The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (1984)

As management books go, this is surprisingly readable. It is also simplified and drops off in quality in the later part. The idea here is to not get stuck in your old practices, your old measurements, your old models, and instead question everything you believe is true and see if you can't do things better or differently.

This book describes the experiences of a plant manager, Alex, whose plant is struggling and is facing shutdown. They panic, rush everything, and still they fall further behind. The efficiency numbers are good though and that is what matters. Or isn't it?

There are also a neglectad wife and two children in the book but they are mostly just sounding boards.
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A lot of clichés in the writing, but presenting flow and the theory of constraints in a fictional story works surprisingly well. For the most part I wanted to keep reading because of the story. The story also makes me remember the key points really well. The explanation is less clear in the end though, and the story could have been much shorter while still getting the points through. ( )

Some of the fiction elements may sound a tad outdated today, but this book is just as relevant now. The audiobook is particularly well-done. ( )

Theory of constraints

This book helped define the genre of management books told as narrative fiction. It teaches management principles while allowing the reader to see what real management looks like in practice. This particular work even introduces a love story to the mix.

This story tells the common tale of a generic manufacturing plant and a marriage in crisis. It’s in the ilk of a coming-of-age tale in which the main character Alex learns how to take the responsibility of turning around a failing plant. He gets counsel from Jonah who mentors Alex in his growth. Alex’s marriage also bounces back from separation. Alex learns how to think and how to manage. In the end, he succeeds in gaining autonomy and independence.

Books like this are a good way to learn. While they educate, they also entertain. The process of filtering through the conflicting signals allow growth to happen more naturally – more along the lines of real life instead of just memorizing a textbook. In the 1980s (when this book was written), Goldratt pioneered this technique which can now be found across many management books. He borrows this technique from the famed Socratic method of teaching.

Overall, this book succeeds in getting its point across with clarity and effectiveness. For those with business inclinations, it’s worth the time to observe how the genre of business fiction came about.

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