Securing the Future: Strategies for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints (The CRC Press Series on Constraints Management) [Hardcover]

Gerald I. Kendall (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1574441973 | ISBN-13: 978-1574441970 | Publication Date: December 29, 1997 | Edition: 1

Today's managers encounter tremendous resistance in getting others to buy-in to change. The ongoing rounds of downsizing and upheaval have taken their toll, leaving a legacy of skepticism. Therefore, managers must not only have ideas, but must be experts at "selling" the correct answers, information, and measurements to address issues of change.
Securing the Future uses the Theory of Constraints, a breakthrough improvement methodology, to provide solutions to today's management problems. It documents the step-by-step approach to achieving a strategic vision of long-term competitive advantage, employment security, and customer satisfaction. Using a combination of parable, methodology, and case studies, this book presents an in-depth management road map to exponential improvement in any organization.
If you are looking for concrete ideas on how to build the intellectual capital your organization will need in order to thrive in years to come, Securing the Future will show you the way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Securing the Future is a thought provoking, yet practical approach to moving your business or you forward. The insights Gerry provides in case studies show how the thinking process works effectively in a variety of situations to produce breakthrough results. A great book for anyone going through organizational change to read, and aren't we all?
-Kim Allen, Scarborough Public Utilities

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: CRC Press; 1 edition (December 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574441973
• ISBN-13: 978-1574441970
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,164,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Montreal, Canada in 1947, Gerald Kendall is a recognized world expert at strategic planning, Theory of Constraints (TOC) and project portfolio management, with extensive implementation experience. His clients span the globe, including engagements in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Australia, Europe, United States and Canada. Gerry is married to his lovely wife, Jackie. They share 5 children and 4 grandchildren.

Gerald began his career with IBM as a systems engineer and became an I.T. Director. After expanding into international sales and marketing, with global executive responsibility, he broadened his experience in strategic planning, supply chain and operations.

Gerald's latest book (October 2009), Dentistry with a Vision, uses a fictional novel format, based on a real life story. The novel illustrates the integration of TOC, Lean and Six Sigma to bring a dental practice from break even to over $3 million net profit in a few years. His previous book, Viable Vision, explains to executives and managers how to get high leverage out of an organization's change efforts. His Advanced Project Portfolio Management and the PMO is the top-selling book in the PMO and Project Portfolio Management space. His first book, Securing the Future continues to be in demand in its 12th year of publication. Gerald also authored a chapter on Project Portfolio Management for the American Management Association Handbook of Project Management, 2nd Edition, and a chapter on Critical Chain in Dr. Harold Kerzner's book, Project Management, A System's Approach, 8th edition. The new TOC Handbook highlights Gerry's chapter on TOC Strategy and Tactics application.

Gerald is a graduate and silver medal winner of McGill University. You may email to [e-mail]. Web site: www.tocinternational.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide to eliminating market constraints, August 26, 1999

By 

Michael Clingan "theclaymoregroup.com" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Securing the Future: Strategies for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints (The CRC Press Series on Constraints Management) (Hardcover)

I am a Jonah's Jonah focused on eliminating market (external) constraints in a variety of industries. I found this book while taking the External Constraint Course at the Goldratt Institute. While the Eli Goldratt book "Its Not Luck" was inspirational and the Institute class was excellent, "Securing the Future" is what I refer to day by day.

3.0 out of 5 stars Securing the Future, January 5, 2011

By 

gacleader1 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Securing the Future: Strategies for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints (The CRC Press Series on Constraints Management) (Hardcover)

It is rare to find a book with so much valuable information and so well written, that also loses my attention as abruptly as Securing the Future.

Gerald Kendal does an excellent job of explaining T.O.C. and comparing other improvement initiatives, as well as providing very useful examples of the various trees and diagrams used during the process of analyzing an organization. The clarity of the examples is among the best I have seen. Unfortunately, about a third of the way through the book, examples he provided of methods to solve certain customer service issues seemed so absurd to me, it was very difficult to take any of the remaining material with any seriousness.

My first negative reaction came when the author suggested that companies hire a full time person to turn customer dissatisfaction into profit, paying that person 25% of any increased profits. While this sounds like a grand idea on the surface, measuring such improvements for the purpose of compensation could lead to multiple problems and conflicts.

I still kept an open mind however, until his suggestion that all telephone answering systems with prompts have an option to press one for complaints about the phone system, and that the phone then ring directly to the office of the CEO. Later, when he suggested making it policy to give away any item for free to a customer if it was not marked correctly, the book lost all credibility for me.

I will keep the book on my shelf, as it does have excellent examples for constructing various logic trees, but personally, that is the only value it will have for me.

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Knowledge, May 31, 2000

By 

Ravi Gilani - See all my reviews

This review is from: Securing the Future: Strategies for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints (The CRC Press Series on Constraints Management) (Hardcover)

This book provides practical tools to increase profits for your organization. Gerald Kendall shares the criterion to prioritize/choose themes for improving customer satisfaction. He suggests that one should focus on those issues for improvement so that the customer is either willing to pay a higher price or ready to give you additional volume, or this would prevent the customer from switching over to a competitor. Improving those customer dissatisfactions, that would not result in one of the above, would not benefit your organization at all. I find many such tips through out this book.