The Goal: a process of Ongoing Improvement

flow
with demand, not the capacity.
"Two,
the incentives we usually offer are based on the assumption that the
level of utilization of any worker is determined by his own potential,’’ I tell
them. "That’s totally false because of dependency. For any resource that is
not a bottleneck, the level of activity from which the system is able to profit
is not determined by its individual potential but by some other constraint
within the system.’’
Hilton says impatiently, "What’s the difference? When somebody is working,
we’re getting use out of him.’’
"No, and that’s a 
third
assumption that’s wrong,’’ I say. "We’ve assumed that
utilization and activation are the same. Activating a resource and utilizing a
resource are not synonymous.’’
And the argument goes on.
I
say an hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour out of the entire system. 
Hilton
says an hour lost at a bottleneck is just an hour lost of that resource.
I say an hour saved at a non-bottleneck is worthless. 
Hilton
says an hour
saved at a non-bottleneck is an hour saved at that resource.
"All this talk about bottlenecks,’’ says Hilton. "Bottlenecks temporarily limit
throughput. Maybe your plant is proof of that. But they have little impact

---

upon inventory.’’
"It’s completely the opposite, Hilton,’’ I say. "Bottlenecks govern both
throughput and inventory. And I’ll tell you what my plant really has shown:
it’s proved our performance measurements are wrong.’’
Cravitz drops the pen he’s holding and it rolls noisily on the table.
"Then how are we to evaluate the performance of our operations?’’ asks
Cravitz.
"By the bottom line,’’ I tell him. "And based upon that evaluation, my plant
has now become the best in the UniWare Division, and possibly the best in its
industry. We’re making money when none of the others are.’’
"Temporarily 
you may be making money. But if you’re really running your
plant this way, I can’t possibly see how your plant can be profitable for very
long,’’ says Hilton.
I start to speak, but Hilton raises his voice and talks over me.
"The fact of the matter is that your cost-of-products measurement increased,’’
says Hilton. "And when costs go up, profits have to go down. It’s that simple.
And that’s the basis of what I’ll be putting into my report to Bill Peach.’’
Afterwards, I find myself alone in the room. Messrs. Smyth and Cravitz
have gone. I’m staring into my open briefcase—then with a fist, I slam it
shut.
I’m muttering to myself something about their pigheadedness as I exit the
conference room and go to the elevators. I press the "down’’ button. But
when the elevator arrives, I’m not there. I’m walking back up the corridor
again, and I’m heading for the corner office.
Bill’s secretary, Meg, watches me approach. I stride up to her desk, where
she’s sorting paper clips.

---

"I need to see Bill,’’ I tell her.
"Go right in. He’s waiting for you,’’ she says.
"Hello, Al,’’ he greets me as I enter his office. "I knew you wouldn’t leave
without seeing me. Take a seat.’’
As I approach his desk I start to talk, "Hilton Smyth is going to submit a
negative report about my plant, and I feel that as my manager you should
hear me out before you come to any conclusions.’’
"Go ahead, tell me all about it. Sit down, we’re not in a rush.’’
I continue to talk. Bill puts his elbows on the desktop and his fingers together
in front of his face. When I finally stop he says, "And you explained all of
this to Hilton?’’
"In great detail.’’
"And what was his response?’’ he asks.
"He basically refused to listen. He continues to claim that as long as cost of
products increase, profits eventually have to go down.’’
Bill looks straight into my eyes and asks, "Don’t you think he has a point?’’
"No, I don’t. As long as I keep my operating expenses under control and
Johnny Jons is happy, I don’t see how profits can help but continue to go
up.’’
"Fine,’’ he says, and buzzes Meg. "Can you call Hilton, Nathan, and Johnny
Jons in here please.’’
"What’s going on?’’ I ask him.
"Don’t worry, just wait and see,’’ he says calmly.

---

It’s not long before they all enter the room and take seats.
"Hilton,’’ Bill turns to him, "you heard Alex’s report this morning. You’ve
also seen all the financial results. As the productivity manager of the division,
and as a fellow plant manager, what’s your recommendation?’’
"I think that Alex should be called to order,’’ he says in a formal voice. "And
I think that immediate actions should be taken in his plant before it’s too late.
The productivity in Alex’s plant is deteriorating, cost of products is going up,
and proper procedures are not being followed. I think that immediate actions
are in order.’’
Ethan
Frost clears his throat, and when we all look at him he says, "And what
about the fact that in the last two months that plant has turned profits rather
than losses, while releasing a lot of cash for the division?’’
"That is only a temporary phenomenon,’’ Hilton states. "We must expect big
losses in the very near future.’’
"Johnny, do you have anything to add?’’ Bill asks.
"Yes, certainly. Alex’s plant is the only one that can produce miracles—to
deliver what the client needs in a surprisingly short time. You’ve all heard
about Burnside’s visit. With such a plant backing up sales, they can really go
out and blast the market.’’
"Yes, but at what price?’’ Hilton reacts. "Cutting batches to far below
optimum size. Devoting the entire plant to one order. Do you know the long-
term ramifications?’’
"But I haven’t devoted the plant to one order!’’ I can’t contain my anger. "As
a matter of fact, I haven’t got any past-due orders. All my clients are
pleased.’’
"Miracles exist only in fairy tales,’’ Hilton says cynically.
Nobody says a word. At last I cannot hold back, "So what’s the verdict—is

---

my plant going to be closed?’’
"No,’’ says Bill. "Not at all. Do you think we’re such bad managers that we
would close a gold mine?’’
I sigh in relief. Only now do I notice I’ve been holding my breath.
"As manager of productivity of the division,’’ Hilton says with a red face, "I
feel it’s my duty to protest.’’
Bill ignores him, and turning to 
Ethan
and Johnny he asks, "Shall we tell
them now, or wait until Monday?’’
They both laugh.
"Hilton, this morning I asked you to sit in for me because we were meeting
with Granby. Two months from now the three of us are moving up the ladder,
to head the group. Granby left it to us to decide who will be the next manager
of the division. I think that the three of us have decided. Congratulations,
Alex; you will be the one to replace me.’’
When I return to the plant, Fran hands me a message "It’s from Bill
Peach. What’s going on?’’
"Call everybody. I have some good news,’’ I smile.
Bill’s message is: "I recommend you use these two months to prepare
yourself. You still have a lot to learn, hotshot.’’
At last I’m able to reach Jonah in New York and fill him in on the latest
developments. Although pleased for me, he does not seem surprised.
"And all this time I just worried about saving my one plant,’’ I tell him.
"Now it seems that I’m ending up with three.’’
"Good luck,’’ says Jonah. "Keep up the good work.’’

---

Hurriedly, before he hangs up I ask in a desperate voice, "I’m afraid that luck
will not be enough; I’m out of my depth. Can’t you come down and help
me?’’ I haven’t spent two hours tracking down Jonah just to hear his
congratulations. Frankly, I’m terrified at the prospect of my new job. It’s one
thing to handle a production plant, but handling a division of three plants
does not mean just three times the work, it also means responsibility for
product design and marketing.
"Even if I had the time, I don’t think it’s a good idea,’’ I hear his
disappointing answer.
"Why not? It seemed to work fine so far.’’
"Alex,’’ he says in a stern voice, "as you climb up the ladder and your
responsibilities grow, you should learn to rely more and more on yourself.
Asking me to come now will lead to the opposite; it will increase the
dependency.’’
I refuse to see his point. "Can’t you continue to teach me?’’
"Yes, I can,’’ he answers. "But first you should find out exactly what it is that
you want to learn. Call me then.’’
I don’t give up easily. "I want to learn how to run an efficient division, isn’t it
obvious?’’
"In the past you wanted to learn how to run an efficient plant,’’ Jonah sounds
impatient. "Now you want to learn how to run an efficient division. We both
know that it will not end here. What 
is
it that you want to learn? Can you
spell it out?’’
"Actually, I guess that I want to learn how to manage—a plant, a division, a
company, any type or size organization.’’ After a second of hesitation I add,
"It wouldn’t be bad to learn how to manage my life, but I’m afraid that would
be asking for too much.’’
"Why too much?’’ says Jonah to my surprise. "I think that every sensible

---

person should want to learn how to manage his or her life.’’
"Great, when can we start?’’ I ask eagerly.
"Now. Your first assignment is to find out what techniques are needed for
effective management.’’
"What?’’ I ask in a choked voice.
"Come on, I didn’t ask you to develop them, just to determine clearly what
they should be. Call me when you have the answer. And Alex,
congratulations on your promotion.’’

