Basic Summary:

• The Goal is a fictional novel that teaches manufacturing and plant management in an innovative way. It was critically well-received at the time of publishing.
• The Goal elaborates on author Stephen Goldratt's "Theory of Constraints." Although several experts on business strategy have made critiques against the rigor of this theory, it is stil a practical, intuitive tool to help teach many essential principles of business management.
• "I wouldn't want to see one measurement increase while the other two were ignored. I would want to see increases in net profit and return on investment and cash flow - all three of them. And I would want to see all three of them increase all the time. Man, think of it. We'd really be making money if we could have all of the measurements go up simultaneously and forever. So this is the goal: To make money by increasing net profit, while simultaneously increasing return on investment, and simultaneously increasing cash flow."
• "Unfortunately, I don't have a year to go back to school and re-study a lot of theory. I don't even have the time to read the magazines, papers, and reports piling up in my office. I don't have the time or the budget to screw around with consultants, making studies and all that crap. And anyway, even if I did have the time and money, I'm not sure any of those would give me a much better insight than what I've got now."
• "I slowly realize that the only tools I have - limited as they may be - are my own eyes and ears, my own hands, my own voice, my own mind. That's about it. I am all I have. And the thought keeps coming back to me: I don't know if that's enough."

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