1.0 The Basics

The basic "shape of business" is determined by three basic "layers":

1.1 Time - Time is the foundation layer for the "shape of business" because it is the unstoppable force that all other rules have to play by. Time does not have a "pause" button. Thus, we cannot "manage" time – instead, we can only manage the activities within the constraints of time.

1.2 Orchestration Envelopes - In a manufacturing business, the various activities are "orchestrated within four envelopes of time" across the value chain. As time moves forward, the activities of first envelope (or operating window) determine the activities of the second, and so on. More specifically, these four envelopes are nested within each other, where the outer envelope determines the operating constraints or boundary conditions for inner envelope.

1.3 The Critical Links - Consider the following logic: [customers] place [orders] for [products] fulfilled by [assets]. We manage this interconnected set of activities [customer-order-product-asset] as they "flow through" the four envelopes of time. How well we manage these critical links directly impact the money-making ability of a manufacturing business.

1.4 Business is a lot like Tetris

2.0 Placeholder

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