---

32
"I’m really proud of you. Three more steps like that and we will have
made it. Shall we drink to it?’’
Julie’s forced enthusiasm strikes a responding chord inside me. "No, I don’t
think so.’’ I refuse the toast, an event which, as you can imagine, is not very
common.
Julie doesn’t say a word. She just slowly lowers her drink, leans slightly
forward, and looks directly into my eyes. It’s quite apparent that she is
waiting for some explanation.
Under the pressure I start to talk slowly, trying to verbalize my rambling
thoughts. "Julie, I really don’t think that we should toast it, at least not in the
way you make it sound, like toasting an empty victory. Somehow I feel that
you were right all along— what is this promotion if not just winning a point
in the rat race?’’
"Hmm,’’ is her only response.
My wife can express herself very clearly without even opening her mouth—
which is definitely not the case for me. Here I am, rambling all over the place
. . . ‘Rat race’ ... ‘Empty victory.’ What on earth am I talking about? But still,
why do I feel it’s inappropriate to toast my promotion?
"The family paid too big a price for this promotion,’’ I finally say.
"Alex you’re being too hard on yourself. This crisis was about to explode one
way or the other.’’
She continues, "I gave it a lot of thought and let’s face it, if you had given up,
the feeling of failure would have spoiled every good part of our marriage. I

---

think you should be proud of this promotion. You didn’t step on anybody to
get it; you won it fair and square.’’
A chill goes down my back as I remember it. I was in deep trouble. My plant
was under a real threat of being closed down; over six hundred people were
about to join the already long unemployment lines; my career was one inch
from being kissed by limbo; and on top of all that, the unbelievable hours I
was putting in at work had pushed our marriage to the brink of going down
the tube. In short, I was about to change from a bright, rising star into an
ordinary bum.
But I didn’t give up. Against all odds I continued to fight. And I was not
alone. Jonah introduced me to his common-sense (and thus very
controversial) approach to managing a company. It made a lot of sense, so
my team enthusiastically backed me up. And it was fun, real fun. Let me tell
you, the last few months were quite stormy. I think that we violated almost
every rule of corporate America. But we made it. We turned the plant around.
So much so that it saved the entire division. Now, Julie and I are sitting in
this fancy restaurant celebrating. I’m going to head the division, which means
relocation—a fact that probably contributes a lot to Julie’s supportive mood.
Raising my glass I say confidently, "Julie, let’s drink to my promotion. Not
as a step toward the tip of the pyramid, but let’s drink to what it 
really
means
—positive reassurance to our exciting, worthwhile journey.’’
A broad smile is spreading over Julie’s face and our glasses make a clear,
gentle sound.
We turn to our menus, in a good mood. "It’s your celebration as much as it is
mine,’’ I say generously. After a while, and in a more somber tone I continue,
"Actually, it’s much more Jonah’s achievement than mine.’’
"You know Alex, it’s so typical of you,’’ Julie says apparently disturbed.
"You worked so hard and now you want to give the credit to somebody
else?’’
"Julie, I’m serious. Jonah is the one who gave me all the answers, I was just

---

the instrument. As much as I would like to think otherwise, that’s the plain,
bare truth.’’
"No, it’s far from the truth.’’
I turn nervously in my chair, "But . . .’’
"Alex, stop this nonsense,’’ Julie says in a firm voice. "Artificial modesty
doesn’t suit you.’’ She raises her hand to prevent me from answering and
firmly continues, "Nobody handed you solutions on a silver platter. Tell me,
Mr. Rogo, how many nights did you sweat until you succeeded in finding the
answers?’’
"Quite a few,’’ I admit with a smile.
"You see!’’ Julie tries to close the subject.
"No, I don’t see,’’ I laugh. "I’m very well aware that Jonah didn’t simply
give me the answers. As a matter of fact, during those long nights, (and
days), considerable time was spent cursing him for just that. But, come on,
Julie, the fact that he elected to present them in the form of very pointed
questions doesn’t change a thing.’’
Rather than continuing, Julie calls the waiter and starts to order. She’s right.
This line of discussion will just ruin a pleasant evening.
It’s not until I’m busy with my delicious veal parmesan that my thoughts
start to crystallize. What was the nature of the answers, the solutions, that
Jonah caused us to develop? They all had one thing in common. They all
made common sense, and at the same time, they flew directly in the face of
everything I’d ever learned. Would we have had the courage to try to
implement them if it weren’t for the fact that we’d had to sweat to construct
them? Most probably not. If it weren’t for the conviction that we gained in
the struggle—for the ownership that we developed in the process—I don’t
think we’d actually have had the guts to put our solutions into practice.
Still deep in thought, I raise my eyes from the plate and examine Julie’s

---

face. It’s as if she was waiting for me all this time.
"How come you didn’t think of it yourselves?’’ I hear her asking. "To me
your answers look like plain, common sense. Why couldn’t you do it without
Jonah’s guiding questions?’’
"Good question, very good question. Frankly, I doubt I know the answer.’’
"Alex, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.’’
"Yes, I have,’’ I admit. "All of us, back in the plant, had the same question.
The solutions look trivial, but the fact is that for years we’ve done the exact
opposite. Moreover, the other plants still insist on sticking to the old,
devastating ways. Probably Mark Twain was right saying that ‘common
sense is not common at all’ or something similar.’’
"That’s not an answer to my question.’’ She doesn’t let me off the hook.
"Just bear with me,’’ I plead. "I really don’t know. I’m not sure that I even
know the meaning of ‘common sense’. What do you think we mean when we
refer to something as ‘common sense’?’’
"It’s unfair to answer a question with a question.’’ She refuses my apparent
attempt to turn the table.
"Why not?’’ I try again.
She doesn’t allow her lips to move.
"Okay,’’ I give up. "The best that I have come up with so far is to recognize
that we refer to something as common sense only if it is in line with our own
intuition.’’
She nods her head in approval.
"Which only helps to intensify your question,’’ I continue. "It only means
that when we recognize something as common sense, it must be that, at least

---

intuitively, we knew it all along. Why is there so often the need for an
external trigger to help us realize something that we already knew
intuitively?’’
"That was my question!’’
"Yes, darling, I know. Probably these intuitive conclusions are masked by
something else, something that’s not common sense.’’
"What could that be?’’
"Probably common practice.’’
"Makes sense,’’ she smiles and turns to finish her dinner.
"I must admit,’’ I say after a while, "that Jonah’s way of leading to the
answers through asking questions, his ‘Socratic approach,’ is very effective at
peeling away the layers—the thick layers—of common practice. I tried to
explain the answers to others, who needed them as badly as we did, but got
nowhere. As a matter of fact, if it hadn’t been for 
Ethan
Frost’s appreciation
of our improvements to the bottom line, my approach might have led to some
very undesirable results.
"You know,’’ I continue, "it’s amazing how deeply ingrained those things are
that we’ve been told and practiced, but never spent the time to think about on
our own. ‘Don’t give the answers, just ask the questions!’ I’ll have to practice
that
.’’
Julie doesn’t look too enthused.
"What’s the matter?’’ I ask.
"Nothing,’’ she says.
" ‘Don’t give the answers,’ definitely makes sense,’’ I try to convince her.
"Spelling out the answers when you are trying to convince someone who
blindly follows the common practice is totally ineffective. Actually there are

