Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Importance of Goal-Setting
Working with Constraints
Ineffective vs. Effective Business Metrics
Efficiency vs. Optimization
The Cost of Corporate Success
Summary
Analysis
Alex recalls a man in his company who came home one night to an empty house, discovering that his wife had taken everything and left him. He fears he will find the same thing. However, when he arrives and sees that Julie is home, he is angry at her for not picking up the phone. She tells him that the kids were at a friend’s house, and so was she. Alex accuses her of having an affair, but she tells him she just spent the night with her friend Jane so that she’d have someone to talk to.
The man that Alex recalls demonstrates the worst consequence of neglecting one’s family because of a corporate career, and he thus serves as a foil for what Alex’s life could become if he does not change his ways. Alex’s accusation that Julie is having an affair indicates that he does not trust his own wife.
Themes
They argue about how little time Alex spends at home and how neglected Julie feels, since he always puts his career before her. Although Alex claims it’s just because of the current crisis, Julie doesn’t believe he’ll ever change. She asks if he can’t at least bring some of his paperwork home and do it there, so he’ll be present. Alex says he’ll try. They kiss and admit that they missed each other. Alex promises that he’ll spend all weekend with Julie.
Julie’s request that Alex bring some of his work home with him represents a compromise between her relational needs and his career demands. It also suggests that what Julie wants most from Alex is time and attention, more than the money that he makes for them through his corporate job.
Themes
