The Goal: a process of Ongoing Improvement

DW: What were you manufacturing?

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SW: Nuclear measuring devices for the oil industry. Essentially, it’s a non-
contact measuring system, kind of like a Geiger counter.
DW: So, you were back in the same boat.
SW: Yeah, I spent all this money, all this time. All the things I knew how to
do I had done. I couldn’t rearrange everything again. I couldn’t look at the
software and come up with any new ideas. I had already employed the best
consultants that I knew.
DW: Right. So what did you do?
SW: I signed up for Porsche mechanic school in California. It must have been
a weak moment in my life. I do amateur racing and there’s a saying that goes:
you didn’t make any mistake when you spun the car and flew off the track;
what you did was you went into the corner and ran out of talent. That’s how I
looked at it—I must not be cut out for this job, there must be something I’m
missing. I couldn’t figure it out
DW: How old were you?
SW: That was ten years ago; so, early 30s. Mechanic school wasn’t a waste
of time. I still use what I learned. I save 600 bucks doing my own tune-ups.
But right before I left to go out there, someone said: “You know, in San Jose
there’s a software company that has been created to support the rules that are
stated in 
The Goal
, and by the way, the Goldratt Institute has just issued a
self-learning kit that you might be interested in.” So I went to my mechanic
class, that was very fun. Then afterwards I stopped in San Jose, took a look at
the software, and completed the workbook on the way home. I was so excited
that on Monday morning I got my staff together and I said: “This is what
we’re going to do. We’ve got nothing to lose. It looks like it’s possible. It
almost looks too simple. Let’s give it a try.” They weren’t very convinced. In
fact they were pretty skeptical. I’d put them through a lot already. One more
thing, huh?