---

only two possibilities, either you are not understood, or you 
are
understood.’’
"You don’t say?’’
"In the first case, no real harm has been done, people are just going to ignore
you. The second case might be much worse, people might understand you.
They’ll take your message as something worse than criticism.’’
"What is worse than criticism?’’ she asks innocently.
"Constructive criticism.’’ I smile gloomily, remembering the harsh responses
of Hilton Smyth and that Cravitz fellow. "You have a point, but it’s below the
belt. People will never forgive you for that.’’
"Alex, you don’t have to convince me that when I want to persuade
somebody—especially my husband—that giving answers is not the way. I’m
simply not convinced that only asking questions is much better.’’
I think about it. She is right. Whenever I tried just to ask questions it was
interpreted as patronizing, or even worse, that I was simply negative.
"It looks like one should think twice before charging the tall windmills of
common practice.’’ I conclude gloomily.
Julie busies herself with the delicious cheesecake our waiter is placing in
front of us. I do the same.
When the coffee’s served I gather enough stamina to continue the
conversation. "Julie, is it really so bad? I don’t recall giving you a lot of
grief.’’
"Are you kidding? Not only are you stubborn like a Southern mule, you had
to go and pass on these genes to your kids. I bet you gave Jonah a hard time
as well.’’
I think about it for a short while. "No Julie, with Jonah somehow it was
different. You see, whenever I’m talking with Jonah, I have the distinct

---

feeling that not only is he ready with his questions, he’s also ready with my
questions. It must be that the Socratic method is much more than just asking
questions. One thing I can tell you, improvising with this method is
hazardous, believe me, I’ve tried. It’s like throwing a sharpened
boomerang.’’
Then it dawns on me. Here’s the answer. This is the technique that I should
ask Jonah to teach me: how to persuade other people, how to peel away the
layers of common practice, how to overcome the resistance to change.
I tell Julie about my last telephone conversation with Jonah.
"That’s very interesting,’’ she says at last. "You definitely need to learn how
to manage your life better. But sweetheart,’’ she laughs, "be careful,
remember what happened to Socrates. He was forced to drink poison.’’
"I don’t intend 
to give
Jonah any poison,’’ I say, still very excited. "Julie, let
me tell you, whenever Jonah and I talked about my troubles at the plant, I
always felt he anticipated my response. It actually bothered me for quite
some time.’’
"Why?’’
"When did he have the time to learn so much? I’m not talking about theories,
I’m talking about his intimate understanding of how the wheels are really
turning in a plant. As far as I know, he never worked one day of his life in
industry. He’s a physicist. I can’t believe that a scientist, sitting in his ivory
tower, can know so much about the detailed realities of the shop floor.
Something doesn’t match.
"Alex, if that’s the case, it seems that you should ask Jonah to teach you
something more than just the Socratic method.’’

---

33
Lou is my first and most important target. If I’m unable to persuade him
to join me, I’m basically lost. It’s not going to be easy. He’s very close to
retirement and I know to what extent he’s involved in his community. I take a
deep breath and walk into his office. "Hey Lou, is it a good time?’’
"Good as any. How can I help you?’’
Perfect opening, but somehow I don’t have the guts to go straight to the
point. "I was just wondering about your forecast for the next two months,’’ I
say. "Do you see any problem in us reaching and maintaining the fifteen
percent net profit? Not that it’s crucial any more,’’ I hurriedly add, "but I’d
hate giving Hilton Smyth even the slightest opening to hiss, ‘I told you so.’’’
"You can sleep tight. According to my calculations we’ll easily cross the
twenty percent net profit for the next two months.’’
"What!’’ I can hardly believe my ears. "Lou, what’s the matter with you?
Since when do you believe marketing’s chronically optimistic outlook?’’
"Alex, a lot has happened to me recently, but believing marketing is not one
of them. Actually, my forecast is based on a slight decline in incoming
orders.’’
"So how did you pull this rabbit out of your hat?’’
"Have a seat, it’ll take me some time to explain. I have something important
to tell you,’’ he says.
It’s clear that I’m going to hear about another devious accounting trick. "All
right, let’s hear it.’’

---

I make myself comfortable while Lou shuffles papers. After two minutes I
lose my patience, "Well, Lou?’’
"Alex, we blamed the distorted way in which product costs are calculated for
giving the appearance that our net profit was only twelve point eight percent,
rather than over seventeen percent as we believed was the case. I know that
you were furious about it, but what I’ve found out is that there’s an even
bigger accounting distortion. It’s tied to the way that we evaluate inventory,
but it’s hard for me to explain. Maybe I’ll try to do it through the balance
sheet.’’
He pauses again. This time I wait patiently.
"Maybe I should start with a question,’’ he says. "Do you agree that
inventory is a liability?’’
"Of course, everybody knows that. And even if we didn’t know it, the last
few months have shown to what extent inventory is a liability. Do you think
we could have pulled off this fast response to orders if the floor had been as
jammed up as before? And haven’t you noticed that quality has improved,
and overtime has gone down—not to mention that we hardly ever have to
expedite today!’’
"Yeah,’’ he says, still looking at his papers. "Inventory is definitely a
liability, but under what heading are we forced to report it on the balance
sheet?’’
"Holy cow, Lou!’’ I jump to my feet. "I knew that the financial
measurements were remote from reality, but to that extent— to report
liabilities under the heading of assets? I never realized the full
implications...Tell me, what are the bottom line ramifications?’’
"Bigger than you think, Alex. I’ve checked and rechecked it, but the numbers
do talk. You see, we’re evaluating inventory according to the cost to produce
the goods. These costs include not only the money we pay for the raw
materials, but also the value added in production.

---

"You know what we have done in the last few months. Donovan has worked
only on things that we have orders for. Stacey has released material
accordingly. We’ve drained about fifty percent of the work in process from
the plant, and about twenty-five percent from finished goods. We’ve saved a
lot by not purchasing new materials to replace this excess inventory, and the
cash figures show it clearly. But on our books, the assets represented by
inventory went down, since they were only partially compensated for by the
cash we didn’t have to pay out. In this period, when we were reducing
inventory, all the difference between the product cost and the material cost of
the reduced inventory showed up as a net loss.’’
I swallow hard. "Lou, you’re telling me that we were penalized for doing the
right thing? That reducing the excess inventory was interpreted by our books
as a loss?’’
"Yes,’’ he replies, still looking at his papers.
"Well tell me, what was the impact—in numbers?’’
"Our actual net profit was well over twenty percent in each of the last three
months,’’ he says flatly.
I stare at him. I can’t believe my ears.
"But look at the good side,’’ he says sheepishly, "now that the inventory has
stabilized at a new, low level, this effect won’t disturb us any longer.’’
"Thank you very much,’’ I say sarcastically and turn to leave.
When I reach the door I turn around and ask him, "When did you discover
this phenomena? When did you find out that we were turning much more
profit than the targeted fifteen percent?’’
"A week ago.’’
"So why didn’t you tell me? I could have used these facts very effectively in
the plant review.’’

