Book Review and learnings from the Book GOAL 2 written by Illiyaho Goldratt - Useful for Management students

1. Goal II
Its not luck

2. Introduction to the book
 After the grand success of Goal I Dr. Eliyahu
Goldratt came up with Goal II in 1994.
 The book revolves around Alex Rogo, the VP
of three recently acquired companies under
diversification strategy of the group.
 The book teaches us how to use a transition
tree to move from current reality to future
reality.
 It effectively teaches us to move from lose-
lose situation to win-win situation.

3. THE DIVERSIFIED GROUP
 I Cosmetics led by Stacey
 Printing press led by Pete
 Pressure Steams led by Bob

4. Communication & English
 The language is simple and easy to
understand unlike the one used by other
foreign authors.
 The story is gripping & gives touches of both
personal and business examples.
 Though it’s a sequel of Goal I one can
understand Goal II without reading Goal I.

5. Target Audience
 Goal II is a Business, Educational, Realistic and
Fun Novel.
 The practical examples given in the book appeals
to all classes of the audience.
 Hence we can say that it targets not only
Business Applications but also at personal levels.

6. The Story
 There has been recession in the market due to
which the board decides to concentrate on core
competency.
 Owing to this shift in the strategy the board decides
to put these companies on the auction block.
 Alex is given the responsibility of turning these
companies around to fetch attractive returns.
 So Alex is in a dilemma: If he succeeds, the
companies can be sold for a good price; if he fails,
the companies will be closed.

7. Contd…
 Following his tutor Jonah’s techniques, Alex tries
to analyze the situation and attack the root
cause.
 He applies thinking processes and break through
solutions by not using the traditional approach.
 He gives less importance to the traditional
approaches like making more investments,
offering new products, cutting costs etc but
prefers tailoring his approach towards market.

8. Thinking Clouds
 Current Reality Tree :
2. To identify Symptoms troubling the
manager (UDE).
3. To make Logical Injections using If-Then
Logic to establish relation between UDE and
the root cause of the problem.
4. To analyze the established logical relation
and address the conflict by tackling it
effectively.

9. Thinking Contd.
 Future Reality Tree
2. Starts with problems to root causes of current
reality tree.
3. Attempts to reach the set of desired
objectives.
4. A Transition Tree is used to move from
Current Reality tree to Future Reality Tree.

10. Illustrations
Ensure the safety Sharon Home
of Sharon before 10 o clock
Have a Good
Family Life
Sharon is Sharon home
Popular around 12 o clock

11. WE WILL HAVE
FRICTION IN
FUTURE.
It will be
annoying for son
to get a NO in
future.
Son get used to Father don’t
having the car at want to share
his disposal the car
For a lengthy period, son When people can use
can use the car whenever something regularly, it
he wants becomes a habit- A Right
When Father is Father is away
away, the car is for a lengthy
at Son’s Disposal period of time

12. BREAKTHROUGH SOLUTIONS OBTAINED BY
APPLYING THE THINKING PROCESS
 Implemented sales strategy for press business
wherein, the customers were offered a small batch
size on frequent shipment basis.
 Implemented a distribution strategy for the
cosmetic business wherein, the shops were asked for
sales report and replenishment was done on day to
day basis accordingly.
 Started manufacturing and selling spare
parts/mountings of other makes as well, rather than
being restricted to their own for the pressure steam
division.

13. Message of the book
 It is futile to define a goal without defining the
boundaries within which we can attempt to
reach it.
 A goal must address all sides of the issues
 Most problems can be solved by simple solutions
if addressed in a systematic manner.
 It is important to identify the cause of the
problem and deal with it effectively.

14. Scope of the book
 The book proves beneficial to management
students in a sense that it opens their mind and
forces them to challenge established theories
which one may otherwise accept at face value.
 It gives a practical approach of analyzing
complicated problems in any field.
 Hence it is a book which is a must read for any
avid reader of books.

15. FUTURE OF THE BOOK
 The book might provide an innovative
solution rather than the application of quick
fix solutions.
 It gives a clear message that winning in
business is not a matter of luck but of detailed
planning linked to vision.
 Based on these grounds, the book will
continue its appeal to the masses in the near
future.

16. Conclusion
 The book clarifies management techniques
that are based on very simple concepts.
 Reiterates the idea that management is
common sense and displays how common
thinking becomes removed from common
sense.
 It is a book that forces us to think and to
challenge the accepted practices in the
industry.