ISBN 978-0-88427-178-9
408 pages
Easy reading on the theory of constraints application.
Approx. 10 hours. July 2025
"The Goal" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt is a business novel that introduces the Theory of Constraints (TOC) through the story of a plant manager named Alex Rogo, who must save his struggling manufacturing plant from closure within 90 days.
Key Concepts:
The Goal: The true objective of a business is to make money.
Three Key Metrics:
Throughput – the rate at which the system generates money through sales.
Inventory – all the money invested in purchasing things the system intends to sell.
Operational Expense – all the money the system spends to turn inventory into throughput.
Bottlenecks/Constraints: Every system has at least one limiting factor. Improving performance requires identifying and elevating that constraint.
Five Focusing Steps (TOC):
Identify the system's constraint(s).
Exploit the constraint.
Subordinate everything else to the constraint.
Elevate the constraint.
If the constraint has been broken, go back to step 1.
Outcome:
By applying these principles, Alex and his team streamline operations, improve delivery times, and save the plant. He is promoted, and the story ends with Alex applying the same logic to improve other parts of the business.
