It has been a long time coming...
(required reading for all Throughput.us LLC Clients)
In the year 2000 I searched the internet for any and all Goldratt Theory of Constraints guru type people I could locate. One named rose to the top of that list. Tony Rizzo. He had more links to his 'stuff' and more people talking about his stuff, than even Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt himself!
Well long story short, we met at an APICS event in Texas, and became friends. He simply offered to help in any way possible. Those that know Tony know him to be a man of his word. I have tried my best (and fallen many times) to live my life the same: to say what I can do and then do what I said I would. Not always easy.
Fast forward to the summer of 2007. I get that now famous (or is that infamous!) call from Tony asking me to participate in the TMx product. First, to simply write the eCommerce portion of the application. Then, as the tool evolves, to help market TMx.
I recall the phone call to add a new web link for a second version of TMx for those without MS-Project installed on their PC. As I have recounted elsewhere, I refused. I was standing outside the Food Lion on the south end of Hilton Head Island, SC. Pacing as we talked. A few of you know that Rizzo is "Mr. Literal." Everything is black or white. On or Off. After all, he is an engineer by training (and it is a perfect fit!).
One would be hard-pressed to accuse me of ever having a conversation where I failed to introduce one or more (most oft many, many) analogies or metaphors to convey my thinking on any subject. When Tony calls, I look to see if I have several hours to devote to the conversation.
Why?
Communication is that important. We both kid one another about the laborious process of sharing ideas with the other, but we would not trade our exchanges for love or money. We both bring passion to the forefront, however, we do it in very different ways. But I digress...
Cut to the chase: there is only one version of TMx.
I explained that we would have only version. That this point was non-negotiable. And I would be happy to investigate coding solutions until the cows came home if necessary.
Why the big fuss?
Confusion leads to indecision. Indecision leads to a lack of action. No action equates to no results. In order to make money with TMx, people must take action. They must look at the presentation we have prepared. Both PowerPoint and PDF versions are online. The PP version offers a neat "bad multitasking" slide. If the presentation makes some sense, they must download TMx. They must install it on their PC in the prescribed method. They must experiment with TMx and try to accomplish something with the tool, all before they will ever hit my "Register TMx" button which leads to the collection of the $179 licensing fee (price subject to change without notice). Did I mention that we are giving away a fully functional, 100% fully supported version? It will function flawlessly for 30 days before requiring payment.
Sound complicated
It is not. Remember Tony is an engineer. If he wanted to go back to work, I would recommend that he call Apple. Apple is creating the neatest 'stuff' on the planet. Just think about Apple under Steve Jobs today. I have iTunes on every PC and Mac I come in contact with, everywhere in the United States of America. I own two iPods, and have given two away as gifts. I still own my NeXTstation with NeXTstep OS, which as the techies know, became Mac OS X. My granddaughter loves Pixar movies. But I digress...
TMx
Here is what I suggest to those readers that tuned in to learn more about Rizzo's Total-Matrix planning process and the add-in for MS-Excel that makes project modeling a bulletproof exercise in blowing the competition into the weeds: re-read this post.
Follow the suggested course of action outlined.
As I have mentioned before, I basically have never been outside the US of A. Have no interest in leaving this country. So I cannot comment on how effective this process may be outside America. Yet, Rizzo has informed me that organizations around the world are indeed using it.
And experiencing breakthroughs
I know for a fact this is the tool for anyone and everyone who must plan. It requires a PC. Sorry, no Mac version. It does not run on Vista. It does not work on Excel 2007. As most of you already know, the perfect upgrade to Vista is Mac OS X! But TMx may be ported to Excel's new internals at some point. Just not anytime soon. Not anytime worth waiting for... sorry.
So, as one MBA remarked after experiencing a one-hour web demo with Rizzo (allow me to paraphrase), "This is good. Good enough to grab an old PC and make sure I have Excel 2003 loaded on it.""I charge a lot of money to help business owners increase throughput. As of January 2008, I require all my clients to use TMx. No TMx? No SKI."
—Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey
Jeff 'SKI' Kinsey, Jonah
Throughput.us LLC
(330) 432-3533
P.S. In case you missed it, the link to get started is here: TMx by Tony Rizzo
Formal TMx Launch
