How Will You Measure Your Life?

How Will You Measure Your Life?

by Clayton M. Christensen

Editor’s Note: When the members of the class of 2010 entered business school, the economy was strong and their post-graduation ambitions could be limitless. Just a few weeks later, the economy went into a tailspin. They’ve spent the past two years recalibrating their worldview and their definition of success.

The students seem highly aware of how the world has changed (as the sampling of views in this article shows). In the spring, Harvard Business School’s graduating class asked HBS professor Clay Christensen to address them—but not on how to apply his principles and thinking to their post-HBS careers. The students wanted to know how to apply them to their personal lives. He shared with them a set of guidelines that have helped him find meaning in his own life. Though Christensen’s thinking comes from his deep religious faith, we believe that these are strategies anyone can use. And so we asked him to share them with the readers of HBR. To learn more about Christensen’s work, visit his HBR Author Page.

Before I published The Innovator’s Dilemma, I got a call from Andrew Grove, then the chairman of Intel. He had read one of my early papers about disruptive technology, and he asked if I could talk to his direct reports and explain my research and what it implied for Intel. Excited, I flew to Silicon Valley and showed up at the appointed time, only to have Grove say, “Look, stuff has happened. We have only 10 minutes for you. Tell us what your model of disruption means for Intel.” I said that I couldn’t—that I needed a full 30 minutes to explain the model, because only with it as context would any comments about Intel make sense. Ten minutes into my explanation, Grove interrupted: “Look, I’ve got your model. Just tell us what it means for Intel.”

I insisted that I needed 10 more minutes to describe how the process of disruption had worked its way through a very different industry, steel, so that he and his team could understand how disruption worked. I told the story of how Nucor and other steel minimills had begun by attacking the lowest end of the market—steel reinforcing bars, or rebar—and later moved up toward the high end, undercutting the traditional steel mills.

When I finished the minimill story, Grove said, “OK, I get it. What it means for Intel is...,” and then went on to articulate what would become the company’s strategy for going to the bottom of the market to launch the Celeron processor.

I’ve thought about that a million times since. If I had been suckered into telling Andy Grove what he should think about the microprocessor business, I’d have been killed. But instead of telling him what to think, I taught him how to think—and then he reached what I felt was the correct decision on his own.

That experience had a profound influence on me. When people ask what I think they should do, I rarely answer their question directly. Instead, I run the question aloud through one of my models. I’ll describe how the process in the model worked its way through an industry quite different from their own. And then, more often than not, they’ll say, “OK, I get it.” And they’ll answer their own question more insightfully than I could have.

My class at HBS is structured to help my students understand what good management theory is and how it is built. To that backbone I attach different models or theories that help students think about the various dimensions of a general manager’s job in stimulating innovation and growth. In each session we look at one company through the lenses of those theories—using them to explain how the company got into its situation and to examine what managerial actions will yield the needed results.

On the last day of class, I ask my students to turn those theoretical lenses on themselves, to find cogent answers to three questions: First, how can I be sure that I’ll be happy in my career? Second, how can I be sure that my relationships with my spouse and my family become an enduring source of happiness? Third, how can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail? Though the last question sounds lighthearted, it’s not. Two of the 32 people in my Rhodes scholar class spent time in jail. Jeff Skilling of Enron fame was a classmate of mine at HBS. These were good guys—but something in their lives sent them off in the wrong direction.

The Class of 2010

As the students discuss the answers to these questions, I open my own life to them as a case study of sorts, to illustrate how they can use the theories from our course to guide their life decisions.

http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1

How Will You Measure Your Life?

