Theory of Constraints and TOC Thinking Processes applied to YOUR Life

I have a huge opportunity for you to learn more about the Theory of Constraints and the TOC Thinking Processes.

The Odyssey Program is coming up this July 18 to 25 in San Jose, CA. It's short notice, but it's a great deal. You can attend both the regular session (first 5 days) and the alumni session (last 3 days) which are normally $3500 together for only $1600 for both. And that's all inclusive (ALL meals, accomodations, materials are included).

Why? We are short on attendees due to dealing with Dr Goldratt's passing and we have not had time to market.  We need to cover our costs. This price will NOT be available again!

This offer is limited to the first 10 people who respond and mention the Science of Business. I don't make a commission on this, I just really believe in this program and I promised Eli I would help to market TOC the last time I talked to him. The program is 100% run by volunteers and 100% non-profit. It's a must do for EVERYONE!

If you are interested in learning more about the TOC Thinking Processes and in critical thinking -- this is a great opportunity. This is a life opportunity. Read on for the details:

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  The Odyssey Program is a 5-day program that allows participants to apply the powerful insights and thinking processes of Theory of Constraints’s (TOC) to their own life journey. The program is open to everyone wanting to invest time to discover what really blocks them to set and achieve ambitious goals or make important decisions and how to practically challenge assumptions or overcome obstacles that hold us back from achieving more “goal units” or leading more fulfilling lives.

This program is aimed at helping attendees develop and apply critical thinking skills to discover the cause-effect patterns, generic conflicts and assumptions that limit success in the various aspects of their life (e.g. wealth, health and happiness) and discover how to practically break these conflicts in ways that do not have any major negatives and or major implementation obstacles.

Attendees can apply these TOC Thinking processes to any personal subject or circumstance (e.g. what to do with the rest of my life, how to live a full life, how to make an important decision).

• Odyssey 2011 Information Brochure - All the latest information about the 2011 program.
• Get to know the Odyssey Facilitator - Dr. Alan Barnard (Freshman and Alumni program facilitator).
• Read all about this years venue – San Jose State University.

The 5 day Odyssey Freshman program is open to anyone from the ages of 15 upwards that want to invest time in using the powerful thinking processes of Theory of Constraints to analyze their own lives.

Starting points for this analysis can include:

1. How to set a life goal and discover which current assumptions can block you from achieving this life goal and how to overcome these obstacles in a systematic and logical way OR

2. How to make Important decision(s) you've been procrastinating on (such as "what to do with the rest of my life", "Why can't I sustainably quit a bad habit" ) and discovering what underlying conflict(s) blocks them from making these decisions and how to identify and challenge limiting assumptions in a holistic and logical way OR

3. Identifying stressful expectation gaps (gaps between what you really want /where you want to be vs. what you have now/where you are) from three different aspects of your life (e.g health, wealth and happiness) and discovering the common underlying conflict and limiting assumptions that block you from closing these gaps and how to overcome implementation obstacles in a holistic and logical way.

The 3 day Odyssey Alumni program (which follows immediately after the 5 day Freshman) is open to anyone that have previously attended a Odyssey Freshman program (including Odyssey Freshman class of 2011). In this program, Dr Alan Barnard will lead the group, following an exciting discovery process (developed by Dr Goldratt specficcally for the Alumni), to experience a real scientific breakthrough using the thinking processes and principles of the hard sciences's "scientific method" to make a real breakthrough in a topic that is important to both our professional and personal lives. Past Alumni topics included "How to find the essence of something we study/read", "How to really focus on what is important/not get distracted by unimportant stuff", "How to prepare properly when we want to sell a new idea/change".

I have personal experience of the impact of the tools taught at the Odyssey Freshman and Alumni programs and can testify the value it has brought to my life and to our organization.

If you are interested in getting more information or to register for the program can visit http://www.theodysseyprogram.org/. Please note that those interested should register asap by clicking on the "Register" tab, as the program is limited to only 60 participants each year and only the first 10 referrals from the Science of Business will get the discount described above.

To get the discount:  simply select the "Young Adult Sharing" option for the Freshman ($1000) and Young Adult Sharing" option for Alumni ($600) on the "Register" tab.  Now that price is for SHARING A ROOM ($1600).  If you don't want to share select the options immediatly to the right of the yellow hightlights which is a total of $300 more.  Then forward your registration to me so that I can okay the special rate.  See yellow highlights below:

If you have any questions regarding the program, you may contact us at: info@theodysseyprogram.org.  And don't forget to forward your receipt/registration to me so that your discount rate will be accepted. 

Remember the Odyssey Program is 100% volunteer and 100% non-profit. We welcome sponsors to support participants from all over the world. Contributions of all levels will be applied to enable someone to achieve their ambitious life goal. We would greatly appreciate donations of frequent flyer miles. Go to the Donate page to donate now, or send an email to info@theodysseyprogram.org if you would like to understand more about sponsoring someone to the Odyssey Program.

Wishing you success,
Dr Lisa
President, Science of Business

Your “To-Do” List May BE the Problem! A Theory of Constraints Lesson

You know that song by Sugarland called All I Want To Do? There’s a line in it that goes something like “I got better things to do than my to do list anyway …”



Every time I hear that I just think – then you’re not doing your “to do” list correctly!


I know, I know – I’m weird. But, I think it’s true for a lot of people.


The traditional way of making a “to do” list is to brain storm all the things we need to do. But that is NOT how we do it in Theory of Constraints (TOC).


To make sure that you don’t have better things to do than your “to do” list, don’t use the brain storming method. Instead, understand what you’re trying to achieve and ask “What’s keeping me from that?”


List each obstacle to your goal, the result you’re after or to completing your project (depending on your situation). What it takes to overcome each of those obstacles is what you want on your “to do” list. That way you are only doing what needs to be done to get the result and aren’t getting side tracked by doing (or procrastinating doing) what really isn’t necessary to get the result.


In this way you will end up with a list of things “to do” that, when completed, should be getting you closer to your goal or whatever it was that you’re trying to achieve.


Too often when we brain storm, we put “to dos” that really are NOT needed to get the result we are after. This just delays the result.


Can you think of a time you brain stormed a “to do” item that really didn’t need to be done? Let me know by leaving a comment on this post.

 Wishing you success.,


Dr Lisa
President, Science of Business

P.S. For those of you keeping score at home this is part of the Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes and it's how we build a Prerequisite Tree (PrT).

Theory of Constraints Thinking Processes (TOC Thinking)

TOC is a large body of knowledge. It’s very holistic.  Underlying all of it, though, are a set of thinking processes.  If you understand how to think, you can derive any number of the Theory of Constraints solutions.

TOC Thinking is a process to recognize, verbalize, and challenge assumptions (through the use of visual tools).

There are assumptions everywhere. Some are correct and some are incorrect.  Want to communicate better? Be really clear about assumptions.

Have you ever given instructions on what you wanted done and then been surprised or frustrated about things turning out differently than what you expected? That's assumptions at work.

3 Definitions of Assumptions:

• Accepted cause and effect relationships, or estimates of the existence of a fact from the known existence of other fact(s). [from businessdictionary.com]
• The act of taking for granted, or supposing a thing without proof; supposition; unwarrantable claim. [from 1913 Webster]
• Assumptions are beliefs or ideas that we hold to be true — often with little or no evidence required. [from HyperTextBooks]

More to follow ...