The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Fiction, about a guy who runs a failing factory, and via as series of dialogues with a mysterious mentor and his team, figures out how to transform it into the star plant in the division. I was a bit sceptical about the story format, but it really works - an entertaining and yet highly educational and elightening introduction to Theory of Constraints (TOC) - basically all about identifying and attacking bottlenecks in your production process. Superb.

The graphic move is faster to read than the novel, but I missed the depth of character that the novel provided. This version is missing the characterization, and thus it's missing some of the soul of the original work.

First read this in the 1980's. Lot of lessons here, even for software development.

A process management technique in the form of a novel. The protagonist is an industrial plant manager who learns by doing and slowly transforms his factory's production line according to the principles of the Theory of Constraints. And you learn alongside him. A lot of this is very on the nose, the side plot with his wife is cringeworthy and aged terribly, but I still got a lot out of this. A basic understanding for the workings of an (oldschool) industrial plant, but mainly lots of thoughts about how to apply the model of bottlenecks, inventory and throughput to other domains. I found this because it was recommended by an electronics youtuber, who named [b:The Soul of a New Machine 7090 The Soul of a New Machine Tracy Kidder https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627012239l/7090.SY75.jpg 882196] as one of his favorites (agreed). The other book I ordered based on his recommendations is [b:Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed 101438 Skunk Works A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed Ben R. Rich https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344267416l/101438.SY75.jpg 97803]. Totally different domain, but this also reminded me of [b:The Wealthy Barber: The Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning 2674 The Wealthy Barber The Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning David Chilton https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387743550l/2674.SY75.jpg 1798835]. What's the name of this genre? Educational fiction? Low-quality-fiction-but-high-quality-education?

Interesting book. Text book, kind of, but built around a “story”. Somewhat cheesy, but helps to define the and demonstrate lessons in a “real life” scenario of characters that work in a manufacturing facility, or group of facilities. Great demonstrations of some key ideas around defining what your goal truly is.

I read this many years ago and had forgotten the title until a recent book I read mentioned it. Hands down, it's the best book for explaining why bottlenecks exist and how you can re-arrange workflows to alleviate the bottleneck. The book is a novel set in a manufacturing plant, but the principles apply to any industry.

The upcoming season of my podcast is themed around “automation.” Before you can create an automation to help your business you need to be able to 1) identify where an automation can help and 2) make sure that automation doesn't create bottlenecks or system strains elsewhere.

If someone reads this and creating automated systems to scale business is a passion of yours, ping me. I'd love to talk.

I had great expectations on this book, and in the end, I liked it despite it missing some important aspects.

First was that the goal to make money was seen as the only goal thinkable. Making money is a requirement, but great organisations have a purpose higher than that. But I accepted it as framing the learning in this book.

Liked:
Key takeaway is to challenge your assumptions. Look for bottlenecks and optimize for them.
Reduce Lead time increases value.
Do not produce stuff no one wants.

Longed for:
The book would be even greater if coworkers were part of the decision-making and brought their perspectives. In this book, only managers made all decisions, without involving people working in the factory.

If you have an interest in leadership, processes, or factories this book will keep you interested with its story format.