How Will You Measure Your Life?

by Clayton M. Christensen

Venkat Warren.M.D. 6 months ago

Frederick Herzsberg is absolutely correct !! As a Cardiologist and the father of two children who went through Harvard College and Harvard Law School, my wife Viji and I have repeatedly impressed upon them that the primary purpose in Life is to learn , serve and enjoy since life is TOO short !! Money is only a SECONDARY,COLLATERAL benefit !! Chase knowledge and happiness and the money will chase you ! This very simple phoiosophy of living was imparted on me by my father while I was growing up in India; the Hindu Philosopher and deep thinker J.Krishnamoorthi sitting under the large banyan tree in the Hindu Theosophical Society in Adyar, Madras spoke of the primary purpose of life as service to humanity and the derived pleasure from that; I heard him say so when I was six years old !! The present day unhappiness and depression of the youngsters is the direct result of the unrellenting chase after the almighty dollar ! Happiness cannot be measured from the bank balance ; it is directly proportional to the intellectual balance ! Prof.Christensen, your article is great ! Thank you. Venkat Warren.M.D.

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Scott Bower 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

As a Interaction Designer that has a personal mission to design solutions for medical doctors I applaud Dr. Warren's comments. I have seen so many doctors on the verge of suicide, the highest rate in any profession. Students go into the medical field as the best and brightest and a focus on recognized achievement and competitiveness at all costs. Once in the working world, they are often utterly isolated from colleagues, and, their families. When doing ethnographic research, they do their best to prove how could they are, to me, a researcher. Many are very proud of their loyal patients. But I have seen through those cracks... as a patient in a hospital after an emergency operation from a trip to India, I had a doctor in his early 50s essentially give me his suicide note, his life story, he has since gone through with it. He described to me how he had neglected his family, how he felt he wasn't allowed to emotionally interact with those closest to him, and the crushing, inhumane conditions of being a doctor in the modern world. His son was in jail and had a serious cocaine addiction, his wife had left him. He told me literally, he had wasted his life, he had "failed". I just wanted to comment because I think the bigger story is how western society values success, which can take many forms rather than money alone. I ascribe to Flow Theory, and as I approach the ripe young age of 40, I am on the path of rejecting post-Jungian morality. My grandmother inlaw was the happiest person I ever met, even at 98 years old, she had the personality of teenager. She was a god fearing church goer and had perfect health. I feel like there is so much her generation could have taught ours, that, the baby boomers utterly rejected.

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Dorismantooth 1 month ago in reply to Scott Bower

Scott Bower's reply so accurately describes today's society and the common failure of values. I agree with his final comment, and want to add that you would have to actually know a 98 year old to fully appreciate the gift they offered ... not easily conveyed in words.
Charlie Rose so beautifully captured Clayton Christensen's personality to prove that this generous author may well portray at least the essence of that generation. Thanks.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

I thank Dr. Warren for his post and largely concur with it. However, I have one, hopefully constructive, comment. While the quote recognizes "the primary purpose of life as service to humanity and the derived pleasure from that," Dr. Warren seems to emphasize his status as a Cardiologist and his children’s Harvard degrees. I, too, often focus on my successes (and those of my children) rather than really challenging myself to actually serve humanity. (By themselves, our status and degrees do nothing to serve humanity.) My hope is to do better in practicing the Hindu Philosopher's philosophy.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Guest

"But once you’ve finished at Harvard Business School or any other top academic institution, the vast majority of people you’ll interact with on a day-to-day basis may not be smarter than you."
(Read: now you can go on to being "oh, so superiah").

As an alternative to this article, I advise: "get a life!". I think most people in the US, including students at HBS know what that means ;-)

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Guest

Prof. Chistensen's article is focused on success, with more than one dimentions.

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Thos003 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

There are many that believe money is not the root of all evil... The quote from the source was "The LOVE of money is" Money can be sought after to help "service humanity" as long as you remain focused. Recognize a tool for what it is. But ultimately find those tools that will aid you in building your happiness.

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guest 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

this is a slight digression but really, venkat 'warren'?... I'm not certain if you quite understood what the philosopher under the banyan tree meant.. seems to me serving humanity hardly required you to move to the states.philanthropy is good.. but philanthropy at 5 percent is clearly better.. I know its hard but try recognising your hypocrisy

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Kate Putnam 6 months ago in reply to guest

Years ago, I met a man who did missionary work in Greenwich CT- the richest area in the world. His role it was to care for the education of boys whose fathers provided everything material and nothing spiritual. One can do good anywhere - it does not have to be in poverty. Need is everywhere.
I can see that the ambitious students of HBS need this thought process more than most, os that they appreciate how fortunate they are and what opportunities they have to improve their own lives and through that improve others. This looks like a much better morals course than what I got in B-School. Fortunately I got this course from my mother.

