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Goldratt's Rules of Flow
Marc Wilson is not giving up. He is determined to turn around the struggling family company and keep it, despite his father’s decision to sell. The problem is that they are late on more and more projects and their customers won’t tolerate it anymore. Marc is looking everywhere for a solution, when in one of his MBA classes he comes across a unique approach that views operations in terms of flow.
The concept of flow is straightforward. It’s easy to visualize the stream of projects going through the system and understand that if something clogs the flow, the projects pile up; the lead time gets longer, and as a result the reliability of due dates suffers. What is not so easy is to uncover the specific obstacles that obstruct the flow and figure out how to remove them.
Whether you’re a manager in engineering, IT, service or sales, this book will help you gain much better predictability and significantly improve your delivery.
The concept of flow is straightforward. It’s easy to visualize the stream of projects going through the system and understand that if something clogs the flow, the projects pile up; the lead time gets longer, and as a result the reliability of due dates suffers. What is not so easy is to uncover the specific obstacles that obstruct the flow and figure out how to remove them.
Whether you’re a manager in engineering, IT, service or sales, this book will help you gain much better predictability and significantly improve your delivery.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 16, 2023
91 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
June 15, 2025
Prima boek over de implementaties van Flow. Alleen jammer dat er soms een romantisch verhaal doorheen liep van een baas en zijn werkneemster (?!). Dit deed redelijk afbraak aan het serieuze punt van het verhaal
February 2, 2023
Short version: business novel in the vein of Eli Goldratt as applied in projects. Very focused on what is needed to significantly improve project environments in a short period of time. Focus on flow.
My blog review: https://www.jackvinson.com/blog/2023/...
My blog review: https://www.jackvinson.com/blog/2023/...
September 12, 2025
Es un libro que, por las ideas expuestas, todo gestor de proyectos debería leerlo. Innovadoras, lógicas y efectivas. Lo malo, demasiado corto para profundizar lo necesario en las ideas, y falla tanto la forma de redacción (poca calidad narrativa) como de explicación (sobre todo comparándolo con la meta).
October 2, 2023
Written in the style of Eli, his daughter Efrat picks up on Critical Chain Theory right where her dad left off. In this fictional fable, we walk through the major steps of a user trying to turn his engineering department from every project behind to available capacity that can be profited from.
Some of the ideas were mentioned in the beginning and are mentioned in other project parliaments (agile & scrum) and that is the impact of WIP on project flow. All methods point to the same root of evil and that is the impact WIP and Multi-Tasking have on flow.
Efrat acknowledges from the start that her father had only started to scratch the surface when he wrote his first book. Like any scientist, he found gaps in some of his theories that he needed to fill in. Most of these gaps described in the new book are longer-term project sustainment when multiple projects hit a stop. In this book, she discusses when to release projects. Reviewing things like kitting, which I never thought of, and how you use kitting prior to projects was a big piece.
Excellent book next time I want to read it with Dr. Eli's book first and Dr. Efrat's book second.
Some of the ideas were mentioned in the beginning and are mentioned in other project parliaments (agile & scrum) and that is the impact of WIP on project flow. All methods point to the same root of evil and that is the impact WIP and Multi-Tasking have on flow.
Efrat acknowledges from the start that her father had only started to scratch the surface when he wrote his first book. Like any scientist, he found gaps in some of his theories that he needed to fill in. Most of these gaps described in the new book are longer-term project sustainment when multiple projects hit a stop. In this book, she discusses when to release projects. Reviewing things like kitting, which I never thought of, and how you use kitting prior to projects was a big piece.
Excellent book next time I want to read it with Dr. Eli's book first and Dr. Efrat's book second.
May 21, 2024
Makes good points, and is short enough of a read that I would recommend it. Nothing here was revolutionary, however, when put together, it served as a good reminder.
That being said, I didn't care for the main character, lowkey thought he sounded insufferable when we talked about his personal life.
That being said, I didn't care for the main character, lowkey thought he sounded insufferable when we talked about his personal life.
March 29, 2023
I like it, but I didn’t get many new insights for me out of it. A lot felt common sense to me. Might be a good present for multitasking aficionados in higher management roles though.
