History

The name TOTE-M is derived from TOTE (Test – Operate – Test – Exit) and ‘M’ for management. TOTE is the smallest unit of analysis in the human brain. People always perform a test with a model, even though they think that people act on a reflex. For example, if we pick up an expensive Chinese porcelain cup and it is hotter than we thought it would be, we do not immediately drop it – which is what we would do if it were a reflex.

This knowledge was already used in the Middle Ages, when it was custom to make one of the steps of a castle staircase a little higher. The idea was that when the enemy came rushing in, everyone would fall over one another halfway up the stairs – and the idea was a successful one.

We implement this ‘feedforward effect’ at our clients in the form of a customer orientation that controls the actions of all employees.

The other partners in TOTE-M are Lody Offenberg and Kees Kerkvliet.