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English 6 months ago in reply to guest

Venkat 'warren' does not need hipocrisy in order to pursue happiness and move to the US where we have institutions and systems already in place to make life easier. Not to say that people in India are less happy, but just to say that the US has so many systems and structures already in place that makes living easier.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to English

Yes. Serving humanity in the US, and the philosophy of the philosopher are not at odds. I however would say that "serving humanity" is too lofty. Still it is a good thing to tell students. Most of them will be providing some service to humanity, no matter what they do.

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Heman 1 month ago in reply to Guest

The business grads, the future CEOs and what not, are supposed to think that "The customer is God". Aren't they? Customers are humanity. So they are serving humanity.

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Guest 3 weeks ago in reply to Heman

Customers are humanity. So they are serving humanity.

Except it was supposed to be done for service's sake, and to be able to sustain life. Definitely not in agreement with the 'profit maximisation' for self theory that most CEO's subscribe to.

A multi million dollar compensation for a CEO firing a few hundred people. Really ? Fire the CEO instead, The economy would improve as the company would still be able to retain the employees, and the VP's can still manage the business. I would say this is the real challenge.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

There is another Hindu philosophy that says focus on "Self" (in fact most of it before contact with western thought: including patanjali, rationalists, bhakti movement, etc.). I think that will surely lead to happiness. It seems, the examples he gives of people who were unhappy were those who did not follow this philosophy. Even in the flight announcements they remind: put your mask on first, pull sting to let the air flow, before attempting to help others.

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Daniel 6 months ago in reply to Guest

That's because if you don't have oxygen yourself, you will pass out and be unable to assist others. I'm not sure if there's a life lesson in that or not.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Daniel

Daniel...HUGE message or lesson...take care of yourself so that (you are strong and therefore) you can take care of others.

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APJRahman77 6 months ago in reply to Guest

Right. "Greatest Protection is Self Protection" By Indra to Karna in dream

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Anurag 5 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

Venkat,

A wonderful philosophy of life. I do hope you based out in rural India, serving underprivileged heart patients? And, hopefully, so are your Harvard-educated children?

Anurag

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Brightsunnymorning 5 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

The real cause of problem cannot be money(or the chase for money) but in my opinion it is the chase. Had there been no money then it would be something else..may be women,power...or may be "who does more service".
With that said,i would disagree with Mr Warren,that it is directly proportional to the intellectual balance.(Intellectual Balance???? what is it ???) There have been several instance of scientist/eminent ppl sabotaging each other's work and remaining unhappy......
That leads us to the question on what constitutes happiness ? Well, it differs from person to person and the aim of the person should be to be a good judge of your inner self and identify what makes him happy....and work towards it. One size fits all cant be true....
tintin




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M_A_Saleem 4 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

Dr Venkat,
As I too am from Chennai read your comment with interest. Purpose of life as service to humanity is ok but faith in God is more valuable. i request you peruse the following: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works?" They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight. That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs and My Messengers by way of jest. As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, they have, for their entertainment, the Gardens of Paradise, Wherein they shall dwell (for aye): no change will they wish for from there. (Qur’an 18:103-108)

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JOE 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

swedish
No one could have everythings he says to be the absolute truth but at least the Prof has 85% of long life experience a worthwhile story to tell young ones.

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Jroblesl 4 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

Excelent

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Harminder Singh 6 months ago in reply to Venkat Warren.M.D.

My perspective is that being human is not easy and the cerebral thinking we have makes us take irrational decisions in this unceratin world of complexities. The cognitive limitations and human greed is taking us places unimaginable. Contentment is an individual achievement and so are the ambitions. The "Era of Stupid" has begun blanketed by the so called intellectuals resulting in the doom of the world. The mind set be a good human and the goal to do something great and at th back of the mind, money is never enough is a common problem with the humans. If even 1% followed the route to service the humanity and achieve 50% I salute such people who are hard to find.

