The Goal by Eli Goldratt, by

There aren’t too many ‘interesting’ management books out there. This one is. By creating characters in a manufacturing plant and putting them in a story, that I’m sure we can all relate to, the author has produced a bit of a masterpiece. It is an old book – written before mobile phones and computers ran the world – so some predicaments are no longer valid. Also, it may teach you to suck eggs in places and some of the situations are a little too contrived.

But, on the whole, an excellent management book. A real page-turner

Well, I’ve started reading it now. I wasn’t sure at all to begin with. My copy has a different cover (a super-cheesy shot of the author) and reading the back I was a bit unsure as to how the manufacturing setting would translate to my business. Time will tell, but so far I am finding it quite compelling to read. Love to be surprised by a book!

Quick question: I have reserved the book from the library, but takes a week to arrive. When you say book of the “month” is that the calendar month, or four week period starting from now?

Sorry for being pedantic, I am just setting the expectations with myself, as to how quickly I need to finish the book! Busy bookworm reading ahoy!

It’s about 5 years since I read this. It’s interesting looking back becasue it was a book which made an impact on me and it’s readability really helped. In practice over the years I have found that some of it has been useful to build into my methodologys and thought processes and some less so.

The one thing I think it lacks is enough detail for people to be able to apply the ideas in practice. Lots of techniques are talked about and I thought I had understood them. When I went back to use them I realised that aprts of the how were missing. Have other people had this experience?

It’s a book I certainly recommend to others – it’s good for people who find business book hard going and aas an introduction to effective ways of working.

Louise

Hi Bookworms!

I have just bought this on Kindle and I am looking forward to reading it when I have finished my current book. It isn’t a title or an author I have come across before and I find the idea of a business book written as a novel quite intriguing!

Jo

Right then I’m off to download this onto my Kindle and will get reading…

Hello all yes, its OK Priscilla you have at least a month to read the book, and whilst we will have a new book each month the discussions will stay open in the archive as we move forward so you can comment when ever you get a chance.

Louise, particularly interesting to hear your views give what you do – what bits do you think are missing? How have things moved on in terms of Process Engineering since this was written?

Thanks for choosing The Goal for your Book of the Month—and thanks, too, for all the comments here. Here is a link to other books relating to Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints: http://northriverpress.com. They are all available on Amazon, too. Happy reading!

Glad I have some time to read. Should arrive tomorrow

Well, I’ve finished reading it, and I have to say about a third of the way through I was really not enjoying it. The start of the book seemed really bleak and depressing and I always hate books which are about money as the sole aim of a business (I know, I know, I’ve naive).

Anyway, as it was book of the month I thought I’d best read on and I am very glad I did. Looking forward to hearing what everyone else thought of it, but for me it contained some really useful information – it has made me see some previous difficult situations more clearly, really focused my mind on the constraints in my current business (unsurprisingly they are mostly me) and forever revolutionised the order in which my OH cooks the components of eggs and soldiers. What more can you ask for from a book?

How is everyone else getting on with it?

Just got the book from the library, have read the first chapter and a bit! I must be in the bleak and depressing bit, hopefully get lighter soon!

Priscilla, it depressed me too – I think partly because of the focus on money, but also because it all a bit bleak to start out. Keep going!

Hi Isla and all
Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to your question.
I found that it was missing the how to. It seemed to all be there until you plan to implement it and then you realise you might need more detail.

Having said that, it’s great for inspiration and overview

Forgot to ask – what’s the new improved way of cooking eggs and soldiers?

so after waiting ages for the book to arrive I set to and read…and read,.. and read… Really enjoyed it because it was a story I think and as those of you who know me know, i love stories. Funnily enough I didn’t find it bleak in the beginning at all – i think it created a ‘hunger’ ie a strong WHY we need to understand this stuff before getting into the nitty gritty. I am slightly surprised that I read it so diligently as I have never worked in manufacturing at this level. The bits I took away though are applicable elsewhere – asking great questions, coaching, having a strong team, listening to them and involving them.
Thought the husband/wife bit was a bit cheesy though although loved that his mother fed him oatmeal and said she would put it on the fridge for later when he didn’t eat it at breakfast! My sort of motherhood!

Finally got round to reading this last week. I will start by saying that is was a bit cheesy but that nevertheless I found myself quite enjoying it- maybe this just proves that I am a bit cheesy too! I have the feeling that some of the ideas will stick with me into my everyday life (tho I am not convinced that the toast is ever the constraint in egg and soldiers and suggest that rubystar might need to buy her OH a new toaster!).

I liked that in the last chapter he broadened it out a bit to try to show how the general principles might be applicable to non-manufacturing settings. What struck me was that the conclusions he draws, are very similar to some of the things that I teach people (I work in international development and provide training to policy making institutions on how to make use of research evidence). In particular, I liked the emphasis in the final pages on finding out what your key constraint is and then coming up with a potential solution which you then test out. It reminded me of this blog article I wrote: http://www.researchtoaction.org/what-problem-are-you-trying-to-solve/ about how people have a tendency to jump in with solutions (in this case in the form of communcation strategies) without understanding the core issue they wish to deal with.

I agree with some of the other bookwormers that the book was rather short on practical solutions- in particular I was reading the last chapter eagerly awaiting the method that he would use to identify the core contraint in the division- and then he didn’t tell us!! For my part, I find that using a problem tree analysis (where you break down causes and effects of a particular problem) is a useful way to get to understand core problems once you have identified them but I think identifying what the core organisational problem is can be tricky and sometimes needs a fresh pair of eyes- what do others think?

I enjoyed the narrative approach to this story, and the analogy of the single file scouts/bottleneck/declining throughput was a beautifully described revelation. Who’d have thought anyone could have so succinctly helped us to discover the importance of ‘dependant events and statistical fluctuations’ ?

Jonah’s coaching questions worked well, as did having a strong team to bounce ideas off. I liked the fact that I too, was trying to work out the answers, and not just have them presented to me.

All in all, an engaging and thought provoking book with some real revelations. Even though I found the ending rather an anticlimax, I’ll still be passing it on to some of my manufacturing clients!

I am 68% of the way through (you know this sort of stuff with Kindle!) and it has been heavy going in one sense and fascinating in another! I am going to change careers and go and work in manufacturing (if there is any left in the UK!).

I’ll let you know if it changed my life by the time I get to the end