---

"No Alex, you couldn’t have used them at all, it just would have confused
your story. You see, everyone evaluates inventory this way, it’s even required
by the tax authorities. You didn’t stand a chance. But I did discuss it at length
with 
Ethan
Frost; he understood it perfectly.’’
"So that’s what happened, you fox. Now I understand why 
Ethan
became so
supportive,’’ I say, sitting back down.
When we’ve finished grinning at each other, Lou says in a quiet voice, "Alex,
I have another issue.’’
"Another bomb?’’
"You might call it that, but it’s sort of a personal matter. 
Ethan
told me that
he’s going with Bill Peach to the group. I know that you will need a good
divisional controller, someone who has experience in the more diverse
subjects that are dealt with at the division level. I’m just one year from
retirement; everything that I know is old-fashioned. So . . .’’
Here it comes, I say to myself. I must stop him before he states that he
doesn’t want to come with me. Once he says it, it’ll be much harder to change
his mind.
"Lou, wait,’’ I interrupt him. "Look at the work that we’ve done in the last
few months. Don’t you think . . .’’
"That’s exactly what I was about to bring up,’’ he interrupts me in turn.
"Look at it from my point of view. All my life I’ve gathered numbers and
compiled reports. I’ve seen myself as somebody who has to supply the data,
as an impartial, objective observer. But the last few months have shown me
to what extent I was wrong. I wasn’t an objective observer; I was following,
almost blindly, some erroneous procedures without understanding the far-
reaching, devastating ramifications.
"I’ve given it a lot of thought lately. We need financial measurements for
sure—but we don’t need them for their own sake. We need them for two

---

different reasons. One is control; knowing to what extent a company is
achieving its goal of making money. The other reason is probably even more
important; measurements should induce the parts to do what’s good for the
organization as a whole. What’s become apparent to me is that neither of
these two objectives is being met.
"For example, this conversation we just had. We knew very well that the
plant had drastically improved, but the distorted measurements have almost
condemned us. I’m submitting efficiency reports, product-cost reports, and
now we both know to what extent they just lead workers and management
alike to do what’s bad for the company.’’
I’ve never heard Lou talk for so long. I agree with everything he just said, but
I’m totally confused. I don’t know what he’s getting at.
"Alex, I can’t stop here. I can’t retire now. Do me a personal favor, take me
with you. I want the opportunity to devise a new measurement system, one
that’ll correct the system we have now, so that it 
will
do what we expect it to
do. So that a controller can be proud of his job. I don’t know if I’ll succeed,
but at least give me the chance.’’
What am I supposed to say? I stand up and stretch out my hand. "It’s a deal.’’
Back at my desk I ask Fran to call Bob Donovan in. With Lou on one side
and Bob on the other, I’ll be free to concentrate on the two areas I know the
least, engineering and marketing.
What am I going to do about marketing? The only person I appreciate in
that department is Johnny Jons; no wonder Bill has decided to take him
along.
The phone rings. It’s Bob.
"Hey Al, I’m sitting with Stacey and Ralph, we’re really cooking. Can
you join us?’’
"How long will it take?’’ I ask.

---

"No way to tell. Probably ’til the end of the day.’’
"In that case, I’ll pass. But Bob, we need to talk. Can you get away for a few
minutes?’’
"Sure, no problem.’’
And in no time, he enters my office. "What’s up, boss?’’
I decide to give it to him straight, "How’d you like to be responsible for all
production of the division?’’
The only thing he manages to say is a long "Wow.’’ He puts his big body in a
chair, looks at me, and doesn’t say any more.
"Well, Bob, surprised?’’
"You bet.’’
I go to pour us coffee and he starts to talk to my back. "Alex, I don’t want
that job. Not now. You know, a month ago I would have grabbed the offer
with both hands. It’s way beyond what I expected.’’
Puzzled, I turn around, a cup in each hand. "What’s the matter Bob, afraid?’’
"You know better than that.’’
"So what happened in the past month to change your perspective?’’
"Burnside.’’
"You mean he made you a better offer?’’
He fills the room with his booming laughter. "No, Alex, nothing like that.
What gave me a new perspective was the way we handled Burnside’s urgent
order. I learned so much from how we handled that case that I would rather

---

stay in this plant and develop it further.’’
Surprises all around me. I thought I knew these people. I expected it would
be impossible to convince Lou, and he almost begged me for the job. I didn’t
expect any problems with Bob, and he just declined my offer. It’s really
annoying.
"You’d better explain,’’ I hand him his cup.
Bob’s chair squeaks in protest as he fidgets. If I were staying here longer, I
would have ordered a more massive chair just for him.
"Haven’t you noticed how unique the events of Burnside’s order were?’’ he
says at last.
"Yes, of course. I’ve never heard of the president of a company going to
thank the workers of a vendor.’’
"Yeah, yeah, that too. But look at the whole chain of events. Johnny called
you with an impossible client wish. He didn’t believe it could be done, and
neither did the client. And on the surface, it was impossible. But we looked
into it. We considered the bottleneck availability, we considered the vendor
limitations, and we came back with something pretty unusual.
"We didn’t say a flat no, or a flat yes, and then miss the due date by a mile, as
we used to do. We re-engineered the deal; we came back with a counter-offer
that was feasible and that the client liked even more than his original
request.’’
"Yes,’’ I say, "it was good work. Especially considering what came out after
that. But that was a peculiar set of circumstances.’’
"It was peculiar because normally we don’t take the initiative —but maybe
there’s a way to make it standard. Don’t you see? We actually engineered a
sale. We—in the plant, in production—engineered a sale.’’
I think about it. He’s right. Now I start to see where he’s heading.

---

Bob, probably misinterpreting my silence, says, "For you it’s not a big deal,
you always looked at production and sales as two links in the same chain. But
look at me. All the time I’m buried out on the shop floor, thinking that my
responsibility is to put out fires, and viewing the sales department as snake
oil salesmen, spreading unrealistic promises to our clients. For me, this event
was a revelation.
"Look, we give sales a rigid lead time for each product. So if it’s not in
finished goods, those are the numbers they should use to promise to clients.
Yeah, they deviate from it, but not by much. Maybe there should be another
way. Maybe the quoted lead times should be done case by case, according to
the load on the bottlenecks. And maybe we shouldn’t regard the quantities
required as if we have to supply them in one shot.
"Alex, I’d like to look into it more. Actually, that’s what Stacey, Ralph, and I
are doing right now. We were looking for you, you should join us. It’s pretty
exciting.’’
It certainly sounds it, but I can’t allow myself to get sucked in right now. I
have to continue with preparations for my next job. "Tell me again what you
are up to,’’ I finally say.
"We want to make production a dominant force in getting good sales. Sales
which will fit both the client’s needs and the plant’s capabilities like a glove.
Exactly as we did in Burnside’s case. But you see, for that I have to be 
here
,
in the plant. As long as we don’t understand it in full, as long we don’t
develop the new procedures, we have to be intimately involved with all the
details.’’
"So what you want to do is to find those procedures. I see. This is interesting
—but Bob, that’s not like you. Since when have you been interested in such
things?’’
"Since you came and forced us to rethink the way we were doing stuff. Do
you think somebody needs better proof than what’s happened here in the past
months? Here we were, running things like we’d always done it—by the seat

---

of our pants, slowly but surely sinking. And then we took the time and
reexamined it from basic principles. And look at how many sacred cows
we’ve had to slaughter! Worker efficiency—whoops, out the window.
Optimum batch sizes—there it goes. Releasing work just because we have
the material and the people—that’s gone as well. And I can go on and on. But
look at the result. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it.
"Yeah, Alex, I want to stay here and continue what you’ve started. I want to
be the new plant manager. You caused us to change almost every rule in
production. You forced us to view production as a means to satisfy sales. I
want to change the role production is playing in getting sales.’’
"Fine with me. But Bob, when you nail those procedures,’’ and to myself I
add, ‘if,’ "will you consider taking on responsibility for all the plants in the
division?’’
"You bet, boss. I’ll teach ’em a trick or two.’’
"Let’s drink to it,’’ I say. And we toast with our coffee.
"Who do you suggest should take your place?’’ I ask him. "Frankly, I’m not
impressed with any of your superintendents.’’
"Unfortunately, I agree with you. The best would be Stacey, but I don’t give
it much chance she’d take it.’’
"Why don’t we ask her. You know what? Let’s call both Stacey and Ralph in
and discuss your idea.’’
"So, at last you found him,’’ Stacey says to Bob, as she and Ralph enter the
room, each loaded with papers.
"Yes, Stacey,’’ I answer. "And it definitely looks like a promising idea. But
before that, there’s another thing that we’d like to discuss with you. We’ve
just agreed that Bob will take my place as plant manager. How about you
taking his place as production manager?’’