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Karen Dillon 7 months ago

We agree that the piece is superb food for thought--for new graduates and those who have been in their careers a bit longer, too. We had planned to make the article free in the month of August, but thanks to your interest, we’ve released it early. Spread the word!
--Karen Dillon
Editor, Harvard Business Review

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Marianne 7 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

I am so glad you made this article available. I had searched Google for an answer to the question, 'how do you deal with being scapegoated'. I found my answer here - not in the way I expected, nor the place I expected! It seems to me, your postings contain truths with far wider application than business students alone. I thank you for this opportunity to develop the meaning in my own life.

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Shannon 6 months ago in reply to Marianne

Marianne, I was reading the article with the same thought in mind, It has been 7 years and a tremendous amount of inner turmoil to understand not only why, but what is my purpose. Not an easy question to answer, but to make sense of this world essential.

Best of luck to you in finding yours.

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English 6 months ago in reply to Shannon

The 3 big questions:
Where did I come from?
Why am I here? and
Where am I going/what happens in the end?
If we start with seeking Truth and living by it, we will find the answers.

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Govarolo 6 months ago in reply to English

Everyone's mission should be to enlighten the world with the idea that "we are life". I believe this statement carries the seed of life. We were all formed from infinite intelligence and the physical world colliding with each other. From this we were born. This is our existence. Dreams and Ideas are our only link to where we came from. But I caution you not to confuse dreams & ideas with thought. Remember that thought is inspired by dreams & Ideas. The dreams we have are the only reference we have to what we were. We know this to be our past.
The physical world is where most of us perceive to exist. This is only half true. It is our inspired thoughts that change the world that makes our presence known. This is a very crucial concept. If we examine the history of the world it has always been shaped by necessity. Nature has always been very efficient in providing what the world needs. But this all changes with our introduction into this physical existence. For the first time this world is being shaped by mere inspiration. Dreams and Ideas inspire thought and are constantly changing the world around us. Take a minute to contemplate how powerful thought is. Now ponder the notion that the thought that changed the world came from the intangible. Ask anyone if he or she has a soul and everyone will answer with a resounding "yes". Now ask a different question "what is your soul?" and most people will not even know where to begin to answer that question. The reason for this is we are all too caught up with the question of "why". If we try to answer that question we may never arrive at an answer as we cannot explain the intangible with the tangible. The question is not why. "Why" will always have us looking back to our past and never forward. If we stopped trying to explain or remember from where we came from, we could all focus on the future. It is in the statement "We are life" where we accept who we are and ask ourselves a better question "Now what?" By accepting that "we are life" we finally accept that we are the seed and we bring life. From the mere energy brought from the unseen we move and inspire life. In accepting "We are life" we are set free from our past and we allow ourselves to plant our seed in the soil of the universe. We give ourselves the freedom to walk into the future unencumbered by our past perceptions and move forward with the resilience of a new born child.

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Balagururamanan 7 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

This article paves the way for reality check for everyone at any point of time - nothing goes waste unless and until we retrospect our past actions and future in mind. Everything start with self, one big tree can give shades to many. With the busy, selfish and monotonous life style, we seldom realize what we have lost. striking the correct balance between purpose of one life and career, professional on one hand and helping others to attain realization and real success in life creates a chain reaction. The question is how many people and for how long they remain unperturbed in the fast track of life can be relate to the human spirit and inner strength one draws from the undaunted faith in god to bless enough wisdom. It is a new beginning that opens the door for many to attain self realization. Ramanan (ramanan@trinityinc.in - will create value for myself and many more who come in touch with me - Thanks a lot..... Harvard Business Review)

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Hemant 7 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

Thanks for the article. Yes, you will cease to learn new things, the day you don't have humility to respect other feelings and thoughts.

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Labeak 6 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

Thanks for freeing this up for us. It is great stuff, and sorely needed. I've emailed it to both of my sons and to others in positions of leadership.

