Let’s Build Something Better
Meaning, Purpose, and the Wisdom of Eli Goldratt
If you haven’t yet, pick up a copy of “The Goal” by Eliyahu Goldratt. I spent a fair amount of time with the Golratt organization studying Eli’s Theory of Constraints, which fundamentally changed the way I thought about business and life. Eli had some unique views about business and relationships. Let me share two of them with you…
The Myth of Win/Lose
In a world where win/lose thinking dominates headlines and boardrooms, Eli Goldratt offered a radical—and deeply human—alternative. He challenged the notion that life and business are battlegrounds where for one to win, another must lose. Instead, he taught that we find meaning and purpose not in competition, but in transformation and struggle. And through that, we don’t just survive—we grow.
We’ve been trained to believe that success is a scarce resource. That your victory must come at someone else’s expense. This Win/Lose mindset is baked into everything—from politics and sports to corporate rivalries and even personal relationships. But Goldratt saw something dangerous in that belief. He understood that Win/Lose doesn’t hold up over time. Eventually, resentment, inefficiency, and disconnection lead to the erosion of both sides. What starts as Win/Lose always decays into Lose/Lose.
Goldratt’s genius wasn’t in denying conflict—but in transforming it.
He believed that true Win/Win doesn’t come from compromise. Not from splitting the difference or settling for less. It comes when both sides walk away better off—sometimes much better off—because they found something deeper: a shared goal, a common threat, or a higher purpose.
This requires a new definition of “winning.”
Not beating others. But building something better, together.
That’s where meaning lives—not in victory over others, but in mutual progress. In creative collaboration that elevates everyone involved. This applies to everyone: Customers, employees, vendors, and yes, even personal relationships.
The Gift of the Struggle
But Win/Win alone isn’t enough. We also crave something deeper: purpose. And Goldratt believed we don’t find purpose at the summit of the mountain—but in the climb itself.
He often spoke of the myth of Sisyphus, condemned to push a boulder uphill for eternity. Where most see suffering, others see something else. They imagine Sisyphus happy—not because the task was easy, but because the struggle was his.
The act of pushing—the struggle—isn’t a punishment. It’s a path. A calling.
When we push our own boulder, we receive two priceless gifts:
- Gratitude to look back at how far we’ve come.
- Motivation for how far we can still go.
I believe that purpose is found in courageous effort. Not in arriving at the top, but in daring to begin—and to keep going.
It’s in that upward effort that we grow. It’s in the challenge that we become better and better, to achieve what we are meant to achieve.
The Climb and the Conflict
Goldratt’s two great insights—that we find meaning in transforming conflict, and purpose in embracing the struggle—are more than philosophies. They’re tools for thriving in a challenging world.
In business, they reshape how we move ourselves and our company forward. In relationships, they guide us toward deeper and more fulfilling experiences.
So let’s stop thinking about how we can beat the other side.
Let’s start asking how we can rise—together.
AND
Let’s keep pushing the rock.
We can find joy in our progress,
and we can find joy in seeing the potential for future progress.
