The Goal

Alex calls the plant late the next morning and learns that Mr. Granby, the head of UniCo, is planning to visit the plant later in the month, in order to get footage for a promotional video. Alex is ecstatic—it’s the perfect opportunity to show off a new, improved plant. He tries to explain to his mother why Mr. Granby wants his photo taken with the plant’s robots, but she is mystified by the concept. Alex admits that his job is on the line, and his mother cautions him to take it easy. “‘…this running all over the place, staying up all night isn’t good for you’” (56).

As Alex heads to work, he thinks about his conversation with Jonah and Mr. Granby’s visit to the robots. “Are we making any more money because of the robots?” (66), he wonders. He realizes that that is how Jonah was able to guess that the plant was in trouble and that the robots were not helping—by asking questions related to his own measurements of throughput, operational expense, and inventory. Alex finds another way to express the goal: “Increase throughput while simultaneously reducing both inventory and operating expense” (67). At work, he stops by Lou’s office and asks to look over their sales data. They both discover that “in every case where a robot came on line, there was no increase in sales” (69). Alex pulls Stacey, the inventory control manager, in on the discussion. She reveals that inventories have been up across the board, and yet the plant never seems to have to right parts when they’re most needed. Alex brings Bob into the conversation, who agrees that they never have the parts they, which halts production until the parts are made or bought. To give the new robots something to do, more materials were released, which increased inventories. This increased costs. “‘We haven’t been managing according to the goal’” (72), Alex says, and then proceeds to explain Jonah’s concepts to the group.

Alex explains how he came by this new goal and system of measurements. Lou is particularly skeptical, but Alex points to their warehouses, full of unsold, finished products, and remarks on just how much money is lost the longer they sit there. Stacey wonders why Jonah has left labor out of his equation, but then decides that employee time isn’t something the company sells—it’s an operational expense. Bob is disturbed by such a simple system of measurement; he calls it “‘crazy’” (75) and insists it will never work. The others are more enthusiastic, and Stacey determines that they must “‘make the robots productive in terms of the goal’” (77). Alex agrees, and reveals Bill Peach’s ultimatum. Though they throw out several suggestions, like reducing inventories, all of their ideas have a downside, like reduced efficiencies. Stacey suggests Alex call Jonah again. Alex discovers that Jonah is in New York and willing to meet for breakfast at his hotel. Alex books a ticket.

At home, Alex tells Julie about his impromptu trip. She is displeased, asking him when all this will end. “‘Everything is for your job’” (81), she says. “‘I can’t even count on you for dinner’” (81). Alex travels to New York and meets Jonah at his hotel. Alex recounts how he’s passed on the system of measurements to his advisory team, and Jonah is pleased. Alex asks for Jonah’s help, but Jonah is reluctant, citing a busy work schedule. Besides, Alex can’t rely too much on Jonah, or he’ll never fix his problem. But he agrees to do what he can. Alex is eager to talk about efficiencies, but Jonah insists that money is the more important measurement. He asks Alex if it is good or bad for a worker to be idle. Alex replies that it’s bad. Jonah disagrees. “‘A plant in which everyone is working all the time is very inefficient’” (84), Jonah says. Alex’s plant has extra inventory, something that can only be achieved through excess manpower. He further reveals that the closer Alex comes to a balanced plant, the closer he is to becoming bankrupt, due to a lack of cash flow. He warns Alex not to improve one measurement and leave the other two behind, as plants are run by a series of “dependent events” (87), in which one event depends on another’s existence, and “statistical fluctuations” (88), where reality is not as accurate as calculations. People are not robots, and when coupled with dependent events, even robots will fluctuate in terms of output. He tells Alex to call him when he understands how dependent events and statistical fluctuations affect his plant.