The most Kanban-ish book I know that never even once uses or references the term Kanban
The most Kanban-ish book I know that never even once uses or references the term Kanban
February 4, 2023
Really good. I would definitely recommend. There are some areas where it would have been helpful to elaborate more, but overall great book on effectively handling proje8
November 26, 2023
Written by Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag, daughter of Eliyahu M. Goldratt whose seminal work was The Goal (R.I.P. 2011).
“The common belief, Goldratt claimed, is that if every machine is fully utilized, the entire operation will be efficient. Thus, managers attempt to maximize the efficiency of each and every machine and work center. That takes a lot of effort, but unfortunately it doesn’t yield the desired results. Instead, managers should look at the whole operation, identify the bottlenecks and focus only on their productivity.”
He called it global optimum vs. local optimum.
Project management is inherently different than production. For one, projects are not as repetitive as production. Goldratt noticed that people working in projects make the same basic error: they manage the risk locally instead of looking at the whole picture.
CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management) was created to deal with multiple projects. Meeting the due dates, staying on budget, and delivering the full scope. We aim to get all three. If we want to meet one of these requirements, we end up compromising on one or two of the others. The reality of projects. Always has been.
“Improving flow is a primary objective of every operation.”
Rules of Flow
•Triage to ensure you are working on the right priorities
Triage according to value (to customers)
Wasting resources is the first obstacle to flow
Low-value projects should be cancelled
•Avoid bad multitasking, control your WIP
The problem with multitasking is that it’s the biggest killer of time that exists in projects
The major factor that impacts the lead time is the number of projects we multitask between. The more projects in the mix the longer the lead time (control WIP--# of active projects worked on; 1:1 done/in). Freeze 70-80% projects, a one-time effort
We assume that the sooner we start working on it the greater the chance we’ll get it done in time
Start early = more projects in WIP = more multitasking ≠ completing any on time
Finish them all at the same time when back and forth
•If you don’t want to get stuck, verify full-kit before you get going
Full-kit’ means that before we start a task or a project, we first verify we have everything we need to complete it (painting a room: tape, rags, tray, paint, etc.)
Establish a gate at each handover to ensure it has full-kit
Dosage: It’s about the quantity of work. We attempt too many projects at the same time and, we end up paying too little attention to each project
Less projects in WIP means each time project is touched, more work gets done (first-pass yield)
•Ensure synchronization between your tasks/people/ resources
Synchronization: especially relevant when one of the tasks in the project is considerably larger or longer than any one of the other tasks.
In order to manage the flow effectively, we need to use that task as our anchor and synchronize all the other tasks with it
•If you keep going back to the same projects and you don’t get the desired results, look into the option to increase the dosage
•Avoid unnecessary rework by finding what causes it (After Action Reviews excellent for this)
•Standardization is recommended when improvising is costly
Sometimes the true value of the project is actually in the nonstandard work; in the distinctive thinking and solutions that we tailor to it
•Abolish local optimum, global optimum is what matters
now we know that local efficiency does not translate into global efficiency. Our primary objective is to maximize the flow
We are used to thinking that if we find a way to become more efficient anywhere in our system, we should go for it
We assume that local efforts will add up and improve our overall performance. In fact, most of these local improvements are useless. A local change only makes a difference if it improves the overall flow
These local efforts are not only useless, they are harmful. Our resources as managers are spread thin as it is, and when we spend them monitoring useless processes, we do it at the expense of investing where it matters
Management attention is the number one constraint in most organizations. We better use it where it counts.
There are many other lessons in this short, concentrated book. I was so impressed after reading it, we did a show on The Soul of Enterprise discussing the book with my co-host, Ed Kless, who is a project management expert. Even he learned a few new things. You can listen at:
https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/t...
If you’re involved in a professional, this is another book that should convince you that timesheets are useless, because it is all about projected future capacity and estimated effort, not past hours logged on a timesheet. Highly recommended.
“The common belief, Goldratt claimed, is that if every machine is fully utilized, the entire operation will be efficient. Thus, managers attempt to maximize the efficiency of each and every machine and work center. That takes a lot of effort, but unfortunately it doesn’t yield the desired results. Instead, managers should look at the whole operation, identify the bottlenecks and focus only on their productivity.”