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Adamgui7 6 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

I'd like to make my whole staff read this article and talk about how it applies to work-life management in today's intense work environment.

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Guest 6 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

The professor needs to attend intro to economics.

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Guest 5 months ago in reply to Karen Dillon

Karen...where can we get this article free? I shared this article with my friends and colleagues and all of them liked it. Is it possible to get the link to the entire article.

Thanks.

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Meghan Ennes, HBR.org 5 months ago in reply to Guest

We appreciate your interest, but unfortunately this article was only free to read for most of July and all of August this year. We hope you got a chance to read it during that time -- and if you really liked it, the reprint is available to purchase here.

Thanks again, and all the best,
Meghan

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Mitch McCrimmon 7 months ago

I'm sure that people who can find a purpose for their lives early in their careers might be happy but I'm not convinced that it is all that easy to do. It sounds like trying to decide whether you like a certain kind of food before you have tasted it. I think one's purpose is something that has to be discovered over time, through experience. I find that regular reflection over many years increases my self awareness and my sense of purpose but I don't believe it is something I could have decided in my university days. Also, I think it is possible for one's purpose to evolve and change over time. I think that the best we can do is to expose ourselves to multiple experiences and reflect regularly on what they mean for our purpose. It's like house hunting. You can set out a few criteria you want in a new house before you start looking but, as you look at houses, you see features you like that you hadn't thought of before so you go home and revise your criteria. Making such decisions is a process of discovery. I don't think that a process of regularly reviewing and revising your purpose is the same as merely drifting. But in an age of rapid change, I doubt if many people can fix on a single lifelong purpose very early in their lives. We have to discover our purpose en route - it is like what Henry Mintzberg calls emergent strategy. www.lead2xl.com

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SantoshD 7 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

Mitch, I'd like to respectfully disagree. I don't think our purpose ever changes; only our understanding of it. If we constantly change our purpose, it is too easy to be affected by things we can't control. That's the whole point of it being a "purpose;" it's something integral to who you are, that cannot and should not be affected by extraneous things. The trouble comes when we have incomplete understanding of our purpose, and/or we lose the humility referenced in the article, that we can continue to learn and grow closer to our purpose.

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clio44 6 months ago in reply to SantoshD

I understand your point, however, you are implying I have a purpose integral to who I am -- but if I don't know it, how is it really integral to who I am?

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Rob 6 months ago in reply to clio44

You may not have discovered what your purpose is yet, but that does not imply that there isn't one integral to who you are - it just means that you haven't discovered it yet. Clayton Christensen had to dedicate an hour each day for a year towards finding his purpose in order to descover it. - and the answer he obtained fit him so well that he never deviated from it afterwards. I dare say that if you dedicate a similar amount of time and effort to that cause, you will similarly discover "what makes you really tick" inside, the purpose that, if you dedicate your life to following it, will lead you to your greatest happiness. I have put myself through a similar process and was able to make just such a discovery for myself.

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Laura Mrmak 5 months ago in reply to Rob

clio44 here:

But is time all that is necessary? If I sit in a corner for a year straight, will I come out enlightened? Or should I spend that time trying different things, seeing what means something to me?

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Thos003 6 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

"purpose in route" ... Nice quote. Not only is it about finding purpose in route, but money in route as well. I just had lunch with a guy that has become very successful with a stone cleaning business. Funny thing was that he started the company to fund another venture, that went south.

Course corrections are often made in life. Clearly defining who you are should be made early. Defining principles to live by, ethics, standards, the earlier you set this the better off you will be. And yet, allowing yourself to change in the future is still acceptable.

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clio44 6 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

I'm glad to read this. I'm 27 and often feel confused about what my purpose is. I grew up with everyone telling me I could do whatever I wanted when I grew up, but the downfall of that is that there are so many options, I didn't know where to focus.. and still don't. While I'm deciding to try one route, there are countless others who have wanted to follow that route all their lives, and it's difficult to feel like I am focused and intent on succeeding amid such passionate people when I have so many other passions in my life.
Since I AM passionate, I'm positive I just need to find the right direction to find the (emotional) success I'm seeking, but I have to admit, there are few mentors for these situations and it's not an easy thing to discover on your own.

