Tools and Tactics for Operations Managers (Collection)

10. The Solution: Defining and Sustaining Value

The Goal

To borrow from the book title of well-known business guru, Eliyahu Goldratt, the goal, or purpose, of business is to cause desired results to happen. I specifically avoid using the term “profit” because I want my use of the term “business” to include even those operations that don’t see themselves as being for financial profit but instead as public or social benefit, charity work, and so on.

Sure, we can say that the purpose of any “project” can use the same definition (to cause desired results to happen), but I could argue that “project” versus “business” is just a matter of scale. In fact, many times, a business is called a “project”—especially if it’s just starting up or is otherwise ...