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    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Aniversary Edition
    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Aniversary Edition
    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Aniversary Edition
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Aniversary Edition

    Written by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox

    Narrated by Ensemble Cast

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    In celebration of thirty years since the first publication of Eliyahu Goldratt#8217;s essential business classic, HighBridge is proud to present an expanded audio edition of The Goal, featuring the original novel, plus case study reviews, and the author#8217;s highly regarded essay #8220;Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.#8221; Also included is an audio archive exclusive featuring Eliyahu Goldratt in conversation about the significance-both personal and professional-of his breakthrough work.Alex Rogo is the manager of a failing manufacturing plant who receives an ultimatum from corporate headquarters: Turn the situation around in three months or the plant will be scrapped. With help from a mysterious mentor, Rogo discovers a revolutionary new way to do business-a way for people in any field of endeavor to increase productivity, profitability, and personal fulfillment.The story of Alex#8217;s fight to save his plant contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints (TOC) developed by Dr. Goldratt. First published in 1984, The Goal has changed how America does business.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateMar 18, 2014
    ISBN9781622313952
    The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Aniversary Edition

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    Reviews for The Goal

    4/5

    684 ratings37 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Just beautifully recorded audiobook! Different voices and sound effects - just brilliant!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Thought Provoking Book written in a lucid novel like style .

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      If you have any decision making position in a factory, this book is a must. While I don't have a decision making position in a factory, this book helped me in my job, in understanding how I can, as an electromechanic, help in the global effort by priorising my work on the bottlenecks and especially on the machines that are the biggest source of Murphy's Strikings in those bottleneck work centers. A big thank you to my Sector Director who recommanded this book to me!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The Goal was pretty good analyzing principles from the Toyota Way and TPS. This book used real world examples to understand ways to reduce waste and hit production targets.
    • 5/5
      Great book, informative, thought provoking and relatable. Fully recommend to anyone in manufacturing or management
    • 4/5
      I agree with others that the marital problems subplot felt a little unnecessary, however The Richest Man in Babylon also has subplots... Ultimately I think these flourishes are valuable. For one, they make it very clear when the protagonist is doing good or doing bad. And in this story, the author intends the reader to understand that these concepts are universally applicable.
    • 5/5
      It was eye opening on how to look at managing problems not only at job but in life too
    • 5/5
      This book is a must read through for everyone in business or manufacturing, from a startup to a global firm. It is easy to understand, and listening is entertaining as well. It is one of the primary reads in every good MBA program, and I highly recommend it. It also applies to modern 21st century business.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic real world applications of TOC methodology to obtain sustainable competitive advantage in the market place.
    • 5/5
      Great insights. Part of my reading for the MBA program
    • 5/5
      Insightful. I highly recommend it for managers and aspiring managers.
    • 5/5
      Genius! Excellent t read. Helps to challenge your preconceived beliefs on business and life
    • 5/5
      Simplicity and the story telling in explaining the philosophy. Greatly impressed.
    • 3/5
      Written by an insurance professional for the insurance industry, there are truths that are effective for any industry.
    • 5/5
      Interesting characters and way of thinking it’s for me it was very easy to come up with some solutions but it’s because of my profession as an engineer.
    • 3/5
      Read this book back in college and was relieved to be assigned something other than a textbook. Now listening to it again because I like the idea of a novel style textbook but this book is so out of date in the way the characters are portrayed. The women are made out to be dimwitted and either a secretary or a housewife. I'm just tired of reading academic books from a white man's perspective.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      audiobook starts at chapter 9, and there is no way to skip to the actual beginning. wrong book is set as the cover art.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      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.

    • 2/5
      Though it was slightly more readable than I expected, this graphic novel about business management was still pretty darn dull.
    • 3/5
      Interesting read - describes the Theory of Constraints in a narrative format that makes it a bit more palatable, but still a little dry reading. Reading for my management course this fall...hopefully, will be able to apply to life in information management!
    • 5/5
      THE GOAL is an interesting business novel about a plant manager, Alex, who was faced with a challenge of improving the performance of his plant or else will face a plant shutdown and become jobless after a 3-month notice from his superior, Peach.Alex got enlightened when he coincidentally met Jonah, a TOC consultant, in an airport lounge. Jonah helped Alex get over his trouble through his Socratic way of leading people to solutions by questioning them rather than giving them answers. The beauty of this novel is depicted in its logical thinking in achieving the one goal of any organization; namely, making money. The book starts with the misconception about ‘Productivity’ and it shows that it is meaningless if it does not end up in affecting the bottom line. Then, it explains the measurements that TOC (Theory of Constraints) uses to measure progress towards achieving the Goal, viz., Throughput, Inventory, and Operational Expenses.The book presents, thru the manufacturing setting of the troubled Plant, the concept of a bottleneck, which is later referred to as Constraint. It shows how Alex succeeded in turning around his plant into the most successful in the group through the 5-step approach of TOC: Identifying the constraint, Exploiting it, Subordinating everything else to it, Elevating it, and going back to the first step if the constraint is broken and another is shown up somewhere else in the system.The Goal is a real eye-opener to the logical steps of an ongoing improvement process. It takes one much effort to deploy such a process in any organization as it mandates a shift of paradigm. Yet, it is a good start for those embarking on making changes in their workplace. Readers of The Goal should continue learning about TOC and the details of its 5-step process by reading Goldratt’s other book “It’s Not Luck!”.
    • 4/5
      Whereas I encountered Goldratt's Theory of Constraints in various meetings on planning, and project management conferences, I never read The Goal (1986), until now. In 2014 I bought a stack of classic management books from Henk Jan Kamsteeg (author, coach, Communications & Marketing manager at In Justice Mission Netherlands). One of that books: the Dutch translation of The Goal. The Theory of Constraints packed in a novel, part facing tough production issues, part love story. Both marriage and work have their challenges. It's up to Alex Rogo to find solutions. Jonah is his coach, practicing Socratic questioning. What proves to be common sense may be so difficult to find. How to streamline production processes, avoiding waste, unneeded stocks, and become profitable again? Learn the 5 important steps of the Theory of Constraints from a as real as possible live situation.
    • 5/5
      Very well written book that both entertains and teaches. Ideal for anyone looking to understand how to run an efficient, productive business using Goldratt's Theory of Constraints.
    • 4/5
      liked the way the TOC was writen as a story. The books takes you along with Alex Rogo on a journey to find out which steps he needs to take to make his plant profitable. He achieves this by logical thinking, taking some major steps in thinking and is influenced by his old fysics tacher Johah. Together with his team he manages to implement a process for continuous learning. During all this he also finds a way to rescue his marriage. Inspiring.
    • 3/5
      This is a good book from a business philosophy perspective. From a literary perspective, it's fairly atrocious. I think it is still worth the read if you are interested in management and process improvement. It is written like a novel, but clearly, not the main point. I found that I enjoyed it - but would probably have enjoyed a speaker on the subject more.
    • 4/5
      Terrific book re-evaluating the way companies think about smart manufacturing
    • 5/5
      This is probably one of the most interesting business books I have ever read, probably more for its style than its content. The book presents the Theory of Constraints but not with dry, repetitive, lecturing. It does it in a fictionalized, novel format. It doesn't spoon feed the process. You work along with the characters to develop an understanding. I found it incredibly interesting and motivating to read.
    • 4/5
      "The novel that is changing American business", from the cover
    • 2/5
      The book is engaging but I was disappointed that most of it are lean principles, and not something path breaking as I had imagined.