Dettmer's Book Barn
Dettmer's Book Barn
Contact: billdettmer@protonmail.com © 2025 by H. W. Dettmer. Powered and secured by Wix
My Professional Books
(Chapter 8 only)
(Chapter 22 only)
My Personal Books
My Professional Papers
A major rewrite of Dettmer's classic Goldratt's Theory of Constraints (1996), this new edition presents a whole new approach to building and applying logic trees. The logical thinking process referred to in the title is nothing less than a broadly applicable, systems-level approach to policy analysis.
Dettmer has streamlined the process of constructing the logic trees while simultaneously ensuring that the results are more logically sound and closer representations of reality than ever before. He explains an easier, more logically sound way to integrate Current Reality Trees with Evaporating Clouds. His new version of the thinking process "retires" the Transition Tree in favor of the marriage of a more detailed Prerequisite Tree and critical chain project management.
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This book contains new examples of logic trees from a variety of real-world applications. Most of the diagrams and illustrations are new and improved. Explanations and procedures for constructing the logic trees are considerably simplified.
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NOTE: I do not control the publication or fulfillment of this book. Contractually, ASQ Quality Press has that authority. The ORDER link takes you to their page. I apologize in advance for the extraordinarily high price of this book. I don't control that, either.
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The Logical Thinking Process - An Executive Summary is an executive-level overview of the Logical Thinking Process (LTP) originally developed by E.M. Goldratt. It explains what the LTP is and why it's useful to leaders, managers responsible for decision making at all levels, and interested individuals. This book contains examples of the LTP logic trees and descriptions of some actual applications.
This book demonstrates how the concepts of military strategy can be successfully applied to businesses of any size or industry, from family owned small-to-medium size to large corporations.
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Dettmer begins the book by introducing the conceptual framework of military strategy and maneuver warfare, which dates back over 2,300 years to the time of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. He first explains how time-tested principles of war planning and military execution can readily be applied to non-military uses, such as commercial business, not-for-profit organizations, and government agencies, leading to considerable benefits in coherence and focus.
Dettmer then introduces a logical, systematic tool set to help you translate the military strategy "template" into action, which can then be applied to nearly any industry or business type. The system described by Dettmer is quick and easy to use, flexible enough to accommodate changes in the external environment, and supports the creativity of both strategists and executors. Finally, the book includes appendices that provide more detail on methods and some real-world examples.
The world is a complex system. Whatever part of it we inhabit or function in, everything within it is connected in some way to other components, both within and outside the part we occupy. Nearly all of the problems mankind experiences result from our inability to recognize intra- and inter-systemic connections... in other words, to THINK SYSTEMICALLY. This is particularly true of the massive, widely impactful problems we face. Unfortunately, systems thinking is not a part of most people's education, though it is probably the most crucial foundation for everything we do.
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Systems Thinking and Other Dangerous Habits aims to alleviate this widespread unawareness of the importance of viewing everything we think and do through the lens of systems. It begins with a review of some high-visibility systemic failures, segues into the history and basics of systems thinking, then examines some critical areas of systems knowledge, tools, and human motivation.
This book is an introduction to systems thinking, pointing the reader to important topics worthy of more comprehensive research.
Invented in 1925 by Dr. C.C. Crawford, professor of education at the University of Southern California, the Crawford Slip Method is an idea generator without equal. It is an easy-to-use, effective group survey tool that enables the collection of ideas from audiences of almost any size rapidly and anonymously.
"Brainpower Networking Using the Crawford Slip Method" explains how to focus the creativity and expertise of people with knowledge of a subject on the problems and challenges associated with solving them. This book provides step-by-step guidance for anyone to mobilize collective brainpower to identify and solve problems at any level, from the personal to the highest levels of large organizations. By following the simple, easy to understand, fully illustrated instructions in this book, system improvers can be effective with the Crawford Slip Method in a matter of days, or even several hours. The book is logically organized into chapters that lead the reader through:
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A brief history of the method
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How to motivate slip writers
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A general description of various applications
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How to conduct the slip-writing workshop
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How to create the "target" for slip writers
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How to sort and classify written slips
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How to prepare for a slip-writing workshop
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How to convert sorted slips into a useful form
Appendices provide examples of actual slip-writing targets for various specialized purposes that the reader can use exactly as provided to get started with the Crawford Slip Method.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Claude C. Crawford, Ph.D. 1897 -1992
C. C. Crawford earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in 1918, and his Masters of Arts in 1919. His Doctor of Philosophy degree was conferred by the University of Chicago in 1924. Between 1923 and 1926 he was a professor of education at the University of Idaho. In 1926 he accepted a position as a professor of education at the University of Southern California and retired as Emeritus Professor in 1956. Crawford was the author or co-author of more than 20 books, more than 100 articles, and more than 100 pamphlets. In 1926, he created the slip method that bears his name and used it activly and continuously for 66 years thereafter.
In the late 1980s, Dr Crawford co-founded the University of Southern California Productivity Network, a part of the school.
