Book Review - “The Goal: A

Process of Ongoing Improvement”

— Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

The Goal:A Process of Ongoing Improvement is a management oriented

fiction novel,written by Eliyahu M. Goldratt,a prominent Business
consultant and Jeff Cox,a best selling author.The First Edition of the
novel,comprising 31 chapters was originally published by The North River
Press in the year 1984,and has continuously been revised since then,with
the First Revised Edition of the book publishing in 1986,the Second
Revised Edition in 1992,the Third Revised Edition in 2004 and the Fourth
Revised Edition in 2014.Not only has the compelling best-selling novel
been translated into 35 varied languages,but also has sold over 6 million
copies worldwide.

Eliyahu M. Goldrett,born in 1947,was initially a physiciat in Isreal,who

later ruled over the mass as an author,philosopher
scientist,educator,thinker and a renowned Business Guru.Tagged as a
genius by Business week,he originated various theories and derivations
such as the Theory of Constraints(TOC),the Thinking Processes,Critical
Chain Project Management(CCPM).He also acted as an advisor to various
corporations and government agencies. Some of his other business novels
and non-fiction works include Critical Chain:A Business Novel,It’s Not
luck,Necessary but Not Sufficient:A Theory of Constraints Business
Novel,The Race,etc.He departed this life in 2011,and even until now,his
concepts are still prevalent in areas of healthcare,counselling,agriculture
and more.

The Goal has remained a perpetual brand leader ever since it was
published and is a book designed in such a way to attract audiences from
diverse compass,be it college students,CEOs of organizations,production
managers,accountants,teachers and people at all levels since it is easy to
grasp because of its comprehensible and penetrable storyline.Eliyahu
has used fundamental common sense as the core view to approach the
production world.The novel has been an authentic success in predicating
the problems faced by todays’ managers in almost all the existing
businesses.Also,it has emerged triumphant in advocating and
propounding constructively practicable solutions,interpretations and
measurements for the same.

State of the art Global Principles of Manufacturing have been introduced

in the novel by the round the clock relentless input by Mr. Alex
Rogo,who’s been portrayed as an upskilled and efficient young plant
manager at UniCo in his hometown Bearington.The plot is based upon
how Alex gradually realises his deteriorating plant performance and
output,which even in the severity of the cicumstances might be propelled
to be shut down.However,all this occurs simultaneoulsy at the time when
his marriage with his wife,Julie Rogo is falling apart,while he’s busy
hubbing around the problems at the factory.Juile is still struggling to fine-
tune herself to the wearisome and unexciting life at the small town with
their two kids,son Dave and daughter Sharon.The author,though being a
physicist,with zero experience in the actual industry,has left no stone
unturned in making the content of the novel supremely graphic and
articulate.

Inspite of the book being written from the viewpoint of the

manufacturing sector,the principles solicited by Alex can be pertained to
other spheres as well as in an individaul’s life too.The story begins with
Bill Peach,the division’s Vice President,driving down to the plant and
issuing an ultimatum to Alex to release a particular overdue order by the
end of the day;also stating that better he would miraculously transfigure
and revolutionize the unproductive plant into a productive one or else
both him and the plant would be knocked off and wound up.Alex then
unites along with his invariably enduring super support team,which
comprises of Lou,the Head Accountant;Fran,Alex’s Secretary;Stacey,the
Plant Inventory Manager;Bob Donovan,the Production Manager and
Ralph Nakamura,Data Processing Manager,to scrutinize the depth of
the situation and discover a remedy for the same.Throughout the
novel,whenever he’s in a dilemma,he endeavoured counselling and
enlightenment from his long diatance mentor,Jonah,his old Physics
professor,whom he had met incidentally at the airport before.
Jonah had a totally unique way of figuring out the pros and cons of a
situation.He never solves Alex’s issues by answering his questions,rather
he used to restock and pile him up with more questions and suggested
him to find answers to the same,providing him with sequence of
progressive intimation and pointers to save the plant,beginning with
asserting Alex to find out the real ultimate goal of the plant and the
organization.Shipments at their plant were unreasonably late and
inventories mounting high,along with production being delayed and
overdue orders piling up at the pivot.Sailing through each of Jonah’s clues
with intrigued attention,along with his entire team,Alex managed to find
flaws which they termed as Bottlenecks,applied a number of trials and
errors,smoothen the flow of production,and ease the process of shipping
their previous as well as current orders,and thus,somehow save himself
and his plant from the shutdown.They managed to convert their
constraints into opportunties evolving as unalloyed conquerors with each
passing day,earning supernatural profits for the company and bagging
paramount sales orders.The biggest lesson learnt was Activating a
Resource and Uilizing a Resource are two different concepts,meaning
just using a resource and making moneyout of its usage are extreme
opposites.

