INFORMS News: In Memoriam – Eliyahu M. Goldratt (1947-2011)

Eliyahu M. Goldratt

Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt, who introduced his “Theory of Constraints” in his best-selling book “The Goal” more than 25 years ago, died June 11 at his home in Israel after a short bout with cancer. He was 64.

According to the Goldratt Group’s website, The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is based on the assumption that “any system, no matter how complex it seems, is governed by just a few elements. Identifying the system’s constraints and managing them accordingly produces fast paced results and fosters harmony throughout the system.”

Through the TOC and his TOC-derived tools such as Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) and Optimized Production Technology (OPT), Dr. Goldratt was widely considered a “business management guru,” who was particularly influential in the fields of operations research and the management sciences.

Dr. Goldratt founded the Goldratt Group’s consultancy in 2003 to “make TOC the main way of managing organizations – an effective platform to improve business productivity in production, supply chain and distribution, project management and retail, enhancing the quality of decision-making, improving communication and stimulating new solutions.”

The website de-scribes Dr. Goldratt as an “educator, author, scientist, philosopher and business leader. But he is, first and foremost, a thinker who provokes others to think. Often characterized as unconventional, stimulating and ‘a slayer of sacred cows,’ Dr. Goldratt exhorts his audience to examine and reassess their business practices with a fresh, new vision.”

Source: Goldratt Group website, Wikipedia