---

"Congratulations, Bob.’’ They both shake his hand. "That’s no surprise.’’
Since Stacey hasn’t answered my question, I continue, "Think about it, you
don’t have to answer now. We know that you love your job and that you
don’t want the burden of all the personnel problems that go with being a
production manager, but we both think that you’d do a fantastic job.’’
"You bet,’’ Bob adds his two cents.
She looks calmly at me, and says, "Last night I was lying in bed, praying. I
was praying that this job would be offered to me.’’ "Done,’’ Bob shouts
quickly.
"Now that you’ve accepted,’’ I say to Stacey, "can you tell us why you want
this job so badly?’’
"Looks like being a material manager,’’ Bob booms, "is starting to be boring
around this plant—not enough expediting, not enough rush calls....I didn’t
know that you liked that type of excitement.’’
"No, I didn’t, and I don’t. That’s why I was so happy with our new method,
timing the release of material according to the bottlenecks’ consumption. But
you know my fear, what happens if new bottlenecks pop up?
"What my people and I have done is to examine daily the queues in front of
the assembly and in front of the bottlenecks— we call them ‘buffers.’ We
check just to be sure that everything that’s scheduled to be worked on is there
—that there are no ‘holes.’ We thought that if a new bottleneck pops up it
would immediately show up as a hole in at least one of these buffers. It took
us some time to perfect this technique, but now it’s working smoothly.
"You see, whenever there’s a hole in a buffer—and I’m not talking about just
the work that’s supposed to be done on a given day, but the work for two or
three days down the road—we go and check in which work center the
materials are stuck. And then...’’
"And then you expedite!’’ Bob jumps in.

---

"No, nothing of the sort. We don’t break setups, or light a fire. We just point
out to the foreman of that work center which job we would prefer he gets to
next.’’
"That’s very interesting,’’ I say.
"Yeah. And it became even more interesting when we realized that we were
visiting the same six or seven work centers every time. They’re not
bottlenecks, but the sequence in which they perform their jobs became very
important. We call them ‘capacity constraint resources,’ CCR for short.’’
"Yeah, I know all about it. Those foremen have become almost dependent on
your people to prioritize their work,’’ Bob says. "But Stacey, you’re not
answering our question.’’ "I’m coming to it. See, these holes have become
more and more dangerous lately—sometimes to the extent that assembly has
to deviate significantly from their scheduled sequence. And it’s become
apparent that the foremen of the CCRs have more and more difficulty
supplying on time. Ralph was telling me that these work centers still have
enough capacity, and maybe on the average he’s right, but I’m afraid that any
additional increase in sales will throw us into chaos.’’
So here’s a bomb, ticking below our feet, and I didn’t even realize it. I’m
pressing so hard on marketing to bring more sales, and according to what
Stacey’s just revealed that might blow up the whole plant. I’m still trying to
digest it when she continues. "Don’t you realize that we’ve concentrated our
improvement efforts too narrowly? We tried so hard to improve our
bottlenecks, when what we should do is improve the CCRs as well.
Otherwise we’ll run into an ‘inter-active’ bottleneck situation. "See, the key
is not in the hands of the materials people. If interactive bottlenecks emerge,
chaos is inevitable; we’ll have to expedite all over the place.’’
"So what are you suggesting?’’ I ask.
"The key is in the hands of production. These techniques to manage the
buffers should not be used just to track missing parts while there is still time,

---

they should be used mainly to focus our local improvement efforts. We must
guarantee that the improvements on the CCRs will always be sufficient to
prevent them from becoming bottlenecks.
"Alex, Bob, that’s why I want this job so badly. I want to make sure that the
material manager’s job will continue to be boring. I want to demonstrate how
local improvements should be managed. And I want to show all of you how
much more throughput we can squeeze from the same resources.’’
"What about you Ralph, it’s your turn to surprise me.’’ "What do you
mean?’’ he says in his quiet voice. "It looks like everyone around here has a
pet project. What ace are you hiding up your sleeve?’’
He smiles gently, "No aces, just a wish.’’
We all look at him encouragingly.
"I’ve started to like my job. I feel like I’m part of a team.’’ We all nod in
approval.
"It’s not just me and the computer anymore, trying to fiddle with inaccurate
or untimely data. People really need me now, and I feel like I’m contributing.
But you know what? I think that the change, at least as it relates to my
function, is very fundamental. What I’m holding in my files is data. What
you are usually asking for is information. I always regarded information as
those sections of the data which are needed in order to make a decision— and
for that, let me admit it, for most decisions my data was simply unsuitable.
Remember the time we were trying to find the bottlenecks?’’ He looks at
each of us in turn. "It took me four days to admit that I simply couldn’t find
the answer. What I started to realize is that information is something else.
Information is the answer to the question asked. The more I am able to do it,
the more a part of the team I become.
"This bottleneck concept has really helped me to move along these lines.
Let’s face it, today the plant obeys a schedule that’s released from the
computer.

---

"What’s my wish, you ask? I want to develop a system that’ll help in
what Bob wants to do, that will help to shrink drastically the time and effort
needed to engineer a sale, as he calls it. I want to develop a system to help
Stacey manage the buffers, and even to help in managing the local
improvements. I want to develop a system to help Lou measure, in a much
more beneficial way, the local performance. You see, like everyone else, I
have my dreams.’’

---

34
It’s quite late, the kids are already fast asleep. Julie and I are sitting in the
kitchen; we’re each holding a warm cup of tea in our hands. I tell her about
what happened today at the plant. She seems to be more than mildly
interested; she actually claims that she finds it fascinating.
I love it. Rehashing the day’s events with Julie really helps me to digest it
all.
"So what do you think?’’ I ask her at last.
"I’m starting to see what Jonah meant when he warned you about increasing
the dependency,’’ she replies.
That makes me think for a while, but I still can’t see the connection. "What
do you mean?’’
"Maybe I’m wrong, but you gave me the impression that you’re not too sure
that Lou’ll be able to come up with a good, new measurement system.’’
"That’s right,’’ I smile.
"Is a new measurement system important for you?’’
"Are you kidding? I don’t know of another single thing which is as important
as that.’’
"So if it weren’t for Jonah’s refusal to continue giving you pointed questions,
am I right in assuming that you’d be on the phone right now, trying to
squeeze more hints from him?’’
"Most probably,’’ I admit. "It’s certainly important enough.’’

