ABSTRACT
Step 1 was fairly difficult: it is hard for a busy manager to resist the temptation to rush round dealing with his problems one by one as they arise, rather than step back, hold his breath, count to ten and then try to identify what lies behind them. So often, when there is a complaint from Production about a batch of goods just delivered from a supplier, the Purchasing Officer rings up the supplier, curses him and then does nothing more; but, surely, if this happens very often it must be right to tackle the problem at its roots. So often, when a project fails to meet its completion date, someone blames the weather or the workers or the Government: but surely, if this happens very often one should look more closely at one’s project planning methods. Managers do tend to reach for the fire extinguisher instead of taking up the floor boards and looking at the wiring.
