happyplacebooks's review against another edition
3.0
Critical Chain is a business novel that focuses on project management topics. I read this book as part of my independent project course for grad school. I've been learning a lot about project management through my new job and I do think that this book brings up a lot of valuable topics and tips for PM. There were parts of this book that I found really interesting and helpful. There were also parts that were way too "academic" for the subject matter. For example, to drive a point home, the author would use a classroom setting with a lot of excess back and forth conversation/questioning. Sometimes I felt like the professors were trying way too hard to take simple business ideas and convolute them with theory and math. Additionally, the editing for this book must have been nonexistent. I understand that this is a "business novel," however it is still a published piece of writing and should therefore be written with correct tenses and sentence structure. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars with the 3 stars being for the practicality of the subject matter, not the reading experience.
van_wolfing's review against another edition
2.0
Definitely not a book that can be consumed as an audiobook. Want to read it again but now as a physical copy.
raviwarrier's review against another edition
4.0
It is not so often that one comes across a book on a topic so intense, but delivered as lightly as this one. The entire book has one underlying intent - that is to make the readers understand the principles of Theory of Constraints (ToC) and demonstrate via the help of examples its implementation and implications of day-to-day business issues (in this case related to project management).
The book is written like a novel, with a plot and a protagonist which makes it easier to read. The protagonist, Richard Silver, is an Exec-MBA professor who takes his students through a socratic approach towards teaching. Students bring in their own real-life problems and Rick facilitates sessions in which students debate and brainstorm the answers to their own questions.
While the book is not the exhaustive text on Critical Chain Project Management (perhaps a duller, yet straight to the point book - "Critical Chain Project Management" by Lawrence Leach might serve that purpose), this book does give some definitive insights on what CCPM and ToC is about.
If you still don't have time to read approximately 100 odd pages, I'd recommend "Projects in Less Time" by Mark Woepell.)
The book is written like a novel, with a plot and a protagonist which makes it easier to read. The protagonist, Richard Silver, is an Exec-MBA professor who takes his students through a socratic approach towards teaching. Students bring in their own real-life problems and Rick facilitates sessions in which students debate and brainstorm the answers to their own questions.
While the book is not the exhaustive text on Critical Chain Project Management (perhaps a duller, yet straight to the point book - "Critical Chain Project Management" by Lawrence Leach might serve that purpose), this book does give some definitive insights on what CCPM and ToC is about.
If you still don't have time to read approximately 100 odd pages, I'd recommend "Projects in Less Time" by Mark Woepell.)
bookishnik's review against another edition
4.0
I just love a good business novel. I read The Goal back in the late '90s and that is one book I reference to this day. So I was excited to see what Goldratt does in Critical Chain. I really enjoyed how he focused on both business and academia to solve the project management question that seemed to be popping up in industry. How to manage project management constraints is pretty straight forward when you only have one project but if multiple projects, things become exponentially more difficult. In this story a group of executive MBA students and professors discover together a method to approach the critical chain when multiples projects are involved. The dialogue between the industry leaders and professors is very engaging, informative, and relevant even today. However, as in most business novels the attempt to integrate the personal lives into the story was a big failure. The storyline with one of the characters and his concern with his materialistic wife was laughable at best.
rodrigues's review against another edition
1.0
Would you like your business novel with a side of sexism and a super-size cup of materialistic culture? Then read this book... just be prepared for that sick, greasy feeling afterward.
kristy's review
4.0
A very interesting genre, had no idea it existed. My 4 stars are not truly the reflection on the book, but my inability to follow some details. Still, a great idea to introduce and explain such a boring business concept.
wolvereader's review
4.0
Critical Chain is the followup to Goldratt's [b:The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement|113934|The Goal A Process of Ongoing Improvement|Eliyahu M. Goldratt|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171682162s/113934.jpg|462428], and attempts to take Theory of Constraints and make it more obvious how it applies to project management. The book is written in a "business novel" style like The Goal, or like the books of [a:Patrick Lencioni|11503|Patrick Lencioni|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1330247460p2/11503.jpg], and as with every other example of the genre I've read, it is not fine literature, but it keeps things moving a little more than a dry business treatise would.
The basic philosophy is an examination of critical path project management with TOC's focus on throughput as critical for reducing risk and eliminating waste. (In a TOC approach, 'inventory' is the extra padding you build into your schedule.) It's a novel approach, and addresses some of the very real challenges of project planning. Recommended.
The basic philosophy is an examination of critical path project management with TOC's focus on throughput as critical for reducing risk and eliminating waste. (In a TOC approach, 'inventory' is the extra padding you build into your schedule.) It's a novel approach, and addresses some of the very real challenges of project planning. Recommended.
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