---

"And what about Bob’s idea,’’ she continues. "Do you regard that as
something important?’’
"If he pulls it off it’ll be a revolution. It’ll guarantee that we take a big share
of the market. Definitely our problem with getting more sales will be over.’’
"And how much hope do you have that he’ll be able to do it?’’
"Not much, I’m afraid. Ah. I see your point. Yeah, I would have run to Jonah
with these questions as well. And the same with the issues that Stacey and
Ralph have raised, each one of them is essential.’’
"And how many more things will pop up when you start to manage the
division?’’
"You’re right, Julie. And Jonah is also right. I felt it today as well. When each
one of them spelled out their immediate dream in such a tangible form, I
wondered what mine is. The only thing that kept popping into my mind is
that I must learn how to manage. But where on earth am I going to find the
answer to Jonah’s question: What are the techniques needed for
management? I don’t know, Julie. What do you think I should do now?’’
"All the people back at the plant owe you a lot,’’ she says, stroking my hair.
"They’re proud of you, and rightfully so. You’ve created quite a team. But
this team is going to be broken up in two months when we go to the division.
Why don’t you spend the time that’s left sitting with them and going over
your question. They’ll have ample time after you’re gone to work on their
problems. Anyhow, it’ll be much easier for them to achieve what they want
to achieve if you have the management techniques.’’
I look at her in silence. Here is my real, true advisor.
So I’ve done what my advisor suggested. I gathered them all together and
explained that if each of them wants to be free to concentrate on his pet
project the division must be well run, and in order for the division to be well
run the division manager must know what he is doing. And since I, frankly,

---

don’t have the foggiest idea of how to run a division they had better put their
brains to helping me. Thus, we are going to devote the afternoons— provided
of course that no special emergency comes up—to help me analyze how the
division should be run.
I decide to start the meeting with the most naive questions. Initially they
might think that I’ve lost all my self confidence, but I must expose to them
the magnitude of the problem I’m about to face. Otherwise I’m going to end
up, at best, with some fragmented, vague suggestions.
"What are the first things I should do when I assume my new position?’’ I
ask them.
They look at each other, and then Bob says, "I’d start by visiting Hilton
Smyth’s plant.’’
After the laughter dies, Lou says that I should first meet with my staff; "you
know most of them but you’ve never worked closely with them.’’
"What is the purpose of these meetings?’’ I innocently ask. If this question
had been asked under any other circumstances they would have taken it as a
clear indication of a total lack of managerial knowledge. As it is they play the
game.
"Basically you should do general fact finding first,’’ Lou answers.
"You know,’’ Bob adds, "like where the entrance is, where the toilets are...’’
"I do think that meeting the people is important,’’ Stacey interrupts the
laughter. "Financial numbers only reveal a small fraction of the picture. You
have to find out what the people think is going on. What do they see as
problems? Where do we stand vis-a-vis the clients?’’
"Who has a grudge against whom?’’ Bob contributes, and then in a more
serious tone. "You also have to get a sense of the local politics.’’
"And then?’’

---

"And then,’’ Bob continues. "I’d probably take a tour of the various
production facilities, visit some of the big clients, and probably even some
suppliers. You’ve got to get the full picture.’’
Maintaining my poker face I ask, "And then?’’
At last I’ve succeeded to provoke them, since both Stacey and Bob answer
vehemently, "And then you’ll take it from there!’’
How easy it is to give advice when the responsibility is on someone else’s
shoulders. Okay wise guys, it’s time to turn the table, and in a calm voice I
say, "Yes, what you suggested just now is the usual line of action one takes
when he is told to ‘go there and fix it.’ Let me play it back for you, but in a
more schematic way. Where are the colored markers?’’
I grab a red marker and turn to the white board.
"The first step, as you all have pointed out, is fact finding. I hold a staff
meeting and what do I find? Oh, here we find fact A,’’ and I draw a nice red
circle. "And here are three somewhat smaller circles. And here is a tiny one
and there are two which are overlapping. Now let’s talk with another
manager, this is very helpful. You see, this circle, he claims, is not as big as
we were led to believe. And here, in the left upper corner are two more
biggies. Now, someone else reveals to us that some rectangles exist. We
check, and yes, he’s right. Here there is one and here and here and here.
We’re making progress, the picture starts to unfold.’’
What they actually see is how the white board is getting the measles. It looks
like one of the drawings my kids used to bring home from kindergarten.
I don’t think they got the message, they just seem confused; so I decide to
continue a little more bluntly. "It’s about time to talk with another manager,
we must get a sense of the local politics. Oh, this is very interesting, there are
also green circles, and even some green stars. Here’s an unidentified shape—
never mind, we’ll address it later. Now, let’s tour the production facilities,
visit clients, and even some suppliers. We’re bound to reveal many more

---

interesting facts.’’ As I talk the board is filled with overlapping shapes.
"Now that we have the full picture, we can take it from here,’’ I finally
conclude and put the markers down. "Well?’’
The board looks like a nightmare in Technicolor. I take a deep breath and
pick up the phone to order more coffee.
Nobody says a word, not even Bob.
"Let’s make it less personal,’’ I say after a while. "Suppose that we are a
committee that’s been given the ungrateful task of ‘find out what’s going on.’
How do you suggest we should start?’’
They all smile. Somehow pretending that we’re a committee makes us feel
much better. "The safety of being part of a herd,’’ I think to myself; the
blame will not be aimed at anyone in particular.
"Ralph, will you volunteer to describe the committee’s actions?’’
"They would probably start in the same way—fact finding. And as you so
vividly demonstrated, they would end up in the same colorful ditch. But
Alex, is there any other way to start? How can you do anything sensible
without knowing what’s going on, without having the data?’’ Ralph is true to
his profession; for him, knowing what’s going on is equivalent to having the
data neatly stored in his computer files.
Bob points to the white board and chuckles, "You call this mess knowing
what’s going on? Alex, come on. We all know that this nonsense of fact
finding will continue until our committee runs out of ideas for gathering
further facts.’’
"Or they run out of time,’’ Stacey adds with a bitter smile.
"Yes, of course,’’ Bob accepts, and turning to everybody he finishes his
questions, "What do you think that we, acting as a committee, would do next?
We know a committee can’t submit this mess.’’

---

They all laugh nervously. I’m really pleased. They’ve finally started to
realize the problem that I’m facing.
"What are they going to do now?’’ Stacey muses. "They’ll probably try to
arrange this monstrous pile of facts in some order.’’
"Most likely,’’ Lou agrees. "Sooner or later one of the committee members
will suggest organizing the shapes according to their relative size.’’
"I don’t think so,’’ Bob disagrees. "Determining the relative size of different
shapes is quite difficult. They will probably decide to organize them
according to the type of shapes.’’ Lou doesn’t seem to accept this, and so
Bob explains, "They can arrange the data by circles, rectangles, and stars.’’
"What are they going to do with those four arbitrary shapes?’’ Ralph asks.
"Probably they’ll be put in a class of their own, the exceptions.’’
"Yes, of course,’’ Ralph agrees. "The major reason for the constant
reprogramming are those exceptions that keep popping up.’’
"No, I have a better idea,’’ Lou says stubbornly. "They’ll probably arrange
them by color; in this way there will be no ambiguity. Tell you what.’’ He
continues when he realizes that Bob is about to object, "Let’s arrange them
first by color, within color by shape, and within each subclass we’ll arrange
them by size. This way everybody will be happy.’’ Count on Lou to find an
acceptable compromise.
“It’s a marvelous idea,” Ralph picks up the ball. “Now we can submit our
findings in the form of tables and histograms. It will be a very impressive
report, especially once I pump up the graphics package. Minimum two
hundred pages, guaranteed.”
"Yes, an impressive, in-depth survey,’’ I say sarcastically. We all sit silently,
absorbing the bitter lesson we’ve just taught ourselves.

