Optimizing Local Efficiency vs. Overall Performance

“Eliyahu Goldratt wrote in The Goal that most workplaces optimize where it’s easiest,

not where it’s necessary. Departments focus on looking efficient locally—maximizing utilization,

speeding tasks, or increasing output—even when these actions don’t improve overall performance.

This happens because local metrics reward activity, not throughput. Goldratt’s core

point is that improving non-critical areas creates cosmetic progress while the constraint continues

to restrict results. Organizations appear busy but don’t become more effective.”