He called it global optimum vs. local optimum.
Project management is inherently different than production. For one, projects are not as repetitive as production. Goldratt noticed that people working in projects make the same basic error: they manage the risk locally instead of looking at the whole picture.
CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management) was created to deal with multiple projects. Meeting the due dates, staying on budget, and delivering the full scope. We aim to get all three. If we want to meet one of these requirements, we end up compromising on one or two of the others. The reality of projects. Always has been.
“Improving flow is a primary objective of every operation.”
Rules of Flow
•Triage to ensure you are working on the right priorities
Triage according to value (to customers)
Wasting resources is the first obstacle to flow
Low-value projects should be cancelled
•Avoid bad multitasking, control your WIP
The problem with multitasking is that it’s the biggest killer of time that exists in projects
The major factor that impacts the lead time is the number of projects we multitask between. The more projects in the mix the longer the lead time (control WIP--# of active projects worked on; 1:1 done/in). Freeze 70-80% projects, a one-time effort
We assume that the sooner we start working on it the greater the chance we’ll get it done in time
Start early = more projects in WIP = more multitasking ≠ completing any on time
Finish them all at the same time when back and forth
•If you don’t want to get stuck, verify full-kit before you get going
Full-kit’ means that before we start a task or a project, we first verify we have everything we need to complete it (painting a room: tape, rags, tray, paint, etc.)
Establish a gate at each handover to ensure it has full-kit
Dosage: It’s about the quantity of work. We attempt too many projects at the same time and, we end up paying too little attention to each project
Less projects in WIP means each time project is touched, more work gets done (first-pass yield)
•Ensure synchronization between your tasks/people/ resources
Synchronization: especially relevant when one of the tasks in the project is considerably larger or longer than any one of the other tasks.
In order to manage the flow effectively, we need to use that task as our anchor and synchronize all the other tasks with it
•If you keep going back to the same projects and you don’t get the desired results, look into the option to increase the dosage
•Avoid unnecessary rework by finding what causes it (After Action Reviews excellent for this)
•Standardization is recommended when improvising is costly
Sometimes the true value of the project is actually in the nonstandard work; in the distinctive thinking and solutions that we tailor to it
•Abolish local optimum, global optimum is what matters
now we know that local efficiency does not translate into global efficiency. Our primary objective is to maximize the flow
We are used to thinking that if we find a way to become more efficient anywhere in our system, we should go for it
We assume that local efforts will add up and improve our overall performance. In fact, most of these local improvements are useless. A local change only makes a difference if it improves the overall flow
These local efforts are not only useless, they are harmful. Our resources as managers are spread thin as it is, and when we spend them monitoring useless processes, we do it at the expense of investing where it matters
Management attention is the number one constraint in most organizations. We better use it where it counts.
There are many other lessons in this short, concentrated book. I was so impressed after reading it, we did a show on The Soul of Enterprise discussing the book with my co-host, Ed Kless, who is a project management expert. Even he learned a few new things. You can listen at:
https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/t...
If you’re involved in a professional, this is another book that should convince you that timesheets are useless, because it is all about projected future capacity and estimated effort, not past hours logged on a timesheet. Highly recommended.
November 2, 2023
Dr.Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag has not disappointed us and surely carries the legacy of her Dad the late Dr. Eliyahu Goldratt in the art of story telling to solve such a complex issue, whilst making it such a fun to read.
Wonderfully arriculated & summaried the "Rules of Flow" as under:
(a) Avoid bad multitasking, control your WIP
(b) If you don't want to get stuck, verify full-kit before you get going.
(c) Triage to ensure you are working on the right priorities.
(d) Ensure synchronization bet your tasks/people/resources.
(e) If you keep going back to the same projects & you don't get the desired results, look into the option to increase the dosage.
(f) Avoid unnecessary rework by finding what causes it.
(g) Strandardization is recommended when improving is costly.
(h) Abolish local optimum, global optimum is what matter.