---

"You know,’’ I say after a while, "It’s much worse than just wasting time
producing useless, pompous reports. This overconcern about the ‘proper way
to arrange things’ manifests itself in other harmful ways.’’
"What do you mean?’’ Lou asks me.
"I mean the merry-go-round that we’re all too familiar with; arranging the
company according to product lines and then changing it according to
functional capabilities—and vice versa. Deciding that the company is wasting
too much money on duplicated efforts and thus moving to a more centralized
mode. Ten years later, we want to encourage entrepreneurship and we move
back to decentralization. Almost every big company is oscillating, every five
to ten years from centralization to decentralization, and then back again.’’
"Yeah,’’ says Bob. "As a president of a company, when you don’t know what
to do, when things are not going well, you can always shuffle the cards—
reorganize.’’ Mockingly he continues, "That will do it! This reorganization
will solve all our problems!’’
We stare at each other. If it weren’t so painfully true, we might laugh.
"Bob,’’ I say at last. "This isn’t funny. The only somewhat practical ideas I
had in mind for what I should do as the new division manager were all based
on reorganizing the division.’’
"Oh, no,’’ they all groan.
"O.K. then,’’ and I turn back to the white board, which is not so white any
more. "What is one supposed to do with this pile of colored shapes, except to
arrange them in some order? Dealing directly with the pile is obviously
totally impractical. Arranging the facts according to some order,
classification, must be the first step. Maybe we can proceed from there in a
different way than writing reports or rearranging the company, but the first
step definitely must be to put some order into the mess.’’
As I continue to look at the board, a new question starts to bother me; "In
how many ways can one arrange the assembled facts?’’

---

"Obviously, we can arrange them by color,’’ Lou answers.
"Or by size,’’ Stacey adds.
"Or by shape.’’ Bob doesn’t give up on his suggestion.
"Any other possibilities?’’ I ask.
"Yes, of course,’’ Ralph says. "We can divide the board by an imaginary grid
and arrange the shapes according to their coordinates.’’ When he sees our
puzzled looks he clarifies, "It’ll give us the ability to construct many different
arrangements based on the shapes’ relative position on the board.’’
"What a great idea,’’ Bob says sarcastically. "You know what, I’d rather use
the dart technique—throw a dart and start arranging the shapes according to
the order in which we nail ’em. All these methods have just as much
meaning. At least my last suggestion offers some satisfaction.’’
"O.K. fellows,’’ I say firmly. "Bob’s last suggestion has really clarified what
we’re dealing with here. We’re dealing with the fact that we haven’t got any
idea of what we’re doing. If we’re just looking for some arbitrary order, and
we can choose among so many possibilities, then what’s the point in putting
so much effort in collecting so much data? What do we gain from it, except
the ability to impress people with some thick reports or to throw the company
into another reorganization in order to hide from the fact that we don’t really
understand what we’re doing? This avenue of first collecting data, getting
familiar with the facts, seems to lead us nowhere. It’s nothing more than an
exercise in futility. Come on, we need another way to attack the issue. Any
suggestions?’’
When nobody answers, I say, "Enough for today. We’ll continue tomorrow—
same time, same place.’’

---

35
"Well, anybody got anything good, any breakthroughs?’’ I try to start the
meeting off as cheerfully as possible. It’s not exactly how I feel; I spent the
whole night tossing in my bed, searching for any opening, which I never did
find.
"I think that I have one,’’ Stacey speaks up. "Not exactly a breakthrough,
but...’’
"Wait,’’ says Ralph.
Ralph interrupting. That’s new.
In an apologetic tone he explains, "Before we go off on a different angle, I’d
like to return to where we were yesterday. I think we were too hasty in our
decision that classification of data can’t lead to something good. May I?’’
"Sure,’’ Stacey says, almost in relief.
"Well,’’ Ralph fidgets, apparently uncomfortable, "as you know, or maybe
you don’t, I minored in chemistry in college. I don’t know much about it, but
one story stuck in my mind. Last night I looked back at my notes from class
and I think you’ll find it interesting as well. It’s a story about a remarkable
Russian named Mendeleev, and it happened less than one hundred fifty years
ago.’’
Noticing that he grabbed our attention, he becomes more confident. Ralph is
a family man and has three little children, so he’s probably used to telling
stories.
"Right from the start, in the days of ancient Greece, people postulated that
underlying the phenomenal variety of materials there must be a simple set of

---

elements from which all other substances are composed.’’
As he gets into his story his voice becomes rich with undertones.
"The Greeks naively assumed that the elements were air, earth, water and...’’
"Fire,’’ Bob completes the list.
"Correct,’’ says Ralph.
What a wasted talent. He’s a real story teller, I think to myself. Who would
have suspected it?
"Since then, as you know, people have proven that earth is not a basic
element but actually composed of many different more basic minerals. Air is
composed of different types of gases, and even water is a composition of
more basic elements, hydrogen and oxygen. The kiss of death to the naive
Greece approach came at the end of the eighteenth century, when Lavoisier
showed that fire is not a substance but rather a process, the process of
attachment to oxygen.’’
"Over many years, out of the chemists’ mammoth work, the more basic
elements emerged and by the middle of the nineteenth century, sixty-three
elements had been identified. The situation actually resembled our colored
board. Many circles, rectangles, stars, and other shapes, in many colors and
sizes filled the area with no apparent order. A real mess.’’
"Many tried to organize the elements but no one succeeded in offering
anything that was not immediately dismissed as a futile arbitrary exercise. It
got to the point that most chemists gave up on the possibility of finding any
generic order and concentrated their efforts on finding more hard facts
regarding the combination of the elements to create other, more complicated
materials.’’
"Makes sense,’’ Bob remarks. "I like practical people.’’
"Yes Bob,’’ Ralph smiles at him, "But there was one professor who claimed

---

that in his eyes it resembled dealing with the leaves while nobody had found
yet the trunk.’’
"Good point,’’ says Lou.
"So this peculiar Russian professor who, by the way, taught in Paris, decided
to concentrate on revealing the underlying order governing the elements.
How would you go about it?’’
"Shape is out of the question,’’ Stacey says, looking at Bob.
"Why? What do you have against shapes?’’ Bob demands.
"Out of the question,’’ she repeats. "Some of the elements are gases, some are
liquids.’’
"Yeah, you’re right.’’ Being Bob he continues, "But what about color? You
like colors, don’t you? Some gases have colors, like green chlorine, and we
can say that the others have transparent colors.’’
"Nice try,’’ Ralph says, ignoring their apparent attempt to ridicule his story.
"Unfortunately some elements do not have a decisive color. Take pure
carbon, for example. It appears as black graphite, or more rarely as a
sparkling diamond.’’
"I prefer diamonds,’’ Stacey jokes.
We all laugh, then responding to Ralph’s gesture I give it a try. "We probably
have to look for a more numerical measure. This way we’ll be able to arrange
the elements without being criticized for subjective preferences.’’
"Very good,’’ says Ralph. He’s probably mistaken us for his kids. "What do
you suggest as a suitable measure?’’ he asks me.
"I didn’t take chemistry,’’ I reply, "not even as a minor. How would I
know?’’ But since I don’t want to offend Ralph I continue, "Maybe
something like specific gravity, electrical conductivity, or something more

