Review: The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is THE book that will improve your business
I have lost count of the number of people to whom I have recommended this book. Whatever area of management you find yourself in, and at every level from business studies student to CEO and CFO, you are bound to pick up something useful from “The Goal.”
The story follows the complex life of Alex Rogo as he works at one problem after another. With the help of his old friend, Jonah, he identifies and solves problem after problem, on the road to saving his manufacturing plant, his own job and those of his colleagues, and his marriage. Each problem is broken down into its simplest components so that the real priorities are easily identified and dealt with.
Satisfying the senior management of his company and the accountants that he has turned around the fortunes of his plant proves difficult, but he supports his arguments with solid evidence.
Managers will recognise many of the problems that Alex encounters as, although part of this fiction, they belong to the real world rather than the theoretical text books that they may be used to reading. The story is far from dull and is easy to read and to understand.
What particularly appealed to me, as a practitioner of process modelling and simulation, was the way that these techniques were used to bring about significant business improvements. The power and value of such techniques was ably demonstrated and should encourage many more companies to put them into practice.
Eli Goldratt has succeeded where many have failed, to put these concepts into language that everyone can understand and therefore benefit.
The only negative comment that I have about this book is that I felt that the background story became a little bit tedious towards the end, but the value gained from reading the rest far out-weighed this minor moan.