Wonderfully arriculated & summaried the "Rules of Flow" as under:
(a) Avoid bad multitasking, control your WIP
(b) If you don't want to get stuck, verify full-kit before you get going.
(c) Triage to ensure you are working on the right priorities.
(d) Ensure synchronization bet your tasks/people/resources.
(e) If you keep going back to the same projects & you don't get the desired results, look into the option to increase the dosage.
(f) Avoid unnecessary rework by finding what causes it.
(g) Strandardization is recommended when improving is costly.
(h) Abolish local optimum, global optimum is what matter.
February 6, 2023
It's a very approachable way to introduce the theory of constraints in a project setting, though I would have preferred a bit more depth.
The Goal was good but a bit dated. The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project were both homages to The Goal, using a similar style while applying it in a DevOps context.
The Principles of Product Development Flow adds a lot to this subject by focusing on batch size, queuing, and cost of delay. It would have been nice to see some of that included in this book.
Of the books I've read in this area, Sooner Safer Happier is easily the best.
3.8 for me since it's a good introduction that gets people thinking about the subject, but I didn't have any major revelations.
The Goal was good but a bit dated. The Phoenix Project and The Unicorn Project were both homages to The Goal, using a similar style while applying it in a DevOps context.
The Principles of Product Development Flow adds a lot to this subject by focusing on batch size, queuing, and cost of delay. It would have been nice to see some of that included in this book.
Of the books I've read in this area, Sooner Safer Happier is easily the best.
3.8 for me since it's a good introduction that gets people thinking about the subject, but I didn't have any major revelations.
September 14, 2024
"Goldratt's Rules of Flow" is a compelling continuation of Eliyahu M. Goldratt's legacy, penned by his daughter, Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag. This book takes the foundational principles laid out in "The Goal" and applies them with fresh insight into the realm of project management as an update on Critical Chain, making it an essential read for anyone involved in managing projects or interested in process optimization.
Of course you can't take the rules strictly by the book, you need to adapt them to your environment, but the concepts are very applicable in many, many industries.
Great applicable ideas and common sense explained in a simple way, what else could you ask for.
Of course you can't take the rules strictly by the book, you need to adapt them to your environment, but the concepts are very applicable in many, many industries.
Great applicable ideas and common sense explained in a simple way, what else could you ask for.
January 31, 2025
I've read the Kindle version
This review will be really short, I promise
"Goldratt's Rules of Flow" is in my view what "The Goal" should be.
Writing part is still a bit basic, yet at least the author gets to the point faster than her father did.
It is still a business novel with all shortcomings that business novels do have, yet at least it gets on with it and brings to the reader ideas & concepts about TOC faster.
The overall plot is skippable, there's some bland romance, some father-son company talk blah blah blah, it's irrelevant.
I liked the part where the professor was talking with students about their work, that's where this publication imo shines.
This review will be really short, I promise
"Goldratt's Rules of Flow" is in my view what "The Goal" should be.
Writing part is still a bit basic, yet at least the author gets to the point faster than her father did.
It is still a business novel with all shortcomings that business novels do have, yet at least it gets on with it and brings to the reader ideas & concepts about TOC faster.
The overall plot is skippable, there's some bland romance, some father-son company talk blah blah blah, it's irrelevant.
I liked the part where the professor was talking with students about their work, that's where this publication imo shines.
October 27, 2023
Encouraged me to rethink my approach to projects, emphasizing the importance of considering the global optimum over local optima.
Intrigued by the discussion on the effects of multitasking.
Interested in exploring the impact of templates and full kits in project management.
Buffer management was also fascinating, particularly the idea of managing buffers at the pool-level instead of team, project, or personal level.
The book's concise nature allowed for quick and insightful reading, easily digestible within a week.
Intrigued by the discussion on the effects of multitasking.
Interested in exploring the impact of templates and full kits in project management.
Buffer management was also fascinating, particularly the idea of managing buffers at the pool-level instead of team, project, or personal level.
The book's concise nature allowed for quick and insightful reading, easily digestible within a week.
May 8, 2025
This is a book for ways to manage work flow, how to manage it properly. Are there things that make sense in project flow yes. Would have I preferred something shorter without the main character yes.
