Eliyahu Goldratt biography

Eliyahu Goldratt (March 31, 1947 – June 11, 2011), physicist and Israeli consultant, recognized in the organizational environment as a great exponent of the Theory of Restrictions. After finishing his basic studies, he presented the tests to apply to the University of Tel Aviv to study physics; After that, he had some short jobs and obtained some income, decided to go to the University of Bar-Ilan where he did his master’s and doctorate.

Subsequently, he assumed the presidential position and largest shareholder of a company, Creative Output, responsible for producing production programming software. The company was listed by Inc. Magazine as the sixth fastest growing in the US. UU Although, the results were positive for a recent company, Eliyahu Goldratt was not very satisfied with the results. One of the reasons for his frustration was the complex process to get large and strategic customers, his main clients Grumman, Sikorsky, and General Motors. He carried out all kinds of strategies to increase sales: launches, presentations, pilot tests, seminars, conferences, among others; but the results were not the desired ones.

For the year of 1894, Eliyahu Goldratt wrote his book called The Goal, this book is narrated using the resource of the novel, masked with a love story, became a best seller; uses an innovative approach to bring the most relevant business information to readers. This book was presented as a marketing tool that aims to promote a solution for production management. With this resounding success, Goldratt decided to leave the Creative Output Company in 1987. He took advantage of the profits to found a new organization, the Avraham and Goldratt Institute (AGI), whose objective is to generate and spread knowledge about the companies and their operation.

By that time the physicist was already advancing an investigation that allowed to generalize his Theory of Constraints (TOC). The innovator of his theory is that he sought to impact all areas and levels of a company: Operations, Distribution, Supply, Sales, Marketing, Strategy, Decision Making, Engineering, Project Management, and Human Resources, took on an important significance because it was not a simple tool for production. The physicist decided to summarize this knowledge in a series of videos called “Goldratt Satellite Program.” Considered a masterpiece, this series of 8 educational sessions were taught by Dr. Goldratt himself.

His lectures showed his charismatic style, stimulating, and very little formal and conventional to capture the attention of the audience. Continuing the item of his stupendous theory, he undertook a project of diffusion of the TOC in the educational field. The dissemination is done through a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the fundamentals of OCD to educators. Dr. Goldratt has been part of these campaigns, and he himself gave lectures and consultancies.

The TOC is renewed and reformulated continuously, Goldratt has a perfectionist spirit, as a result, his theory is recognized as an “administrative philosophy.” What it means is that it is part of a mental construction and a vision that is adopted and is essential for the development of a company. The new developments of the theory are presented each year at the TOCICO conferences, this is the International Certification Organization in TOC. It is important to emphasize that Eliyahu Goldratt and his team of researchers have made a break in the paradigm of teaching OCD, using logical and efficient methods; novel thinking processes and logical diagrams that optimize and adapt different technical and management tools, with a high probability of achieving excellent results in the company.

After the best-seller, Goldratt wrote: It was not luck, it is revealed, thanks to its unique style, the important aspects of the corporate structure. In addition, he has written, other books such as The Race and Haystack Syndrome. He also alternated his taste for writing with the participation in the writing of several scientific journals and business publications. As a sign of his commitment to the dissemination of the TOC, in 2000, Dr. Goldratt established the Goldratt’s Marketing Group, in order to produce and distribute learning materials of the Theory of Constraints. The diffusion was reflected in books, videos, multimedia programs, and simulators.

As branches of Goldratt’s Marketing Group, Goldratt Consulting and Goldratt Schools were established, whose purpose is to position TOC as the main way to manage organizations. The first is basically devoted to encouraging the use of the Theory of Constraints in organizations. Now, Goldratt Consulting executes several large-scale projects called Viable Vision in several companies around the world. For its part, Goldratt Schools is dedicated to the transfer of knowledge, in a personalized manner, for individuals who wish to expand their knowledge in the Theory of Constraints and their applications.

Eliyahu Goldratt published other works such as Critical Chain, The decision, It is not obvious. All these works try through an attractive plot for the readers to explain the TOC from diverse fields. Goldratt’s work was interrupted on June 11, 2011, when Goldratt died in his home located in his hometown, Israel, in the company of his family. After his death, his colleagues have agreed to continue with the direction of the TOC community.