Eliyahu M. Goldratt `Critical Chain`

1 . Daniel Pullman , CEO of Genemodem , has board meeting profits are OK but flat . He meets with Isaac Levy , Exec . VP of engineering he had commissioned an outside study showing the best improvement of time of development to be 5 . They agree that is not enough time and start an internal think tank of 3 young people . Mark Kowalski , a project leader for actual projects , is think tank project leader . Ruth Emerson is a brand manager and has had big success with last modem project . Fred Romero is an accountant , referred to as

the rebel of finance . Goal greatly decrease development time if so , they get a big stock bonus They all get free tuition for Exec MBA program

2 . Rick Silver is assistant professor at business school . He 's been picked by Jim Wilson , director of the exec MBA program to teach in Executive MBA program . He will teach the Wilson 's favorite , project management

3 . BJ Von Braun , striking power woman , is university president . She is at a big academic dinner is downturn in applicants for MBA programs . Talk is only the big ' ivy-league schools will survive the downturn . What to do : can import talent (new profs ) to build a top-rated school or develop excellence within

4 . All three members of the Genemodem think tank are in Silver 's Project Management ' class . Many examples , including the chunnel ' between UK and France are given as big overruns in time and money , the U2 spy plane project (8 months from idea to air ) was huge success why ? Noted at end of chapter : Rick Silver is having personal money troubles

5 . BJ Von Braun has budget meeting with Dean of business school Christopher Page . She explains in comparison to other programs (agriculture , law ) cycles what happened when demand dried up . First big demand for degrees to get big salaries , then when enough people in work force have the positions , there is a glut of people with the degree and no job then finally less demand for degree . Page doesn 't like the idea of a budget cut in his kingdom ' but she has sand-bagged him with a study he didn 't know about showing graduates of the MBA program were having tough times finding jobs

6 . Scene is Silver 's class one homework example from last assignment was a Malaysia project with big overruns . Top management blames weather , problems with vendors , problem with Malaysian govt . Lower managers blamed others within . Theory : lower the position more internal finger-pointing . Class learns of safety ' in budgeting , i .e . planning for the unplanned , building in more time . Next scene is the think tank they wonder if that is the problem with modem development are engineers giving themselves too much of a cushion , and it becomes self fulfilling prophecy

7 . BJ meets with Page she will not accept anyone on the tenure list She believes MBA program has no relevancy anymore no flexibility no credibility with business . She believes they have not over-supplied the market...