---

fancy like the number of calories absorbed or released when the element is
combining with a reference element like oxygen.’’
"Not bad, not bad at all. Mendeleev took basically the same approach. He
chose to use a quantitative measurement that was known for each element
and which didn’t change as a function of the temperature or the state of the
substance. It was the quantity known as atomic weight, which represents the
ratio between the weight of one atom of the given element and the weight of
one atom of the lightest element, hydrogen. This number provided
Mendeleev with a unique numerical identifier for each element.’’
"Big deal,’’ Bob can’t hold himself. "Exactly as I suspected, now he could
organize all the elements according to their ascending atomic weights, like
soldiers in a line. But what good does it do? What practical things can
possibly come out of it? Like I said, children playing with lead soldiers,
pretending that they do very important work.’’
"Not so fast,’’ Ralph responds. "If Mendeleev had stopped here, I would
accept your criticism, but he took it a step further. He didn’t arrange the
elements in a line. He had noticed that each seventh soldier represents
basically the same chemical behavior, though with increased intensity. Thus
he organized the elements in a table with seven columns.
"In this way all the elements were displayed according to ascending atomic
weight, and in each column you find elements with the same chemical
behavior in ascending intensity. For example, in the first column of his table
stood lithium, which is the lightest of all metals, and which, when put into
water, becomes warm. Right below it is sodium, which when put into water,
flames. Then the next one in the same column is potassium, which reacts
even more violently to water. The last one is cesium which flames even in
regular air.’’
"Very nice, but as I suspected it’s nothing more than child’s play. What are
the practical implications?’’ Down-to-earth Bob.
"There were practical ramifications,’’ Ralph answers. "You see, when
Mendeleev constructed his table, not all the elements were already found.

---

This caused some holes in his table that he reacted to by ‘inventing’ the
appropriate missing elements. His classification gave him the ability to
predict their weight and other properties. You must agree that’s a real
achievement.’’
"How was it accepted by the other scientists of his time?’’ I ask, curious.
"Inventing new elements must have been received with some skepticism.’’
"Skepticism is an understatement. Mendeleev became the laughing stock of
the entire community. Especially when his table was not as neatly arranged as
I described it to you. Hydrogen was floating there above the table, not
actually in any column, and some rows didn’t have one element in their
seventh column, but a hodgepodge of several elements crowded into one
spot.’’
"So what happened at the end?’’ Stacey impatiently asks. "Did his predictions
come true?’’
"Yes,’’ says Ralph, "and with surprising accuracy. It took some years, but
while he was still alive all the elements that Mendeleev predicted were found.
The last of the elements that he ‘invented’ was found sixteen years later. He
had predicted it would be a dark gray metal. It was. He predicted that its
atomic weight would be about 72; in reality it was 72.32. Its specific gravity
he thought would be about 5.5, and it was 5.47.’’
"I bet nobody laughed at him then.’’
"Certainly not. The attitude switched to admiration and his periodic table is
regarded by students of chemistry today as basic as the ten commandments.’’
"I’m still not impressed,’’ my stubborn replacement says.
I feel obliged to remark, "The biggest benefit was probably the fact that due
to Mendeleev’s table people didn’t have to waste time looking for more
elements.’’ And turning to Bob I say "You see, the classification helped in
determining, once and for all, how many elements do exist. Putting any new
element in the table would have upset the clear order.’’

---

Ralph coughs in embarrassment, "Sorry Alex but that’s not the case. Only ten
years after the table was fully accepted, several new elements were
discovered, the noble gases. It turned out that the table should have been
constructed to have eight columns, not seven.’’
"Just as I’ve said,’’ Bob jumps in a triumphant voice. "Even when it works
you still can’t trust it.’’
"Calm down, Bob. You must admit that Ralph’s story has a lot of merit for
us. I suggest that we ask ourselves what’s the difference between
Mendeleev’s classification of the chemical elements and our many attempts
to arrange the colored shapes in order? Why was his so powerful and ours so
arbitrary?’’
"That’s just it,’’ says Ralph, "Ours were arbitrary, and his was...’’
"Was what? Not arbitrary?’’ Lou completes his sentence.
"Forget it.’’ Ralph agrees. "That’s not a serious answer. I’m just playing with
words.’’
"What exactly do we mean by arbitrary, and not arbitrary?’’ I raise the
question.
Since nobody answers I continue, "Actually, what are we looking for? We’re
looking to arrange the facts in some order. What type of order are we
seeking? An arbitrary order that we superimpose externally on the facts, or
are we trying to reveal an intrinsic order, an order that already exists there?’’
"You’re absolutely right,’’ Ralph is getting excited, "Mendeleev definitely
revealed an intrinsic order. He didn’t reveal the reason for that order, that had
to wait for another fifty years, when the internal structure of the atoms was
found, but he definitely revealed the intrinsic order. That’s why his
classification was so powerful. Any other classification that just tries to
superimpose some order, any order, on the given facts is useful in only one
sense—it gives the ability to present the facts in a sequence, tables, or graphs.

---

In other words, helpful in preparing useless, thick reports.
"You see,’’ he continues enthusiastically, "we, in our attempts to arrange the
colored shapes, didn’t reveal any intrinsic order. Simply because in that
arbitrary collection there was no intrinsic order to be revealed. That’s why all
our attempts were arbitrary, all futile to the same extent.’’
"Yes, Ralph,’’ Lou says in a cold tone, "But that doesn’t mean that in other
cases, where intrinsic order does exist, like in managing a division, we can’t
fool ourselves in the same way. We can always procrastinate by wasting our
time playing with some artificial, external order. Let’s face it, what do you
think Alex and I would have done with the pile of facts that we suggested he
gather. Judging by what we’ve done for so long here in the plant, probably
just that—playing a lot of games with numbers and words. The question is
what are we going to do differently now? Anybody got an answer?’’
Looking at Ralph sunk in his chair I say, "If we could reveal the intrinsic
order of the events in the division, that would certainly be of tremendous
help.’’
"Yes,’’ Lou says, "But how does one go about revealing the intrinsic order?’’
"How can one identify an intrinsic order even when he stumbles on it?’’ Bob
adds.
After a while Lou says, "Probably in order to answer this question we should
ask a more basic one: What provides the intrinsic order among various facts?
Looking at the elements that Mendeleev had to deal with, they all seemed
different. Some were metals and some gases, some yellow and some black,
no two were identical. Yes, there were some that exhibited similarities, but
that’s also the case for the arbitrary shapes that Alex drew on the board.’’
They continue to argue but I’m not listening any more. I’m stuck on Lou’s
question, "How does one go about revealing the intrinsic order?’’ He asked it
as if it were a rhetorical question, as if the obvious answer is that it is
impossible. But scientists do reveal the intrinsic order of things . . . and Jonah
is a scientist.

---

"Suppose that it is possible,’’ I break into the conversation, "suppose that a
technique to reveal the intrinsic order does exist? Wouldn’t such a technique
be a powerful management tool?’’
"Without a doubt,’’ says Lou. "But what’s the point in daydreaming?’’
"And what happened to you today?’’ I ask Julie, after I’ve told her the
day’s events in detail.
"I spent some time in the library. Do you know that Socrates didn’t write
anything? Socrates’ dialogues actually were written by his pupil, Plato. The
librarian here is a very pleasant woman, I like her a lot. Anyhow, she
recommended some of the dialogues and I’ve started to read them.’’
I can’t hold my surprise, "You read philosophy! What for, isn’t it boring?’’
She grins at me, "You were talking about the Socratic method as a method to
persuade other people. I wouldn’t touch philosophy with a ten foot pole, but
to learn a method to persuade my stubborn husband and kids—for that I’m
willing to sweat.’’
"So you started to read philosophy,’’ I’m still trying to digest it.
"You make it sound like a punishment,’’ she laughs. "Alex, did you ever read
the dialogues of Socrates?’’
"No.’’
"They’re not too bad. They’re actually written like stories. They’re quite
interesting.’’
"How many have you read so far?’’ I ask.
"I’m still slaving on the first one,