Mark Woeppel
I first read The Goal in 1986 while working at a rapidly growing plant in Tulsa that could not ship orders on time. Most days felt like one long firefight.
A business acquaintance handed me the book and introduced me to Optimized Production Technology, the early form of the Theory of Constraints. As I read, I kept thinking, “This makes sense.” I put the ideas to work, our performance improved, and the firefighting stopped. Eventually, I worked myself out of the job.
That experience changed my career direction. It led me to Eli Goldratt and the Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute, where I became a Jonah and later a Jonah’s Jonah, teaching managers how to apply the Theory of Constraints. I later led consulting in the Americas for Scheduling Technology Group, the company that succeeded Goldratt’s OPT software business, and then held senior operational roles inside companies. I’ve been in the hot seat where delivering results matters to the livelihoods of hundreds of people.
I’ve helped organizations improve plants, recover projects, launch products, and increase throughput across the United States, Mexico, Canada, France, Norway, Singapore, and China. The industries have ranged from aerospace and automotive to oilfield equipment, maritime operations, signage, heat exchangers, and job shops. The environments differ, but the underlying challenge is often the same: good people work hard, yet the system keeps getting in their way.
That is the work I enjoy most. I help leaders find what is truly limiting performance, focus their teams on the right priorities, and turn sound ideas into practical results. Along the way, I documented my approach in Building Resilient Manufacturing Operations and Visual Project Management.
If your organization is working harder without seeing better results, let’s talk. We can look at what is getting in the way and determine whether my experience can help.