Q1: Your new book arrived in the post yesterday but before I ask you any questions about the new book could you tell me a little about yourself, in particular, your interest in Theory of Constraints?
I discovered constraint theory in 1992, while I was teaching in the Master of Science in Systems Management program at the University of Southern California. A colleague (fellow professor) had gone to the Goldratt Institute in New Haven, Connecticut, for the Jonah Program, back when it was mostly a DBR course. I was intrigued enough to read The Goal, and I subsequently decided that I would go to AGI for the Jonah Program, too. I was surprised to find when I arrived that the Jonah Program had been completely restructured. The DBR part was out, and the entire course was devoted to the thinking process.
Having come to the theory and tools from an already-established deep involvement in systems approach to management, I immediately recognized the potential of the theory and tools to enhance and support the systems management. So for me, constraint theory has not been the "terminal outcome"---it's been an integral part of a larger concept called "systems thinking." And it's one reason why most of my books have the subtitle "The Systems Approach to..."
