You come across this book wherever you go. And most of the people around me had read this book. Almost everyone said that The Goal A Process of Ongoing Improvement is a good book to read. And few called it a ‘Cult’ book, which can change the way you look at your work. A couple of weeks back I got The Goal at my office library and thought of reading it.
The Goal by Eliyahu M Goldratt and Jeff Cox
It is one of the few books that is written for your professional life. But is written in a novel format, making it a little more interesting to read it. The characters in the book almost seem like some people who exist around you. The language is very simple, so most people would enjoy it. The intertwining of the personal crisis with the professional one and two gets resolved when you have more clarity in mind about what you are doing and why you are doing it.
Till I read about three fourth of the book, it sounded like explaining common sense things to me. And it was hard for me to imagine that a person managing a manufacturing plant would not have thought of such simple solutions to day-to-day problems. And his manufacturing plans would not be linked with what the sales guys believe they can sell. But when I looked back at one of the manufacturing organizations I worked for, the situation was not very different. Where everyone operated in their own silos, without really bothering about the people they take inputs from and the people who consume their output.
Updates
The book is written in the form of a fictional story about Alex Rogo, a plant manager who is struggling to keep his plant profitable. Alex is given 90 days to turn the plant around, or it will be closed. He meets Jonah, a mysterious consultant who helps him to understand the underlying principles of operations management.
Through Jonah’s guidance, Alex learns about the Theory of Constraints (TOC), a set of principles for improving the performance of a system. TOC focuses on identifying and addressing the constraints that prevent a system from achieving its goals.
As Alex applies TOC to his plant, he is able to improve its performance significantly. He is able to reduce inventory, increase throughput, and improve profitability. He also learns how to create a more stable and predictable production environment.
It is a well-written and engaging book that provides a clear and concise explanation of TOC. The book is also full of practical insights that can be applied to any business.
Concepts
Key concepts covered are:
- The Theory of Constraints
- The five focus steps
- Drum-Buffer-Rope
- The Throughput Equation
- The Bullwhip Effect
- Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing
It is considered to be one of the most influential business books of all time.
Here are some additional details about the book:
- It was published in 1984.
- It is 304 pages long.
- It is available in both paperback and ebook formats.
- The author, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, is a well-respected business consultant and author.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Overall, A Process of Ongoing Improvement is an interesting read…
You may buy this book – The Goal A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M Goldratt and Jeff Cox at Amazon.
Recommend you read reviews of the following books.
This book in our syllabus during our college days. I wondered what it is doing on your blog.
Anyways its a very good book on Drum buffer theory and there are many consulting companies that just provide consultancy for implementing the same.