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This website covers knowledge management, personal effectiveness, theory of constraints, amongst other topics. Opinions expressed here are strictly those of the owner, Jack Vinson, and those of the commenters.

Knowledge Jolt with Jack

Sep 20
Sep 20 TOC education rethought #TOCICO16

Jack Vinson
event report, theory of constraints

Lisa Scheinkopf of Goldratt Schools discussed her thinking behind a different approach to bringing more and more people to learn TOC.

Sep 20
Sep 20 Dealing with uncertainty according to TOC #TOCICO16

Jack Vinson
event report, theory of constraints

Eli Schragenheim presented on "Managing Under Uncertainty in the TOC Way," expanding on the idea that we should never say, "I know." Nor should we think, "I don't know." How do we use what we DO know to help deal with uncertainty?

 

Sep 19
Sep 19 Simplifying even with a lot of complexity #TOCICO16

Jack Vinson
event report, theory of constraints

How to break the global vs local conflict in organizations or systems that are very big (complex - or at least big enough that there is not time to fully understand the system).  

Sep 19
Sep 19 Innovation using TOC #TOCICO16

Jack Vinson
event report, innovation, theory of constraints

One of the challenges all along for TOC Thinking Processes has been the perception that it is very focused on Logic without connection to the more "human" elements.  It's not accurate, of course. Rami Goldratt discussed this in the context of Kristen Cox's morning keynote at the TOCICO conference. 

Sep 18
Sep 18 Implementing TOC in Government #TOCICO16

Jack Vinson
event report, theory of constraints

Excellent keynote by Kristen Cox on her journey (so far) of implementing Theory of Constraints in the Utah state government, from her position as the head of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.

Sep 12
Sep 12 It's all fine, really

Jack Vinson
project management

What does it mean when you report a status of "fine" in your work or your project?  

Sep 7
Sep 7 The Goal - drawn and condensed

Jack Vinson
theory of constraints, book review

Two useful, easy to consume versions of The Goal are available... One a book and the other a one-page comic.

Aug 17
Aug 17 It's only millennials who multitask?

Jack Vinson
personal effectiveness

People are notorious multitaskers - not just one age group.  I see my mother respond to every ding and jingle of her phone or iPad.  And my kids.  And me.  And many others.  Change the behavior by teaching and showing and expecting different behavior.

Aug 16
Aug 16 The Human Constraint

Jack Vinson
book review, theory of constraints

The larger Theory of Constraints community has been a great source of business novels over the past year.  My latest find is The Human Constraint by Angela Montgomery.  The story was compelling, and I thought the approach to talking about the formal process was very light-handed with just enough to make me curious to find more.

Aug 11
Aug 11 No thanks, Too busy

Jack Vinson
culture, personal effectiveness

Another version of "too long, didn't read" is this cartoon.  A friend sent me a slightly modified version, so I tracked down one that looked more original.  

Aug 9
Aug 9 Life is like riding a bike

Jack Vinson
culture, personal effectiveness, project management

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving." - Albert Einstein

Jul 20
Jul 20 How to approach "solving" problems

jackvinson
business, continuous improvement, theory of constraints

Break away from Groundhog Day of solving the same problem over and over. Dissolve the problem instead of merely resolving it.

Jul 18
Jul 18 Welcome to Knowledge Jolt

Jack Vinson
kjolt, self

Another reboot of my website. Now on SquareSpace.

Jun 24
Jun 24 Grit is not just the stuff that tears apart your bike chain

jackvinson
culture, personal effectiveness

Many people have talked about Angela Duckworth' Grit: the power of passion and perseverance. I was happy to find a high-level summary from Inc. Magazine that describes the "11 signs of grit."

Jun 10
Jun 10 All about the policies, really?

jackvinson
business

What are the real ways to revitalize manufacturing? Will changing governmental policies and regulations do the trick? I suspect not.

May 28
May 28 End of the year syndrome

jackvinson
business, theory of constraints

I've seen many examples of end-of-the-month syndrome, but this example from Airbus is a great example of the same effect happening at the end of the year.

May 19
May 19 Never say "I know"

jackvinson
personal effectiveness, theory of constraints

Don't block yourself because you think you know. There is always something to learn.

May 5
May 5 Clarity over Coffee, what?

jackvinson
personal effectiveness, knowledge management

If you find yourself dragging, and the coffee is merely a delicious distraction, maybe the problem is a little more interesting: lack of clarity!

Apr 8
Apr 8 Swimming in a lake, or rowing down the river

jackvinson
personal effectiveness

We seem to be addicted to busy. Does the busyness help? Does it hurt? Do we swim around in a lake, getting nowhere? Or do we row down the river, ensuring we don't get stuck?

Mar 25
Mar 25 Focus on the processes, not the tools

jackvinson
business, project management, theory of constraints

I see a lot of projects within business support organizations that look like "implement this tool." And then the organization is surprised when the project takes much longer than expected and the tool doesn't get used to the extent expected.

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This blog is about knowledge management, personal effectiveness, theory of constraints and other topics. Opinions expressed here are strictly those of the owner, Jack Vinson, and those of the commenters.

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