John H. Blackstone, Jr., is a Professor in the Department of Management at the University of Georgia. He has taught courses in Operations Management, Productivity Management, and Quality Management and Manufacturing Simulation to graduate and undergraduate students. John began his teaching career in 1979 at Auburn University and transferred to the University of Georgia in 1983. John was introduced to the concepts of Eli Goldratt when he read an article in Fortune in the fall of 1983 and attended a lecture by Bob Fox at the APICS Zero Inventory Crusade that same year. When "The Goal" was published in 1984, John began using the book as part of his Operations Management course and continues to use it. John attended a Jonah Course in January 1989, and for about three years helped to teach the course to both practitioners and academics.