How Will You Measure Your Life? [Formato Kindle]

Christensen is one of the deepest thinkers and most thoughtful people I have had the pleasure to meet or hear present. Those traits of deep integrity, thought, consideration come through in this book. However, the title will be misleading as this is not another self help book, nor it is an attempt for Christensen to break into the Tuesday with Morrie crowd. Rather, Christensen turns his considerable intellect and experience to perhaps the most fundamental question of all -- why are we here and how do we know we are making a difference. The book is exceptional in its combination of deep feeling that is personal and experiential alongside deeper thought and business experience.

This is a business view of life, not in terms of profit or loss, but more in terms of ideals, ethics, integrity and brutal honesty about yourself, who you are and where you are going. Such deep moral subject matter could be dry and preachy, but Christensen and his co-authors are anything but. They explain their position in a series of theories -- simple ideas that you can use as tools to inspect and apply to your own experience. They avoid simple formulaic answers like you would find in some books and generic principles about success contained in others. This is a book that exposes the theory behind the issues below, the sources of conventional business and management wisdom and offers new ways of thinking about these important issues.

The book is organized into parts with a particular focus on core questions

Part 1 -- Finding happiness in your career, discusses the true basis of motivation and reward
Part 2 -- Finding happiness in your relationships, concentrates on spending time consistent with your priorities, patience and how they apply
Part 3 -- Staying out of Jail, about living with integrity and the pitfalls of marginal versus full thinking.

The chapters are short, well written and feature some of the material Christensen's prior talks -- for example the question of what is the job of a milkshake. The book is pure Christensen and that says its focused, educational and equips rather than preaches to the the audience.

This is not a self help book, but it is a book for people wanting to think about how to help themselves. The difference is subtle but important as after all is said and done, we all have to measure our own lives, and change based on what we see and believe using the tools we have. This book is chocked full of such tools.

Highly recommended.

How Will You Measure Your Life aims to be a fluff free piece on finding purpose and happiness in your life. To achieve this, Christensen examines how businesses thrive and fail, turning those examples as lessons for our personal lives. He breaks down the book into 3 parts:

1. FINDING HAPPINESS IN YOUR CAREER--Readers familiar with the book "Drive" by Daniel Pink or the two factor theory will find similar advice here. Most people think getting rewards for jobs (i.e. money, benefits, vacation) will increase happiness. Instead these factors merely reduce dissatisfaction. Whereas, Challenging work, recognition, and responsibility will increase our satisfaction in a job. Christensen urges us not to focus on the result of our career, but on the process (which is a running theme throughout the book). I felt this simple cliche was clouded in Academic language. When I state "Academic," - I merely mean using too many words or new jargon to describe simple concepts. For example, he states if you are currently unhappy in your job, try out new things on the side or use an "emergent strategy," while if you are happy in your career, use a "deliberate strategy" to get better. Despite using the words "emergent", "deliberate", and "strategy", I felt this was pretty common advice.

2. FINDING HAPPINESS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS--this section is particularly useful if you are a parent, as much of part II is dedicated to raising better children. Instead of rewarding children for the result (i.e. getting an A), we should congratulate them on their work ethic. I found the point of treating ourselves and people in our lives as "jobs" a particularly fascinating way to look at life. For example, we "hire" school so children can feel successful and have friends. Think of your relationships as "what jobs does this person need me to do?" Christensen also reemphasizes the need for parents to be present in a Child's early years, as research has shown, they gain a vast cognitive advantage (become smarter earlier). The main takeaway I got from part II was to stop placing so much emphasis on building a career and THEN focus on relationships--instead make the time and apply the effort to building both--even if that means an engaging project has to wait until tomorrow.

3. STAYING OUT OF JAIL--The shortest section of the book, this part deals with living a life of integrity. This chapter in summary states: set a boundary (i.e. going to Church on Sundays), and never violate it...not even "just this once."

EPILOGUE: The last part of this section contains "The Three Parts of Purpose," which Christensen attributes to Likeness, Commitment, and metrics. This part alone exemplifies the unnecessary long winded writing found throughout. "The Three Parts of Purpose" which comprises numerous pages, is more or less "Set a goal based on your values, commit to it, and measure it" advice in disguise.

As a twenty something self-employed business owner, I realize I am not the target demographic for this book. This book is more suitable for managers or employees of a large corporation, parents, or both. While perhaps the book's aim was not to be another self-help book, it merely turns out to be one disguised under academic language. Those new to the concepts of the "two factor theory," or overworked parents may find this book to be particularly useful. As a whole, it brings common self-help themes and career advice under one roof.

This book grew out of Christensen's address to the HBS Class of 2010. When they entered the school our economy was strong and their ambitions could be limitless. Then came an economic tailspin that we've named the 'Great Recession.' His address to the graduates, and the focus of this book, centered on how to apply his principles to their personal lives.

His first key point is that when people ask what he thinks they should do, he has learned to rarely directly answer their question. Instead, he runs the question through one of his models involving an industry quite different from their own. Then, more often than not, they'll say "I get it,' and answer their own question more insight fully than he believes he could have.

On the last day of class Christensen asks his students to apply the models he's presented during the course to themselves to answer three questions: 1)How can I be sure I'll be happy in my career? 2)How can I be certain my relationships with my family become an enduring source of happiness. 3)How can I be certain I'll stay out of jail. (Not a facetious question - Jeff Skilling was Christensen's classmate at HBS, and two of the 32 in his Rhodes scholar class spend time in jail.)

Addressing the first question, Christensen references Frederick Herzberg's assertion that money isn't the most powerful motivator in our lives - it's the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements. He also points out that if management is practiced well it helps others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized. Doing business deals doesn't provide the deep rewards that come from building up people.

Clayton's recommended approach to the second question is based on his own having spent an hour each night reading, thinking, and praying about why God put him on this earth. Finding a purpose is essential to avoiding a hollow life. Personal decisions then can be seen as involving the allocation of time, energy, and talent - just like in a business. His assessment of why some lives end up hollow and unhappy - they had a short-term perspective.

The simplest tools that parents can use to elicit cooperation from children are power tools - eg. coercion. But these no longer work at some time. Building an appropriate culture from the start would have been more effective.

As for the third question - Christensen suggests thinking of marginal costs, always alluring low for 'just this once' situation. The problem is that after 'that once,' repeating the mistake becomes much easier in the future. It's easier to hold on to one's principles 100% of the time than 98% of the time.

Finally, he also adds that if one's attitude is that only smarter people have something to teach you (eg. such as parents, professors), one's learning opportunities will be very limited. Humility, however, allows learning from everybody and unlimited learning.

Others who know Professor Christensen believe he could add three other keys for success, based on his own conduct over the decades:

1)Have an eternal quest for truth, and focus on high-impact issues.

2)Believe in basic goodness - this helps identify root problems.

3)Persistence - his 1997 'The Innovator's Dilemma" won the Global Best business book award. He could have stopped there. Instead he continued and wrote seven mass-market books, and an additional 13 HBR articles, including three that won McKinsey awards.

Bottom-Line: An incredibly valuable book from an outstanding human being and teacher.