Honestly if this author wrote this book in a way her father would be proud of I’m saddened by this. The way men are described as are ambitious and smart. Women are described as chubby and know it alls…. Very off putting I had a hard time reading due to things like this.
Honestly if this author wrote this book in a way her father would be proud of I’m saddened by this. The way men are described as are ambitious and smart. Women are described as chubby and know it alls…. Very off putting I had a hard time reading due to things like this.
November 22, 2023
A short amendment to The Critical Chain. It’s fine. It gives you more tools to further increase focus.
Still shocked that it didn’t touch on Agile.
But the story seems to lack the thinking processes and growth of the main character that you are used to seeing. He follows the solutions handed to him by the processor and they worked.
Still shocked that it didn’t touch on Agile.
But the story seems to lack the thinking processes and growth of the main character that you are used to seeing. He follows the solutions handed to him by the processor and they worked.
January 21, 2024
Great ideas explained well.
It puts most of the concepts of The Goal into a more modern context. The book is more to the point than the previous books by Eli Goldratt, but very much in the same spirit.
The story works well to help me remember and keep my attention.
I hope Efrat will keep writing books in this style.
It puts most of the concepts of The Goal into a more modern context. The book is more to the point than the previous books by Eli Goldratt, but very much in the same spirit.
The story works well to help me remember and keep my attention.
I hope Efrat will keep writing books in this style.
March 25, 2024
Explains extensions to ideas developed in critical chain
Critical chain, principles of kanban and this book will be a great foundation for any project manager who handles IT projects. It also explains why Agile/scrum works. (essential control the WIP), full-kit seems to be equivalent of "definition of ready" in scrum
Critical chain, principles of kanban and this book will be a great foundation for any project manager who handles IT projects. It also explains why Agile/scrum works. (essential control the WIP), full-kit seems to be equivalent of "definition of ready" in scrum
September 30, 2025
Optimize on global instead of global optima. Reduce work in process. Eliminate rework and multitasking.
A project management focused view of Eliyahu Goldratt's work, complete with short business novel on top. Nothing terribly novel but a good application of the throughput school of management to a new domain.
A project management focused view of Eliyahu Goldratt's work, complete with short business novel on top. Nothing terribly novel but a good application of the throughput school of management to a new domain.
November 4, 2023
particularly will be useful for the managers managing multippe projects at once
- the book was light and clearly composed
- will be useful for anyone who is running multiplw projects at once
- the book was light and clearly composed
- will be useful for anyone who is running multiplw projects at once
August 29, 2024
Great business book on the principles and midset of keeping projects flowing. It was a quick easy read that had some commkn sense principles.
But what happened to his relationship with his coworker Addie?
But what happened to his relationship with his coworker Addie?
October 12, 2024
It's a business novel, the business part lacks depth and the novel part lacks any real story at all.
Can be summarised as:
1. Don't multi-task
2. Check your requirements before starting
3. And the staple: exploit the constraint, which in project work can be people with critical skills.
Can be summarised as:
1. Don't multi-task
2. Check your requirements before starting
3. And the staple: exploit the constraint, which in project work can be people with critical skills.
February 9, 2023
Outstanding book. Quick read - finished it in about 4 hours. Gave me all kinds of ideas for my new book I am writing.
June 15, 2023
Is a very good update of CCPM theory. It includes a very good tools easy to implement in day to day work
October 12, 2023
Easy read business novel. Highlights simple rules which can be followed in professional and personal life to get things done faster
November 27, 2023
Excellent book on flow and project management. I definitely learned a lot about myself and how I fit into the constraints of production.
November 29, 2023
Very good read
Nice extension to Goal…
It keeps the reader hooked all the time
Nice extension to Goal…
It keeps the reader hooked all the time
June 29, 2024
As far as management books, this one had some good information. The story that goes along is a bit tough to read so I would prefer just the management topics.
July 9, 2024
Edutainment at its finest 👌🏻
Read
July 15, 2024So waterfall
August 5, 2024
It is a book for work and I prefer pleasure so no 5 stars (I know, tough critic) but it was a good book. The information is presented well, good examples and clear. Not repetitive…good flow ;-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews