Critical Chain

Richard Silver is the protagonist of the novel, and he begins as an associate professor at the unnamed university in which the novel takes place, ending the novel with tenure at that university. His primary concern is with research, as he needs to publish academic articles to build his reputation in business. He is characterized as hard-working, shown in his willingness to do hours of challenging research for Jim’s papers, as well as by his visits to his students’ businesses, even before they offer a consulting fee. When his job is threatened, Richard considers moving into industry as a consultant, but he resolves that his interests are primarily academic, centering his character as a researcher focused on innovation.

As with all the characters in Critical Chain, Richard is a static character, meaning he does not develop through the novel, since he resolves the novel much as the same person as he was in the beginning. The purpose of Richard’s character is as a vessel for the development of the Critical Chain Project Management method, which neatly solves the issues in his personal life. Critically, Richard is defined by his disinterest in mathematics, noting how he dislikes articles on optimization problems, “all with involved mathematical models, all so tough and time-consuming to read” (88).