Epiphanized Book Reviews

So far, Bruce and my book, Epiphanized: Integrating Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma has had six reviews posted on Amazon.  The following are those reviews and the reviewers rating (1 to 5 Stars).  Bruce and I are grateful for all of the reviewers kind words.

Philip Marris Paris, France – Rating 5 Stars

At last a book that correctly presents the three main industrial performance improvement approaches - TOC, Lean and Six Sigma - explaining why if you use a combination of the 3 you will have a system that will enable you to improve much faster and reach higher levels of performance.

The book has a "business novel" format very similar to the The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt. Everything moves very fast; changes happen on a day to day basis because that is what TLS enables. As a result it has a "hard to put down" edge to it you will not find in other books.

I think this book is going to have a very significant impact on industry.

Philip Marris
Marris Consulting, Paris, France

Alpha22222 – Rating 5 Stars

Excellent book. Broken into two books in one. It helps better calrify the Thinking Processes.
Although there are several typos, they don't take away from the rich content.
This book should be read by the incoming freshman at Harvard Business School. It is already recommended as a reading requirement to be used in conjunction with Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt courses.

Dennis Godwin – Rating 5 Stars

For most CPI Practitioners, their entire apprenticeship is like drinking from a fire hose. We've all been there. We're trying to learn the ins and outs of Measurement Systems Analysis while contending with planning team meetings. Or, maybe we're dealing with some change management issues with senior leadership while learning an appropriate approach to piloting the new process. All of this at a time when we are still sort of unsure of ourselves. All these matters combine to make one big firehose to drink from in addition to the one you've been drinking from in a classroom. This is why Bob's and Bruce's book shines.

They remove the pesky fire hose by immersing you in a set of brilliantly developed, but familiar characters and a stream of familiar situations. With all of this familiarity, you're left to learn only one thing: a very simple, yet oh so powerful approach to applying the 3 disciplines of lean, six sigma, and the theory of constraints together.

To sweeten the pot even more, when I was caught off guard with new terminology or concepts, the brilliant addition of the appendices in the back of the book turned my entire experience into a full service classroom complete with text book in hand. Hmmm.... A classroom that I can't put down! Masterful!

Thank you, Gentlemen, for a great read AND my new found skill set.

Dennis J. Godwin
Industrial Engineer
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Theory of Constraints Jonah

Richard S Melrose (Boynton Beach, FL, US) – Rating 5 Stars

"Epiphanized" properly emphasizes the focus and leverage that Theory of Constraints (TOC) adds to Lean Six Sigma (LSS) disciplines.

Bob Sproull and Bruce Nelson have crafted a business novel and reference book, in one, to make the power of TLS (TOC Lean Sigma) understandable and accessible to anyone in business.

I highly recommend this easy read/reference to C-suite executives, operations managers and LSS Black Belts, alike. You can read this book without having ever read "The Goal" - i.e. one of "The 100 Best Business Books of All Time" and one of only eleven in the "Management" category.

You will gain fresh perspective and important understandings about the Operational Excellence contributions readily available through Constraints Management, Throughput Accounting, Critical Chain Project Management and the TOC Thinking Processes.

In all likelihood, your personal epiphany will have you wanting to share with colleagues and to learn more yourself, just like the characters in the novel. Fortunately, all you'll need to do is "Google" to find a wealth of additional reading and other resource options.

CAUTION: You might develop a fancy for red wines made with 80% or more Sangiovese grapes from Tuscany.

Bill Coady – Rating 5 Stars

Epiphanized: Integrating Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma A book in two halves the first part a story but the second part a detailed explaination of the tools used in the business transformation story.Excellent.

Clément H – Rating 5 Stars

I recommend this business novel to every curious and enthusiast spirit, whether or not they've read The Goal before.

In my humble opinion, this piece of work is a remarkable contribution to the continuous improvement field. Compared to The Goal for applying TOC, I think this business novel gave more clues about how to apply the principles of TLS. The appendix for instance was a very valuable complement, and I surely appreciated it. My interpretation is The Goal was more meant to be a teaser, whereas Epiphanized focused both on convincing AND giving a more concrete toolbox to every reader; and I believe Bob and Bruce succeeded very well on this, Bravo !