The Goal book review

I got a copy of this book in Waterstones. It was one of those books that you randomly pick up in the business section and the description of the book intrigued me. It was a management book written as a novel – and it also had great endorsements so I purchased it. An impulse buy to be sure but one that I have not regretted.

The Goal is 20 years old and introduces a concept called Theory of Constraints (TOC). The story is about Alex Rogo, a plant manager given 3 months to turn his plant around or it closes. He meets his “business coach” (a physics professor) accidentally and the story unfolds the interactions between the two as well as Alex and his team (and wife).

The professor challenges all of Alex’s assumptions and asks him to think about things differently.

The back of the book promises a “fast paced thriller style”. This is not how I would describe it but I was captivated and wanted to finish the book. It was written well and for me, it was a good style.

The first riddle to solve: the goal. What is the goal of any organisation? The answer: make money. Anything and everything a company does then should help them achieve this goal. The story is about how he takes his failing company and makes money. As I said, it is a great read that I recommend. Also, if you like this book – the sequel – It’s Not Luck is also a good read and deals more with TOC for sales and marketing.

Both books together caused me to buy some other books on TOC to get a better understanding on the whole thing. All of it is money well spent. Today – we received their CD Rom for kids to help them describe conflict and find solutions.