THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS

are trying to trigger by such a presentation? If it wasn't clearbefore, now it is certainly obvious. We are using fear and insecurity.We are trying to overcome the immediate insecurity resultingfrom change, by provoking the long term insecurity of whatwill happen if we don't change. We are fighting fire with fire. Butlet's not forget, whenever we use fire to fight fire somebody getsburnt. To use such an emotion in order to constantly sustain aprocess of ongoing improvement, a process where change is thenorm, means that we have to constantly create an environmentof insecurity in our organizations. Do we really want it? Is thatthe environment we want to work in?Besides, is this approach effective at all? It might be effectivefor the top guys for whom the future is a reality. But as we movedown into the organization it is clear that the effectiveness ofthe long-term threat diminishes rapidly. As a result, we have torevert to more tangible threats, like "do it or else."Even if this method of forcingwe will rapidly find insecurity—in the name of "weourselves in the must improve or else"— worksinitially, we must also understandposition of the kidthat its effectiveness will diminishwho shouted as time goes by. Simply because, if"Wolf" it is initially effective and we doimprove, then the badramifications too many that times. we predicted will not materialize and we willrapidly find ourselves in the position of the kid who shouted"Wolf too many times. To sustain a process of ongoingimprovement we must find another way to constantly inducechange. So we better go back and re-examine the logic thatconnects improvement to emotional resistance, in order to finda flaw in it. Some way to break the grip of this seeminglyuntouchable logic."Any improvement is a change," granted. But what about thesecond link, "any change is a perceived threat on security," foreverybody? Our experience immediately supplies the answer.No, the suggested improvement is not a threat to everyone. It iscertainly not a threat to the one who suggested the improve-15