It's not luck
by Eliyahu M. Goldratt · first published 1994
75% recommend17% neutral8% critical
Why HN recommends it
Business novel sequel to The Goal that applies Theory of Constraints to larger organizations, product and market design; readers say it's a light read with useful thinking for tackling seemingly impossible projects.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In this sequel to Goldratt's great business novel "The Goal," Alex and his team have all been promoted into the key positions in the faltering Diversified Businesses group in their conglomerate. The whole company is faltering, and great pressure is put on Alex and the team to turn their businesses around. The story emphasizes the Thinking Processes from "The Goal," and he devotes much of his attention to demonstrating the relevance of the theory of constraints to marketing, sales, inventory control, distribution channels, strategic alliances, and conflict resolution.
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Oh!! That is an excellent question. How can we think better? For me the Books that have helped me the most are: It's Not Luck by Eliyahu M. Goldratt Link: http://a.co/jeboGiN It's a business novel, where Alex Rogo has to decide what to do with 3 factories on his division. And uses critical thinking steps to come to the solution.…
on “Ask HN: How to develop clarity of thoughts?” ↗The Fifth Discipline by Senge. Also a great introduction to systems thinking. Also everything written by Goldratt. In particular: The Goal and It's not luck Both are business novels, they read lightly but the lessons are profound.
on “Ask HN: What to read after “Thinking in Systems”?” ↗Assuming you mean Phoenix Project, I highly recommend reading Goldratt's books: The Goal, It's Not Luck, and Critical Chain. They're the inspiration for Phoenix Project and cover a good bit more material. I can't say they're great novels, they're no worse than Phoenix Project with regard to their prose,…
on “Ask HN: What is your learning plan for 2020?” ↗…Theory of Constraints https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LHRM2O The Goal / Eli Goldratt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYW1L66 Necessary but Not Sufficient / Eli Goldratt https://www.amazon.com/dp/0884271137 It's Not Luck / Eli Goldratt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00408ALES Isn't it Obvious? / Eli Goldratt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LHRM2E Critical Chain / Eli Goldratt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004THZ9VK Be Fast…
on “Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?” ↗Assuming it's a somewhat mature product, I'd suggest reading "It's not luck" by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. It's aimed at mature companies, but it has several ideas worth investigating such as segmenting the market
on “Ask HN: What would you do to 10x an existing business?” ↗Following on from The Goal are It's Not Luck and Critical Chain. The latter of those is particularly good in combination with the more recent Phoenix Project. Each of these books is a bit utopian or idealistic. By doing what's suggested by the…
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗It's not luck by Eli Goldratt. Where he introduces the logical thinking processes he used to develop his theory of constraints. It was graphs (links and nodes) to structure our reasoning. Then if you like it go to: The…
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?” ↗Re-read „It’s Not Luck” by Elijahu Goldratt; maybe it’s not „epiphany”, but very good instruction on tackling seemingly „impossible” projects.
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…destroy any given system, or at best, do nothing useful. Any small experience in the world of business will illustrate this quite clearly, IME. The sequel to The Goal is also quite good and is called, "It's Not Luck." This book takes the same characters into a larger organization where the constraints are in how their products are marketed, rather than produced in order to more fully demonstrate how the Theory of…
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗The Goal and It's not luck by Goldratt. Showed a better way to manage anything in particular ourselves. Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl even in the darkest of times we kind find Meaning. A Guide to the good life. The…
on “Ask HN: Most Important Set of Books?” ↗…because they could not take the situations from “The Goal” and overlay them or apply the solutions directly to their problem domain. That was never Goldratt’s intent. I believe that is when he wrote “It’s Not Luck” as a response. In “It’s Not Luck”, he exercises the TOC in many more disciplines as well as introduces more tools to apply TOC. “It’s Not Luck” is a great companion because you get a bit more practice,…
on “RIP Eliyahu M. Goldratt” ↗Read "It's Not Luck", followed by "The Critical Chain", then pick up any Agile Methodology book. You might be amazed at the new insights you may have.
on “RIP Eliyahu M. Goldratt” ↗…of his books are great books to learn how to think. It is a more concrete example of Systems Thinking that is applied to various environments, manufacturing in "The Goal", marketing and strategy in "It's Not Luck", projects in "Critical Chain", retail in "Isn't it Obvious", and personal improvement in "The Choice".
on “Ask HN: Which books teach mental models?” ↗There are some excellent sequels to "The Goal", especially, "It's Not Luck," which goes on to take the theory into product and market design. It overlaps somewhat with Christensen's work on Jobs to do. I've found lots of value in looking at all kinds of systems with this lens,…
on “Books for Software Engineers in 2023” ↗…(good) Brief Interview with Hideous Men - David f Wallace (better) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep -Philip K. Dick (better than I expected) A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick (even better) The Goal, It's Not Luck, Critical Chain - Goldratt (OK, easy read) The Phoenix Project - (bad prose, not inspired) Grimus - Rushdie - (Amazing) Autobiography of Mark Twain ( oscillating between amazing to boring, worth the…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