Research Triangle Park on May 11th. He is lauded as the father of the Theory of Constraints and is included in the curriculum of many major business schools in the United States and around the world. His first book, "The Goal," has sold more than four million copies worldwide. "When I do an analysis of a company, I am satisfied only when I clearly see how it is possible to bring the company to have, in less than four years, net profit equal to its current total sales," says Dr. Goldratt. He tested this process for years with real companies and will explain how scientific research has transformed manufacturing, distribution and project management-type companies. Viable Vision is a proven frame of reference and roadmap for achieving exponential growth in profits, without relying on new product breakthrough or focusing on niche markets. During the event, Goldratt explains how it is possible for a company to substantially increase sales and profits and how the tools and solutions presented at the event are difficult for competitors to copy. "When we were presented with the idea of a Viable Vision, we were intrigued," says an Owner and President of a manufacturing business in Chico, California. "However, we were skeptical that someone could come up with something that we hadn't thought about ourselves. After meeting with Dr. Goldratt, we had to agree that his Viable Vision for our company could be real." Following the presentation the participants will be given the opportunity to request an evaluation for their company. Goldratt Consulting will review the evaluation to determine if a specific Viable Vision exists at no additional charge. Details & Registration: www.PurpleCurve.com

Strategy Workshop

NAV+WERKS™ 2 Day Workshop I am pleased to report that after a year, Bill Dettmer and I were able to align our calendars in such a manner to allow us to present the first public offering of his Strategic Navigation™ seminar. Based on his book, this hands on event will amaze. More importantly, it will prepare the entrepreneur or Chief Executive Officer to effectively map a winning business strategy in record time. Based on Eli Goldratt's Theory of Constraints and John Boyd's OODA Loop, Dettmer's Constraints Management Method (CMM) delivers results! Seating will be limited. Details may be found online at: www.Nav-Werks.info -ski

Welcome a Jonah

Reflections from our newest Jonah... by guest blogger, Christoph Steindl, Jonah www.catalysts.cc

Here is my brief feedback about the Jonah3+3™ Course taught by H. William "Bill" Dettmer:

• There is a very big difference between: 1.) what you know after reading Bill's 2 books and Lisa's book 2.) what you know after the course
• It was amazing how much Bill cared. I really enjoyed the two day break, the trips to Cape Flattery, the Miramere Falls, and the ridge
• I'm now confident in applying the thinking process and using the tools
• I'm not afraid to answer questions about TOC
• I received a lot of "behind the scenes" insight about TOC
• I'm very glad to have more than a student's relationship with Bill, I'm actively looking for opportunities to cooperate and do joint work with Goal Systems International
• I received a lot of value from the course, and have since applied the tools to building my own business
• I now have a thorough understanding of the Current Reality of my new business, of the Future Reality, and how to make it happen
• Since the course, I've used the tools with a colleague to outline our joint Future Reality
• We will use our findings to focus our joint efforts to "make money now and more in the future"
• Bill has pointed me to the Crawford Slip Method, which I immediately applied to my way of doing Retrospectives
• Group-brainstorming has become twice as efficient using the Crawford Slip Method
• I received great feedback from one of my clients by using this new tool
• Bill pointed me to Dieter Legat and a couple of books on marketing & sales (one of my weak points due to the CRT analysis)
• I've already used Strategic Navigation's Strategic Intermediate Objectives (SIO) map for making the Goal, the Critical Success Factors and Necessary Conditions clear to 20 participants at a committer meeting of an open source project
• The leaders of the project immediately found the SIO map very useful and will use it to focus their efforts
• In summation, I received a lot of value from the course, especially from Bill as a person and from his willingness to pass on knowledge and assist with my networking efforts
• I am already using several of the techniques for my own private life, for my business activities, and with my clients
• I cannot tell when I break even financially, but I can tell you, that two of my current clients are now very interested in learning more about TOC
• I can now serve them at a level of quality which wouldn't have been possible before the Jonah3+3™ course
• It was well worth the money - REALLY!!!

I know that I've forgotten at least as many things as I've mentioned!

-Christoph

---- Christoph learned about the Jonah3+3™ from buying and reading the PDF of SKI's book, Purple Curve Effect. Our next course offering is May, 2006. It is also important to note that these classes are small sessions, with a lot of "one on one" instruction. The course runs for three days, breaks for two whole days, to allow the student (and the instructor) to decompress, then wraps up with another three day session. Details online.

(c)Copyright 2006, Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah All rights reserved.

value menu

Purple Curve Effect -- SKI's Throughput on Command This is a great book for giving one's self a kick in the seat of the pants. But I did not say that, a fellow author and Constraints Management guru did: "Don't make another decision about your business until you read this book.It may just be the kick in the pants you're not getting. Whether you think your glass is half full or empty; you still need a glass and something to put in it. Purple Curve Effect is a remarkable book and I highly recommend it." --Todd Canedy Author & Coach www.adaptivecapacity.com But don't take our word for it, priced kinda like a value menu, we have a great deal: buy the PDF of the book for just $2.00USD. Then, you can decide if it is worth the whole twenty bucks for a paperback copy. Purchase the PDF online, Securely for just $2 We have even had folks buy the PDF, read it, then sign up for our Jonah3+3™ course. Something to consider. But only if you have something that you want to accomplish... -ski

third dimension

Lets talk measurements. Often, metrics seem more like tools designed to say, "drive a car by looking out the rear-view mirror." Fair enough. But in an "analysis and synthesis" thinking exercise, a couple of thoughts took center stage in my brain. Those that have read "Purple Curve Effect" know that I observe a large number of management principals are found in movies. Like "The Wrath of Khan." The second Star Trek movie (1982) where Spock suggests that Khan is using only "two dimensional" strategy in his warfare against James T. Kirk. Which somehow caused me to consider Eli Goldratt's "Dollar Days" metric that tells us (among other things), that measuring vendors in a supply chain has very little to do with the low cost provider, and everything to do with due date performance. Missing a $2.00 part for two weeks on a $29,000 motorcycle is profound, especially when one learns that the next highest bidder of that same part, could have delivered an equivolent item for $2.27 on time! Simply specifying a part's physical attributes and a price point are not sufficient. So, is there a third dimension missing in the metrics used to measure progress towards our system goal? -ski