Goal

Review of The Goal

By: Ann Marie Alvarez

There were countless lessons I learned while reading The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. However, before I dive into the crux of this paper, let me first disclose the following: I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! Not only was it informational, but it was very entertaining. It used real life situations that were relatable. I found myself on a journey with Alex Rogo and I felt many of the feelings he felt at one time or another - uncertain, exasperated, fearful, doubtful, disappointed, slighted, excited, hopeful, among other things. Many of the issues that he encountered were issues that resonated with me even though I have never worked as a plant manager.

One of the main themes throughout The Goal is the constant struggle between balancing personal life and professional life. We live in such a fast-paced society where our to-do lists are longer than our values. Often times, we work late to get things done or to make more money to make ends meet. I was and still am one of those people, although I have toned it down quite a bit. Since the age I could legally work, I always took pride in completing tasks that were given to me. My first job was as a lemonade girl serving Del’s Lemonade, a popular frozen lemonade brand in Rhode Island, outside a bodega called Fiesta Fruitland. As soon as I left school, I would go to work until closing hours. Then I would go home, complete my homework, then get ready for bed for me to do the same thing the next day. Although I missed out on spending time with my friends, I learned that hard work paid off and I was quickly promoted to cashier inside of the bodega. I was 14 at the time. Even at that young age, I chose work over personal. It is important for me to also reference my mother, who has ingrained hard work into my being. She was 1 of 11 children who grew up in the Philippines and they are all taught to cook and clean at very young ages. They basically live to work to put food on the table and clothes on their backs. My mom would have to give whatever money she made to her parents to contribute to the household. My mom was not as strict with me, but I did always contribute a portion of my paycheck to help out. I was always taught that making money to survive was more important than personal things. So, for this reason, my personal life often took the back seat to my professional work life.

Fast-forward to my “adult-life”, when I finished high school, turned 18 and thought I was an adult. I moved to Florida, away from my family and friends. Thankfully, I had my grandfather here at the time, but other than that, I knew no one. In order to survive and pay my bills, I always held more than one job. Phone calls back home started to decrease as I was too busy working. I felt like I did not have time to answer to anyone as I did not ask for help when I needed it. I just worked additional side jobs and figured it out. I finally landed a job at a criminal defense law firm where I remained for eight (8) years. During this time, I was doing side work for other attorneys- transcription, filing, accounting, etc. I was traveling every weekend to Fort Myers to waitress with one of my hometown friends. I kept up with that one friend because I stayed with her when I was in town and it was easy and convenient. Other than her, I fell off with a lot of friendships because I chose to work and make money then make memories with loved ones. I chose not to fly home to see my mom in order to save money (that I never saved).

Following my paralegal position at the criminal defense law firm, I worked remotely for a direct to consumer lab testing company. While remote work allows a lot of freedom, to work wherever there is an internet connection, I found myself working even harder and longer hours than the co-workers that physically worked in the office. I think I had to prove to them that I was actually doing work and felt I had to compensate for my absence in the office. During this time, I was still doing side work for attorneys on my off time, while beginning to attend courses at FIU to obtain my Bachelors. I ended up taking a break from school because the job became more demanding. Personal growth took the backseat to the needs of the company. We were growing and getting busier which required more of my time. I was ignoring my personal relationships and would get upset with anyone that challenged me. When most of my family and friends just missed me, I took it as they were attacking me. I also gained weight at this time, not taking the time to prepare healthy meals because I felt there was just no time.

Then the COO of the lab testing company decided to go into business herself and take me with her. So then began the start-up life which swallowed up any additional time I had left to apply to myself and personal relationships. Then things got really rocky where my salary was cut in half and I had to pick up additional gigs to make ends meet. I was waking up at 5 am, transcribing dictation tapes for an attorney until 7:30 a.m., then working for the startup until 6 or 7 at night, then completing school work as I had re-registered for FIU. I was dating someone at the time and I was basically ignoring him and we lived together. We were like two ships that passed in the night. It got to a point where we would travel places and I would spend the time working on my laptop. He would have conversations with me and I would just reply “ugh huh, that’s crazy”, never really listening or paying attention because I had so much work to do and we were in def con 5 mode, needing to make more money or the company would go under. This was a very stressful time for me. My face broke out, I was not sleeping, I was getting into deep debt, my relationships were crumbling. My mother had not heard from me. Our conversations turned into one or two texts a month just to make sure I was alive. My boyfriend just about had it, constantly bringing to my attention that I have no work life balance and he was sick of me being there physically but my mind being elsewhere, worrying about my to do list.

I am happy to report that I have quit the startup and all of my side gigs and just work one job and attend school. I had to put things into perspective. I was extremely unhappy. I was just surviving and not living. Thankfully it was not too late to where my boyfriend decided to leave me. Thankfully it was not too late for Alex Rogo either. It took his wife leaving the house for him to realize that he was taking her for granted. I was taking the people in my life for granted and thankfully they stuck around through this very difficult time. Slowing down and really looking at everything on my plate and what really mattered changed the way I approached work. We are not just working to die or survive. I decided to not work harder but work smarter. Work one job that supplied enough income to pay for my bills and allow travel and go to school to improve my skills. Growth is what matters, not just getting tasks done. Relationships matter. I did not realize how much I had missed out on until I re-engaged these relationships.

As I read The Goal, I kept thinking to myself that his wife is going to leave him. She feels underappreciated and taken for granted. All he has to do is keep his word, all he has to do is go out on one date, give a little time. As I was thinking these things, I was projecting as this applied to me. Something so simple, but so difficult for workaholics. It is so important to balance work life and personal life to keep one's sanity and reserve the relationships that really matter. When you are on your deathbed, you are not going to remember all the work and tasks you completed. You will remember the things that you did not do. I try to keep this in mind when I start to pile things on my plate or put work first. I still check my emails outside of work and take work phone calls after hours. I am a work in progress, as was Alex.

Now for my work life, there were many significant takeaways from The Goal. The one that stands out the most for me is to not take things at face value, to dig deeper and ask questions. Alex had the help of Jonah, who pushed Alex to think deeper about the issues he was facing. Not all of us have someone like Jonah to influence us. However, that does not mean we cannot look at things differently. Common sense is not that common and honestly, it is not usually correct.

When I worked for the lab testing company, I was handling the content for the website and email marketing. I had to think outside the box on ways to engage customers while keeping the information educational and informative. Lab testing could be boring, and many people are fearful of needles. To bring lab testing to life, I used poems and funny jokes and cool facts.

The Goal told a story that anyone can relate to. People face issues every day at work and in their personal lives. I believe everyone can benefit one way or another from reading this book. The personal takeaways spoke to me more as I found myself in Rogo’s shoes in more times than I would like to admit.