How Will you Measure Your Life?
This is a very practical book I recommend to read to all leaders looking for purpose in their careers; in other words what is really important. Several years ago I read another of his books, The Innovator’s Dilemma, and one of Christensen’s early papers on Disruptive Technology. As a Coach, I resonate with Christensen’s philosophy that instead of telling leaders WHAT to think, I ought teach leaders HOW to think.
Harvard Business School’s Christensen teaches how to apply management and innovation theories. But perhaps the most influential action of his are helping MBA students to ask themselves:
– How can I be happy in my career?
-How can I be sure that my relationship with my family is an enduring source of happiness?-How can I live my life with integrity?
Christensen reminds us that the most power motivator is not money; “it is the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities,. contribute, and be recognized.”
Another of Christensen’s assertions: “If you are not guided by a clear sense of purpose, you are likely to fritter away your time and energy on obtaining the most tangible, short-term signs of achievement, not what is really important to you.”
I have also seen former classmates, co-workers, and good friends going exactly the opposite direction. Some ended up with their health (physical and emotional) destroyed; others divorced and/or with a severed relationship with their children; few of them have been in jail at some point; or are in careers that are exactly the opposite of their initial purpose in life.
The author of How Will you Measure Your Life? encourage us to create a strategy for our lives; to learn how to allocate our resources (principles of resource allocation); to recognize and form the culture we have created; to avoid the ‘Marginal Costs’ mistake; to remember the importance of humility; and to choose the right yardstick.
Choosing the right yardstick is perhaps the key to define who we are, what we stand for that allow us to “draw the line in a safe place”.
This is a book no doubt every emerging leaders should read and apply.
References:
Christensen, C. M., Allworth, J., & Dillon, K. (2012). How will you measure your life?. London: Harper Business.
Clayton M. Christensen is the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, with a joint appointment in the Technology & Operations Management and General Management faculty groups.
