The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu Goldratt

by Josh Kaufman

The best way to learn about a subject is to observe a person while they’re living it. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement is not a traditional business book: it’s a novel about Alex Rogo, a plant manager whose factory is on the brink of being closed.

As the story progresses, Goldratt and Cox use each event to teach you about operations management, systems thinking, asking good questions, analyzing constraints, managerial decision-making, and the inherently human nature of business. You’ll be privy to Rogo’s thoughts, questions, and hardships as he discovers that the way to save his plant is by abandoning outdated concepts and adopting new ways of thinking.

Aside from the the concepts, The Goal is very engaging and memorable, which helps to reinforce the information presented in the book. Goldratt’s “Theory of Constraints” would be easy to forget if presented in a more academic format, but watching it work makes it hard to forget. Who knew running a factory could be so captivating?

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