The content of this book is centered around three seemingly diverse themes. The first theme is why it’s so important for companies to learn from the past, the present, and the future. The author covers some of the key learnings from the distant and current past, and how these learnings changed the course for many companies. He discusses new learnings that have been developed in our current state and will continue to be brought forward. He provides a look into the future, just to make sure companies understand that they should always be looking for better ways to function.

The second theme is centered around problem-solving, problem prevention, and decision-making. That is, how to successfully define problems that already exist in your current reality, how to prevent problems from occurring in the future, and how to make much more effective decisions. Problems have plagued many companies for many years and knowing how to follow a structured approach to solve them should prove to be very useful. And perhaps even more important than solving problems, is how companies can go about preventing the problems from occurring in the first place. Think about how your company might look if the plethora of problems to solve didn’t exist. And with current or potential problems, many decisions must be made.

The final theme in this book is how to successfully implement the Theory of Constraints, and then combine Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints. The Theory of Constraints should be considered the "missing link" in most improvement initiatives. The author presents, in detail, why combining the Theory of Constraints with Lean and Six Sigma and all of the associated improvement tools and techniques will take your company to new levels of profitability. He introduces two new roadmaps. One roadmap is on how to implement the Theory of Constraints, while the other new roadmap is how to implement my Ultimate Improvement Cycle.

Chapter 1 Learning from the Past, Present, and Future
Chapter 2 The Key to Solving Problems
Chapter 3 The DNA of a Good Problem Solver
Chapter 4 Problem Prevention
Chapter 5 Effective Decision Making
Chapter 6 Needs Assessment
Chapter 7 A Message for Leadership
Chapter 8 Resolving Conflicts
Chapter 9 The Goal Tree – A New Way to Make and Use It
Chapter 10 Paths of Variation
Chapter 11 Systems Thinking
Chapter 12 Theory of Constraints Systems Thinking Tools
Chapter 13 The Interference Diagram
Chapter 14 TOC Distribution and Replenishment Solution
Chapter 15 Plant Types, Control Point Theory, and Volts Concepts
Chapter 16 Drum Buffer Rope
Chapter 17 The Theory of Constraints Roadmap
Chapter 18 The Ultimate Improvement Cycle Roadmap
Chapter 19 Performance Metrics
Chapter 20 Critical Chain Project Management
Chapter 21 Summary of the Key Learnings