The Goal

In his book titled The Goal Eliyahu Goldratt talks about how many company executives and managers loose sight of the primary goal of the enterprise and focus instead on goals for local efficiencies which in fact may prove to be detrimental to the overall company goal. He proposes that every business has the same goal - to sustainably make money. Ofcourse, there may be short term goals that bring focus to areas that need attention and departmental and even individual goals. But all the sub-goals have to support the ultimate goal of the company which is to sustianably make money.

Reading this book made me think about my goal in life. Just as there is a universal goal for any company to sustainably make moey, is there a universal goal for every individual irrespective of whether they realize it or not? Those with a spiritual or philosophical bent of mind may say that the universal goal for any individual is to realize one's true self - self realization. Some may argue that it is the pursuit of sustained happiness - bliss. Intuitively, I feel there is such a universal goal for every individual though many of us may not recognize or be cognizant of it.

Just as in the case of a company, any short term goals or sub-goals have to support the ultimate goal. Let's assume for the time being that my ultimate goal is the pursuit of sustained happiness. Then all my other goals and actions should work towards this ultimate goal. Unfortunately, often we confuse the temporary or short term goals with the ultimate goal and pursue these sub-goals when when they cease to support the ultimate goal. Needless to say, this causes us much angst. Some may seek money and fortune, others may seek fame or power, yet others phycisal beauty or intellectual excellence. But do these move us towards our ultimate goal?