Alex and his team consequently realize that the goal of the plant as well
as the division was not cost reduction techniques or cost effective
purchasing,latest technology,quality products,customer
satisfaction,market share,but the quintessential eventual goal is to Make
More and More Money.Nothing was superlative to this goal,and only
achieving this milestone could save them from all the odds.Meanwhile
battling theough all this,Julie,who had been quite upset over Alex’s
demeaning behaviour towards her,moves over to her parents’ house
secretively,which Alex took no time to find out.But as the operations at
the plant normalize,Alex turnt out to be more diverted towards his
family,comprehending every way possible to win back Julie and tried
spending more time with her.

Lately and fortunately,he was victorious in bringing Julie back at their

home and convincingly but not surprisingly,Alex’s plant and his strategies
were aplauded and eulogized,designating his plant as the most
productive one in the entire company.Not only this,Alex is promoted to
the position of President of UniCo,with now not only one but four plants
under him to supervise and with his diligence and Jonah’s unceasing
advices,he was self assured of undertaking this responsibilty,along with
his entire team getting promoted to a step higher.Before commencing to
manage the new leadership,he acquires knowledge of the
following,which would act as the stepping stone to future quest and
chores.
 What to change?
 What to change to?
 How to cause the change?
Alex discovered that the keys to skillful management lie under the
vigorous task of answering these questions,and the day he might do so,he
would presumably be called a good manager.Not only are the techincal
aspects of management covered under The Goal,but also the struggles of
corporate managers are being talked about,whose lives are saturated
with the burder of career stabilizing their personal lives.

In its own unique way,The Goal has been engaging the readers
ardently,disproving the many scientific ideas and realms which are being
followed ever since invented.Working and Making Money are
contradictory forces.Not all that we invest in working accounts to being
converted into prodit or money making.Net Profit,Return on Investment
and Cash Flow should be elevating substantially in a business.It can be
subtly deduced from the book that the three money measrements which
should predominantly be embarked upon while carrying business are:
 Throughput
 Inventory
 Operational Expense
Throughput is the incoming money through sale of products.Inventory is
the money inside the business invested in the products yet to be
produced to sell.Operational expense is the money paid to arrive at
throughput from inventory.The Goal has actually made the people realise
through practical terms that the business can flourish only when
Throughput is winging high,along with both the Inventory and
Operational Expense levelling down concurrently.
As per Jonah’s logic,we have also come to savvy that a plant where
everyone is under constant work is very inefficient,and he has explained
this through the use of terms like Dependent Events and Statistical
Fluctuations.The constraints,ie the Bottlenecks,should be wisely
identified in the process,exploited and then sequencing should be based
positioning the bottleneck.

The novel is not only an instrumental learning guide for managers,but it

affects each one of us in determining our understanding of the previously
born concepts.The author,through his thorough and deep apprehension
and compassion,delivers a message to all out there that the first and the
foremost task of any individual or a manager is to identify the goal of
what they are thriving for.The overriding salient notion that the book
teaches us to absorb is Teamwork.As we all know,United we
stand,Divided we fall,thus the chief motive of the entire composition of
the team should be to support each other in evolving.The Goal has
undeniably taught us to Work Smarter,Not Harder.It is very evident from
the fact that unnecessary grinding of man or labour without knowledge of
the goal is sheerly futile and ineffectual.

Not to forget,the most important lesson this guide has given us it to

Never Give Up.No matter what the atrocities are,no matter how worse
the circumstances show up,the only factor which contributes to emerging
as a prosperously affluent pioneer,innovator and overseer is confidence
in self and the team.The character which influences me the most is
Alex.Though Jonah was one of his kind,but he was a self improvised being
who is being portrayed as an effortless commander,guiding Alex through
the highs and lows of his plant.What Alex has excelled in was the fact that
he kept on pondering over what was ever mentored to him.He actually
burnt the midnight oil in hitting onto every fact,every word,every
situation,every question which paved his way through his success.He
never let that spirit of learning fade away which can inevitably be
concluded from the fact that he drained Jonah in every way possible.He
was an admirable guide for all this co-workers,who never succumbed to
any despair arising out there at the factory.Nonetheless,though lately,but
he managed to balance both his career and his family with his earnest
passion and dedication.
Since The Goal has the momentum to provoke business fundamentals
and formulas,it should be a part of syllabus including MBA,Accounting
courses and Business development courses. The novel has been
enormously bestowing its best to zones like Process Improvement,Sales
and Marketing,Operations Planning.I would highly recommend this novel
to someone who has high aspirations in purauing their career in any
sector because the way The Goal has imbibed a sense of
ownership,leadership,multitasking,management,reverence,appreciation
and exposure in the readers is enigmatically inexplicable.