Theory of Constraints, Critical Chain Project Management, Lean : industry consulting & training - Marris Consulting
The Logical Thinking Process, as the name suggests, uses sound logic and a set of tools or processes to provide executives and system managers an effective method for designing organizational strategy, planning its deployment, evaluating its effectiveness, and making corrections as needed in the shortest possible time.
This training course was initially, until 2019, proposed in a 6-Day format in our Paris offices. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a 100% online version of this training course has been created. It is available since the 12th of September, 2022, at the following address:
The LTP can typically produce a completed strategy within a matter of weeks, including the required deployment tasks and activities. It provides an easy way for executives to monitor progress of strategy deployment. In the problem-solving mode, resolution of complex system problems has been designed in as short as a few days and no more than several weeks (the time required for solution implementation varies with the nature of the situation).
The two most significant challenges leaders and senior managers face are creating and deploying an effective organizational strategy and solving complex system problems.
Where do we stand today?
What will be needed for tomorrow?
What is holding us back from achieving new levels of success?
What should we do about it?
How can we change direction?
These are all questions that traditional methods of continuous improvement are ill-equipped to address. Strategy development and complex problem solving represent opposite sides of the same coin.
Consider that problem solving at the strategic system level is no more than identifying the shortfalls in performance against the originally designed strategy, determining the reasons why these gaps exist, and creating ways to close them—thus improving the success of the original strategy.
The Logical Thinking Process (LTP) is an integrated set of logic trees intended specifically to answer four essential questions crucial for both strategy development and problem solving:
1. What is the benchmark of desired system performance?
2. Why is the system not already achieving that benchmark?
3. What should be done differently to achieve the benchmark?
4. How should changes be effected?
By the end of this training course, participants will be able to:
Be self sufficient to read, construct and review Goal Trees, Current Reality Trees, Conflict Resolution Diagrams (Evaporating Clouds), Future Reality Trees and Prerequisite Trees
Surface and identify root causes of complex problems and build robust solutions to solve them
Assess and mitigate the risks of the proposed solutions
Apprehend the difficulties about change and settle conflicting objectives
Identify and overcome possible obstacles
Build a straightforward plan for change and present an executive summary
These training workshops have been in the past unique, hands-on, face-to-face events. And having the privilege of conducting them in Paris for many years now has been really special. But the pandemic has forced us to do things differently.
Many people have asked me whether the LTP training would be offered online. And I’ve had to say, “Not for the foreseeable future.” But since September 2022, this has changed.
In concert with my partners Marris Consulting, I have converted the LTP workshop into an online course. Now, this course will never be able to completely match the group dynamic of an in-person workshop. But I believe that if the effective transfer of LTP knowledge is preserved as the overriding objective, that goal is reachable. However, in doing so, considerably more personal responsibility for learning and practicing must necessarily fall on the LTP training participant.
The objective remains the same: to teach you how to use the Logical Thinking Process by helping you to solve a systemic problem of your choosing. Several offers are available to you:
1. A video course, to learn how to use the logical thinking process. It is divided into 9 chapters during which the main concepts and tools are presented.
2. A package including the video course and 6 hours of personalized coaching with Bill Dettmer, which will allow you to deepen the concepts presented in the course.
3. You also have the option of purchasing individual coaching hours with Bill Dettmer.
4. For the most experienced ones, a 5-hour coaching package is also available for purchase, to build and review your logic trees with Bill Dettmer. To subscribe to this pack, you must first have taken the online LTP course and the personalized coaching sessions. Reservations can be made at ltp@marris-consulting.com
Finally, a collection of Bill's articles is available free of charge on the platform, to provide you with additional food for thought and ideas.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us (ltp@marris-consulting.com).
(Training activity recorder in France under n° 11 75 45692 75)
H. WILLIAM DETTMER, Senior Partner, at Goal Systems International
and author of numerous books including The Logical Thinking Process & Strategic Navigation
Executives with strategic or tactical leadership responsibilities
Supply chain and logistic managers
Internal or external change agents responsible for complex problem-solving
Project managers faced with a rapidly changing environment
Managers with responsibility for quality or continuous improvement (Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, etc.) within their organizations
Entrepreneurs
Chapitre One
Chapitre Two
Chapitre Three
Chapitre Four
Chapitre Five
Chapitre Six
Chapitre Seven
Chapitre Eight
Chapitre Nine
H. WILLIAM DETTMER, Senior Partner, at Goal Systems International. Bill Dettmer has applied the Strategic Navigation and thinking process in both manufacturing and services with Fortune 500 and other companies, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations around the world. Partial client list includes The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (USA), Boeing, Bosch, Bayer, Deloitte&Touche (USA), U.S. Air Force Software Technology Center, Seagate Technology, Lucent Technologies (both in Europe and the USA), Siemens Medical (Germany), Siemens Energy Generation (USA). He has been awarded the Lifetime Achievements award by TOCICO in recognition of his contributions to the Theory Of Constraints Body of Knowledge.
Twenty-three years' experience in logistics, strategic planning, operational planning, training, large-scale systems deployment, and contracting. Direct responsibility for project management, logistics planning, gouvernement contracting, system design, financial management, productivity improvement, idea generation, team building, strategic planning, and customer-supplier relations.
Bill Dettmer's book: The Logical Thinking Process, An Executive Summary (VirtualBookworm Publishing, 2018); Strategic Navigation (ASQ Quality Press, 2003); The Logical Thinking Process (ASQ Quality Press, 2007); Breaking the Constraints to World-Class Performance (ASQ Quality Press, 1998); Strategy, Chapter 19 of Theory of Constraints Handbook (McGraw-Hill 2010); Brainpower Networking Using the Crawford Slip Method (Trafford Publishing, 2003). Co-author (with Eli Schragenheim) of Manufacturing at Warp Speed (CRC St. Lucie Press, 2000).
Marris Consulting is an industry consulting and training company specialized in the Theory of Constraints (ToC) and Critical Chain Project Management. We focus on improving the performance of manufacturing and process industries by using Constraints Management combined with Lean and Six Sigma. To boost project performance, we also use Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM), which we sometimes combine with Lean Engineering. Our 2-day performance audits, our performance consulting services and our project management, Lean & ToC training by our industry consultants offer a wide range of solutions to help our clients around the world reach the highest possible levels of performance.