The Goal Tree Part 1

Some Facts and History

Many people who have gone through training on the Theory of Constraint’s Thinking Process (TP) tools have come away from the training somewhat overwhelmed.  Let’s face it, the TP tools are pretty intimidating and after receiving the training, I have seen so many people walking away from the training feeling like they were ill-prepared to apply what they had supposedly just learned.  Even for myself, I had this feeling and talking with others, there was a general confusion about how to get started.  For the average person, the TP tools are just not easy to grasp, so they end up kind of putting them on the back burner rather than taking a chance on making a mistake using them. 

The other complaint I have heard many times is that a full TP analysis typically takes several days to complete and let’s face it, a regular executive team simply doesn’t have that kind of time to spend on this. Well for everyone who feels the same, or maybe having gone through the same Jonah training as I did or a full analysis, I have hope for you.  That hope for you is another logic diagram currently known as the Goal Tree.  I say currently, because the man responsible for creating the Goal Tree, Bill Dettmer [1], originally referred to this tool as an Intermediate Objectives Map (IO Map), but has elected to change its name to Goal Tree.

Bill Dettmer tells us of his first exposure to IO Maps (Goal Trees) back in 1995 during a management skills workshop conducted by another TOC guru named Oded Cohen at the Goldratt Institute.  In recent years, Dettmer has written much about the IO Map/Goal Tree and now uses it as the first step in a full Thinking Process analysis.  Bill is passionate about this tool and believes that it defines the standard for goal attainment and its prerequisites in a much more simple and efficient way.  I happen to agree with Bill and believe that the IO Map/Goal Tree is a great focusing tool to better demonstrate why an organization is not meeting its goal.  And because of its simplicity, it is easy not only to learn, but also how to teach others in your organization how to use it.

There are other advantages of learning and using the IO Map/Goal Tree including a better integration of the rest of the TP tools that will accelerate the completion of Current Reality Trees, Conflict Resolution Diagrams and Future Reality Trees if you choose to use them.  But what I really like about the IO Map/Goal Tree is that it can be used as a stand-alone tool resulting in a much faster analysis of the organization’s weak points and a rapid development of an improvement plan for your organization.  I have been teaching the IO Map/Goal Tree for quite a few years, and I state unequivocally that the IO Map/Goal Tree has been the favorite of most of my classes and workshops.

One of the lessons I always tell my students and workshops is that they should always learn a new tool and then make it their own.  That message simply means that even though the “inventor” of a tool typically has a specific use in mind, tools should be continually evolving and such was case for me with the Goal Tree.  I have transformed this tool into one that most people grasp and understand almost immediately and see its usefulness in a matter of minutes.

In my next posting I will introduce you to the construction of the Goal Tree and begin to demonstrate why it is perhaps one of the best tools ever developed for achieving excellence in your company. As always, if you have any questions or comments about any of my posts, leave me a message and I will respond. In previous posts I have written about the Goal Tree, but recently I have been asked to write more posts on this tool.

Until next time.

Bob Sproull

References:

[1] The Logical Thinking Process – H. William Dettmer, Quality Press, 2007