The Choice [Paperback]

Eliyahu M. Goldratt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2008

TOC has been successfully applied in almost every area of human endeavor, from industry to healthcare to education. And while Eli Goldratt is indeed a scientist, an educator and a business leader, he is first and foremost a philosopher; some say a genius.
He is a thinker who provokes others to do the same. Often characterized as unconventional, and always stimulating--a slayer of sacred cows-- Dr. Goldratt exhorts his readers to examine and reassess their lives and business practices by cultivating a different perspective and a clear new vision. In his latest book, The Choice, Goldratt once again presents his thought provoking approach, this time through a conversation with his daughter Efrat, as he explains to her his fundamental system of beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Foreword:
Eli Goldratt is probably best known by his millions of readers as a business guru. Those who know him a little better may think of him as a scientist and an educator, and to some he is a genius, a classification he vehemently denies. To me he is all that and, of course, much more. I have been Eli's publisher, editor and friend for over twenty-five years.

Early on I was aware that Eli is actually on a quest to demonstrate that the approach and methods of the hard sciences can and should be applied to the social sciences. He initially targeted management science, claiming that since in that branch of the social sciences results are measurable, people find it harder to dispute the superiority of using the hard science techniques. It was fascinating to see how gradually the business world accepted Eli's work in spite of the fact that so much of it is a drastic departure from tradition. His Theory of Constraints (TOC) is now taught at almost every business school and MBA program and has been used by thousands of companies and government agencies worldwide. TOC has been successfully applied in almost every area of human endeavor, from industry to health care to education.

Unlike his readers, I have had the opportunity to see Eli in action. Together we struggled in an industry-- the publishing industry--that views itself as so unique that its self-imposed limitations are almost written in stone. As of this writing we have published nine books together; books that have been translated into twentyseven languages, and sold many millions of copies. We have had tremendous success, outselling many bestsellers by far and keeping an undiminished market for our books. Eli's first book, The Goal, sells as many copies per year now as it did twenty years ago. Taking into account the millions of used copies available, this is a remarkable feat. Of course we made mistakes along the way, but each mistake led to new thought, new approaches, new ways, which in turn led to more success.

What I realized through that struggle is that Eli has developed much more than he was writing about. I became convinced that he developed a pragmatic life philosophy that guides not just his writing but also all his conduct. It's no wonder that I started to press him to share, in writing, his unique approach. For years, actually decades, he declined, claiming that he was not yet ready. At last I prevailed. This book is the result. I hope you enjoy and benefit from it as much as I do.

Laurence Gadd
The North River Press

Product Details

• Paperback: 173 pages
• Publisher: North River Press (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884271897
• ISBN-13: 978-0884271895
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #385,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eli Goldratt is an educator, author, scientist, philosopher, and business leader. But he is, first and foremost, a thinker who provokes others to think. Often characterized as unconventional, stimulating, and "a slayer of sacred cows," Dr. Goldratt exhorts his audience to examine and reassess their business practices with a fresh, new vision.

He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Tel Aviv University and his Masters of Science, and Doctorate of Philosophy from Bar-Ilan University. In addition to his pioneering work in Business Management and education, he holds patents in a number of areas ranging from medical devices to drip irrigation to temperature sensors

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the Deeper Meaning of the Theory of Constraints, December 1, 2008

By 

James R. Holt "Dr Holt" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Choice (Paperback)

In The Choice, Eli Goldratt exposes the deep, underlying principles of life embodied in TOC. People are Good. People Think. Emotion is Logical. All Conflicts can be Eliminated. There are always Win-Win Solutions. Systems are Simple. Systems can be Improved Infinitely. Taken together, everyone should succeed. Then, why not? Dr. Goldratt teaches us in a very carefully written way how to find the errors we make and how to correct them. I urge you to read The Choice through quickly, and then read it again slowly, thoughtfully several times. The material talks much of distribution, but it is about living your life. To have a meaningful life is up to you; you make The Choice.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Relevant, interesting and meaningful., May 4, 2009

By 

Andres Jaramillo (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Choice (Paperback)

By reading The Goal (Goldratt's most famous book), a number of years back, at the insistance of a very wise owl, and with reluctance, since I tend to despise typical MBA's readings, I was able to increase productivity by over 20% without investing a dime and turn one of my companies around in less than a week. So I was eager and excited to read Goldratt's The Choice. Though less earth-shattering (and less counter-intuitive) than The Goal, it is none-the-less a very interesting, meaningful and relevant book about not only how to solve business problems, but also how to think clearly and improve any area of life.
The style of the book is rather self-conscious and at times unnervingly patronizing. The main deffect of The Goal (the friction generated by the style, at the same time childish and patronizing) is exacerbated in this book, told in the voice of Goldratt's daughter. It is unnerving, because the energy spent trying to make the narrative believable, takes away from the smooth flow of the important ideas. It is also strange to have the narrator (the daughter) tell us in syrupy ways what a genius her father is, when we know the author is the father! (an excessively contrived, yet inneffective device). I also found fault with the chapter on tautologies and circular logic. Tautologies are not what Goldratt thinks they are, strictly speaking. And, hoping not to sound too petty, the use of "then" instead of "than" (more then -err, than- once) was my minor editorial pet peeve.
The truly enjoyable parts of the book are "the reports" that the father sends the daughter. Even if they are just stylizations of real-life situations, they are very illustrative of what is possible with a little clear thinking. After reading the book, I am eager to generate "quantum change", and take my companies to net profits equal to my current revenues.
It must be said that despite being a self proclaimed "true scientist", Goldratt's approach is "integral" (or "holistic" -at the risk of scaring you with New-Agy terminology-) in the sense that it is not a valueless, flat, reductionist approach to life, but quite the contrary, an embrace of the interrelation of Emotions, Intuition and Logic, and how it relates to "living a full life". It spouses a synergistic (again, apologies for the term) approach to conflict and contradictions and an integral notion of knowledge and knowing.
5 stars for content, 2 stars for style, equals 4 stars total (since I give more weight to the first).

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid and highly recommended reading, January 8, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Choice (Paperback)

A man of many talents, including both science and business, Eliyahu Goldratt goes philosophical in "The Choice". Aiming to make his readers think, he questions the decisions we as people make during day to day life. Decisions are decisions even when they are not obviously so, from religious belief to deciding one knows of something when they don't have the whole story. A must for anyone who likes to think and have their minds and world views challenged, "The Choice" is solid and highly recommended reading.