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Isn’t it Obvious cover art

Isn’t it Obvious

By: Eliyahu M. Goldratt,Ilan Eshkoli,Joe Brownleer
Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
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Summary

A breakthrough solution is exposed when some unexpected events force Caroline and Paul, a married couple working for their family's retail business, to make a few small changes in the way things are done. A solution that propels the family's regional chain of stores into a very profitable, rapidly growing, international enterprise.

If there is a hint of Jonah, from The Goal, reappearing in this novel, it is Henry, the soon-to-retire president and majority owner of the company who logically states that, "if you do not deal directly with the core problem, don't expect significant improvement."

Eli Goldratt's Theory of Constraints is woven throughout this book but answers are not handed to you. The listener, along with the characters in the book, work through the process together to discover solutions. The elegant but simple solutions give the listener that sensation that followers love about Goldratt: "Ah-ha! Now I get it!" And that's when Goldratt says: "Isn't It Obvious?"

©2009 Eliyahu M. Goldratt (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

What listeners say about Isn’t it Obvious

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A re-contextualisation of "Its Not Luck"

While a good quick example of applying JIT and TOC theories in a specific retail situation, it feels as though this book along with "Its Not Luck" should be consumed consecutively. where "Its Not Luck" talks about three companies with different business models and finding a competative edge for each style. This book takes one of the example companies (i-cosmetics) and shows its execution in how it can be achieved from a retailers point of view using a different style of retailer.

Ultimately, If you have already read "Its Not Luck" this is a nice "Cool down" for the more abstract concepts and adds a more practical spin from a retails point of view.

all in all, enjoyable, informative and full of little nuggets of wisdom!

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pleasant with some good discussion points

pleasant story with some notable learnings to take. would be good to take supply chain teams through for consideration.

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The right message, poor delivery.

Tells a good story of how TOC is to be implemented in a retail environment, I just didn't like the delivery. It gives you the answers without making you think much about the problem yourself, unlike The Goal and most other homage/spin-offs of it do.
There's a lot to learn, but the delivery is lacklustre.

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  • Ryan
  • 19-10-18

great read!

This book is a must read for anybody in retail, a very different way of thinking about retail and supply chain.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Andreas Andersen
  • 19-02-23

Great book

It should be read after "The Goal". "It's not luck" and "critical chain" is not required to understand the principles in this book, but I'd still recommend reading them eventually.
This book applies the principles from the goal to retail and, by doing so, essentially shows how they can be used in any business.
Make work pull based and limit work in progress: Start with the bottleneck and then bubble it up the chain as the new bottleneck reveals itself.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 07-06-21

This is a story more than a self help, business or how to book

The story was interesting. I thought this was more of a business how to book, but it is basically just a story about a rising textiles business. I kept waiting for how to apply the lessons learned by this store to my business. It never came.

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  • Joseph Pangilinan
  • 09-05-20

Retail Franchising 101

Loved this. Finished it in 3 outdoor walks. Breakthrough lesson in Retail .Just. sad Goldratt will not be writing any more.

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  • Ciprian Dobre-Trifan
  • 24-12-19

Retail wonders of ToC

I like how this book grows the principles of ToC from scratch again, now starting at the other end of the supply chain.

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  • Serban Alexandru Bogdan
  • 10-02-19

Another great book from Mr. Eliyahu

Same principles from The Goal applied in the retailing business. You will enjoy it, as usually there is a story that will keep you captivated.