Richard is an associate professor at a business school facing budget cuts. Anxious about securing tenure, he needs to publish academic papers and uses his new Executive MBA class as a research opportunity. He favors open discussion and conceptual problem-solving over dense mathematics.

B. J. is the pragmatic president of the university where Richard teaches. Facing a decline in MBA applications, she contemplates freezing tenure and cutting the business school's budget to maintain the institution's financial stability. She demands demonstrable value and practical application from her faculty.

Mark is a project leader at Genemodem tasked with overseeing the critical A226 modem project. He enrolls in Richard's Executive MBA class seeking immediate solutions to help him manage budget constraints and looming deadlines.

Ruth is a brand manager in marketing at Genemodem who previously organized a highly successful modem launch. As a student in Richard's class, she provides innovative, outside-the-box thinking and frequently asks insightful questions that challenge established norms.

Fred is a skilled accountant and project auditor at Genemodem. He brings a practical, data-driven perspective to Richard's class, often demanding concrete proof and resisting unverified new ideas until they demonstrate financial viability.

Judith is Richard's wife. She frequently makes large purchases, such as a new Chevy Blazer, which causes friction over the couple's finances. She values financial security and status symbols.

Jim is the head of the Executive MBA program and a professor at the university. He formerly mentored Richard during his PhD studies and encourages him to research project management for academic publication.

Johnny is a mathematically minded professor at the university who specializes in optimization and modeling. He introduces his colleagues to the Theory of Constraints after his time in the corporate sector, providing concrete formulas to back up abstract management theories.

Christopher is the Dean of the business school at the university. He attempts to protect his department's budget and tenure tracks from B. J.'s proposed cuts, preferring academic committees over direct administrative action.

Daniel is the CEO of Genemodem. He initiates the think tank to accelerate the company's modem release cycles and is a member of the Young President's Organization.

Isaac is the Executive Vice President of Engineering at Genemodem. He organizes the internal think tank and offers a stock incentive for the team to solve the company's scheduling issues.

Bernard is the president of another university. He serves as a sounding board for B. J. vonBraun regarding the declining demand for MBA programs in the corporate world.

Alistair is a university president who shares concerns about the diminishing application pool for business schools.

Don is a vice president at UniCo who successfully applies the Theory of Constraints to make a steel mill profitable. He values bottom-line results and streamlined measurements over traditional academic methods.

Ted is a student in Richard's class who works in construction for a subcontractor. He contributes practical examples of how timeline delays can sometimes benefit contractors financially through change orders.

Brian is a student in Richard's class working on expanding his physical plant and managing software development. He provides insights into task documentation and how certain requirements can be delayed without halting the main project.

Charlie is a student in Richard's class who works in software development at QEC. He introduces the dilemma of managing a single specialist required across multiple simultaneous workflow paths.

Roger is a confrontational student who manages negotiations with subcontractors. He pushes back against theoretical concepts, prompting Richard to test his ideas directly in real-world vendor meetings.

Charlene is a business professor at the university who collaborates with her colleagues to integrate new corporate strategies into their curriculum. She applies physics concepts to evaluate financial investments.

Brad is the president of QEC. He implements Richard's academic methods at his company based on Charlie's classwork and helps spread the methodology among other corporate executives.