Insights from The Goal
From the Taking the Plunge Blog
by Aaron Porter
In case you actually read this description, the beginning of the blog is about preparing for the PMP exam. It then evolved into maintaining my credential. While maintaining relevant credentials is important, it doesn't make a good long-term topic. Watch for experiments, some serious topics as I try out new things and "take the plunge", and maybe a little bit of fun.
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I'm currently listening to The Goal, by Eliyahu Goldratt and Jeff Cox, while I commute to and from work. I'm about halfway through it and, so far, it reminds me of some problems we experienced load testing our ERP and sales systems.
We encountered login failures during load testing, where we hadn't before. A little digging revealed that recent performance improvements had sped up our submit times but we hadn't accounted for the impact on other processes. As a result, we experienced failures. Our attempt to become more efficient made us less efficient because the improvements we made ran into downstream processes which choked due to greater volume than anticipated.
One possible interpretation of the message of The Goal is that overemphasis on efficiency when doing something can lead to ignoring the reason why you're doing what you're doing, in the first place. You basically end up failing efficiently, but that is a little oversimplified. A bigger concern is whether or not you are focusing on the right efficiencies. It doesn't matter how efficient your production is if you're not selling anything. From a software development perspective, it doesn't matter how efficiently your team is developing code if they're not delivering code that the customer wants.
From a project management perspective, are your projects helping your company achieve its goals? A project can be on time and within budget, yet still do nothing to help a company achieve its goals.
Don't worry, I'm not about to segue into Portfolio Management. I could, but if you're not doing Portfolio Management now, you're not going to automagically be able to start once you finish reading this. You can, however, examine your products with the critical eye of The Goal (with the caveat that I have not finished the book, yet). Does your project help your company meet its goal through some combination of reducing inventory, reducing operational expenses, and increasing cash flow?
What about you? Have you read The Goal? If so, what insights did you gain from it, as it relates to project management?
Posted on: January 28, 2017 04:16 PM |
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Comments (19)
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Thilo Wack
Head of Existing Product and Test Lab| optimed
Tholey-Hasborn, Germany
Aaron,
I've read the goal and found it to be very thought provoking. The bottleneck principle and the metaphor of the chain with links of different strengths, the weakest being where you need to focus on has proven time and again helpful to me. However with regard to project management I found that "Critical Chain" and the sequel of "The goal" named "It's not luck" actually bring Goldratt's theory of constraints much more into the world of project management.
Aaron Porter
Community Champion
IT Director| Blade HQ
Payson, UT, United States
I wasn't aware of the sequel. I'll add it to my list. Thank you!
I haven't read the book. Driving and listening to a book...this is another level!
I actually read the book in my Operations class during my MBA program. I really enjoyed it and learned about bottlenecks and the Theory of Constraints for the first time. At that time I chose to focus on Operations and Supply Chain Management and years later found myself naturally fitting into project management. I, too, highly recommend The Goal to anyone interested in putting technical ideas in an easy to read and understand story. Now that I have work experience, it is amazing to see how many of my experiences can be seen in this story which makes me appreciate it even more. Hope you enjoy it too.
Thilo Wack
Head of Existing Product and Test Lab| optimed
Tholey-Hasborn, Germany
Aaron,
I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Any book by Goldratt is a good read. The sequel introduces the TOC (theory of constraints) thinking processes, a somewhat formal, but very powerful way of analyzing and solving problems
I enjoyed Goldratt’s books and especially appreciate how the ideas like lowering WIP to expose constraints drive lean and kanban principles.
Aejaz Shaikh
PM I| Alyx Technologies India Pvt Ltd
Pune, Maharshatra, India
Well not aware of this, but thanks now adding it to my To-Do list.
Ken Bradshaw
Project Manager| CRA
Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
I'm always glad to hear of book recommendations; I'll definitely give this one a try!
Aaron Porter
Community Champion
IT Director| Blade HQ
Payson, UT, United States
I just finished one of the books that follows The Goal. It is "Critical Chain: Project Management and the Theory of Constraints." It is more applicable to project management and provides interesting discussion on prioritizing bottlenecks across multiple projects. It has created a few more questions that I need to look into, but overall very thought provoking.
I will add to my reading list. Thanks
Hi Aron,
"The Goal" is one of my favourite books!
I hope you enjoy it and keep looking for the bottlenecks :)
Karthik T
Senior Engineering Manager| Nike
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Good to know, thanks for sharing.
Mansoor Mustafa
Senior PM| Government Department
Rawalpindi Punjab, Pakistan
Thanks Aaron, nice article
A really interesting book with lots of takeaways. The Goal (to decide what is productive and what is not), measurements, critical thinking, team work and finally don't loose hope.
Thanks Aaron for a great recommendation.
I agree that it is a really interesting book. as I am in my PMP credentials renewal phase did anybody claim PDU's for reading it? how many and which category? thank you
Luis Branco
CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª
Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Aaron
Interesting your perspective on the topic: "Insights from The Goal"
Thanks for sharing
Important point to remember:
"overemphasis on efficiency when doing something can lead to ignoring the reason why you're doing what you're doing, in the first place."
John Fisch
Other| Booz Allen Hamilton
Albuquerque, Nm, United States
I just finished giving the book a second read, the first time being over a decade ago. It was good to be reminded of key tenets, especially the need to align activities, and their rates of performance, with desired outcomes.
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