He Said, She Said: Timeless Management Prescriptions is a compendium of quotations on an assortment of topics pertinent to management but not normally covered in college texts on management or in graduate management classes, covering such diverse subjects as character, honor and courage, hubris and pride, discipline and persistence, ignorance, systems thinking, and winning and losing.
Quotations come from sources as diverse as Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Friedrich Nietzsche, Mohandas Gandhi, Isaac Asimov, the Book of Job, Niccoló Machiavelli, Albert Einstein, Frank Zappa, Henry David Thoreau, and a host of others. There is a quotation in this book for nearly every occasion.
Co-authored with Eli Schragenheim, Manufacturing at Warp Speed: Optimizing Supply Chain Financial Performance is a detailed "how-to" for streamlining manufacturing processes to shorten order-to-delivery time to the minimum possible while still assuring near-100% on-time deliveries.
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This book describes in detail the underlying theory behind Simplified Drum-Buffer-Rope (S-DBR) manufacturing. S-DBR improves upon the original drum-buffer-rope concept developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt.
The essence of S-DBR is a) maximizing the financial revenue from existing supply chains while b) ensuring promised delivery dates are met nearly 100% of the time. The net result can be deferring capital investment by realizing better efficiency from existing production capacity.
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Manufacturing at Warp Speed explains how to do this.
NOTE: This book is no longer in print. However, it is available online in digittal form. The original hard-cover edition is available used (acceptable condition) from various 3rd party booksellers. The "Order" link shows prices ranging from $6.70 for the hardcover to as high as $140 for the digital version.
Co-authored with Eli Schragenheim, Supply Chain Management at Warp Speed: Integrating the System from End to End is the sequel to Manufacturing at Warp Speed (2000).
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This book explains in detail how the concepts of drum-buffer-rope flow can be extended beyond the manufacturing floor to include the entire supply chain, from marketing through final delivery. In other words, the logistics (distribution) process is seamlessly added to the back end of the manufacturing process, further ensuring more reliable, timely delivery.
NOTE: This book is available in hard-cover form only. The original hard-cover edition is available used (acceptable condition) from Amazon at $56.98 and NEW from Bigger Books at $108.79.
It would seem presumptuous to call this an autobiography. After all, I haven't achieved the notoriety common among public figures—entertainers, politicians, wartime leaders, artists, etc.—that would warrant publishing a book like this.
No, this book is intended for my children, my grandchildren ... my posterity.
I never knew either of my grandfathers. I wish I had. They both died before I was born. And neither of them was an author or left anything in writing that could have told me who they were.
I recorded 4,000 hours flying time in T29, T37, T38 and B52 aircraft during 23 years in service. I flew 75 combat missions during the Vietnam War in B52s. And that was just in my 23-year military career. I subsequently had 30+ more years of life experiences.
These are the stories I want my grandchildren to remember.
Coming in 2026
Kingdom Come: An Examination of Evidence and Testimony Concerning Life After Death
is a detailed analysis of 18 prominent sources of information on Near-Death Experiences (NDE).
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It addresses questions such as …
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What happens to us when we die?
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Does our consciousness (soul) live on?
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What commonalities appear across thousands of documented NDEs?
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Are NDEs experienced by more that just Jews and Christians? Do Muslims have NDEs? Hindus? Buddhists? What about atheists?
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What is heaven like? Who might you see there?
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Answers to these questions and many more are examined in Kingdom Come. The book contains chapters on:
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Science and Religion
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Generic Near-Death Experiences
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Credibility of reports of NDEs
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Significant Near-Death Experiences
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Out-of-Body Experiences
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Heightened Senses during NDEs
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Intense Emotions or Feelings
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Traveling through a Tunnel
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Mystical Brilliant Lights
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Unworldly “Heavenly” Realms
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Altered Sense of Time and Space
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Life Reviews
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Who You Meet
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Learning Special Knowledge
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Adverse (“Hellish”) NDEs
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Aftereffects of NDEs
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Skeptics’ Arguments and Counterarguments
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Nine Facts in Evidence for the Reality of NDEs
NOTE: Kingdom Come is not available through Amazon. However, it is available directly from the publisher at the same price as Amazon would list it ― and in less time.
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By ordering directly from the publisher, typical delivery time is 10-14 days ― shorter than that promised by Amazon.
This is possible because the publisher employs a print-on-demand printer who ships orders directly to customers from three locations world-wide: North America (U.S.), Europe (United Kingdom), and Asia (Australia). Typical delivery times are 10 to 14 days.
BILL DETTMER
H. William "Bill" Dettmer has more than 25 years of leadership and management experience in operations and logistic environments and is a successful manager of multimillion-dollar projects and contracting activities.
He is the senior partner at Goal Systems International. Formerly an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California, he has taught extensively at the graduate level on many topics relating to business management. Dettmer holds a B.A. degree from Rutgers University and an M.S. degree from the University of Southern California.
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Dettmer is also the author of nine previous professional books, including Systems Thinking and Other Dangerous Habits (Virtual Bookworm Publishing, 2022) and The Logical Thinking Process: A Systems Approach to Complex Problem Solving (ASQ Quality Press, 2006).
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He served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force as both a navigator and as a pilot in B-52 Stratofortress bombers (1968 - 1982)
