The Goal
The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox is a business novel that introduces the Theory of Constraints. Through the story of a manufacturing plant manager, it explains how to identify bottlenecks, optimise flow, and align metrics with overall system throughput rather than local efficiencies.
The book popularised concepts such as the five focusing steps and drum-buffer-rope scheduling. Its storytelling format makes complex operational ideas accessible, providing leaders with a vocabulary for diagnosing constraints and prioritising improvement work.