What advice would you have?

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Mitch McCrimmon 6 months ago in reply to clio44

Here are a few suggestions:
1. First, stop worrying about not having a purpose.
2. Being adaptable or entrepreneurial can be a strength.
3. Do you really need a single focus rather than a serial career?
4. You can't force discovery. It could simply emerge when you least expect it.
5. What have you most liked about your jobs and what do you want to do more of?
6. Talk to people doing other jobs and ask what they most like about theirs.
7. Keep window shopping and exploring while enjoying the present.
8. The most adaptable people later in life are those who have had the most varied careers.

It is a myth that a lot of people have a single, clear sense of purpose. Without one, however, you can still allocate your time effectively as this article advocates. You just need to think regularly, say once a month, about your priorities for now, the next month, the coming year. To achieve some balance, you might have priorities across a number of your values: career, leisure, learning, family, etc. It is easier to have clear values or principles than a life purpose.
(Edited by author 6 months ago)



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Tosin 6 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

I thought strategy requires that you first define who you are, then set a goal/vision an entity will like to achieve which will be guided principles and values that you set to ensure you remain who you say you are (what you stand for) and be able to achieve your goals accordingly. I do not suppose an organization will just pick up several businesses along the road, hoping that somehow, some day, the will stumble upon their reason for being...

While I appreciate that some people might be 'late in the game' in their approach to life and living it with purpose, it is advisable that those just beginning theirs - like the students - just strive to define their lives' purpose and be guided by it.

How many very successful men (and I mean those who have changed our world and a huge way) just stumbled upon they do?

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Mitch McCrimmon 6 months ago in reply to Tosin

Tosin,

I don't think you can compare a business strategy with your life's purpose. A business has a clear success criterion: making a profit. This makes it easier to define a strategy. But people don't come ready made with any success criteria. They have to discover those as they go especially young people who, if they have any purpose it is to discover who they are. There's nothing wrong with taking a lifetime to find that purpose.

Also, there is a difference between what you call "stumbling" along and a proactive search for a purpose. Even businesses can succeed through entrepreneurial means. That doesn't mean that they are stumbling blindly.

Finally, the fact that those who changed our world had a life-long purpose doesn't mean that it is equally easy for everyone. My point is that no one should feel bad if they don't have a clear purpose, even ever. It's a very one-sided view of life that you have to be single-mindedly achievement oriented. There are lots of ways to be happy without having an overriding or single purpose. One can have lots of interests and these can change over time. Some people like a single purpose, others like variety and change. You can't generalize for everyone.

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Hannah Acuña Nedrow 6 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

I strongly agree with you. When I was in seminary, well-meaning professors tried to push me to define my life's single purpose but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. I was just 21 years old then.

As time has passed, I have found more clues to discovering my purpose, so to speak, but more and more, I have come to believe that living each day as fully as possible is my main purpose. That may sound anti-climatic to people who want a grand and impressive purpose, but I believe that how we spend each moment is more important than having one single purpose.

I've been reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln and I'd say he was one of those who stumbled on his purpose along the way. In contrast, his political rival and cabinet member Salmon Chase was singled-mindedly obsessed with a single political goal, yet he failed to achieve it.

Having said that, I did enjoy the article. For those people who have never thought about their life's purpose, the concept can be life-changing.

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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Hannah Acuña Nedrow

Hannah, thanks for the comment. I like your statement: "...more and more, I have come to believe that living each day as fully as possible is my main purpose."

I agree with the value of what you call "living each day as fully as possible," but is that really a purpose or simply a key to happiness? This question is important because it makes me wonder why we need a purpose at all anyway. Perhaps the need for a purpose says something important about those who feel they need one, that maybe they measure themselves and base their happiness on some sort of goal achievement. I read an interesting book recently called "Waiting for Jack" in which the author argues that we waste too much of our lives waiting for something - that big job, break, move or whatever. I think there must be some connection, in the minds of most people, between purpose and happiness, but for me, happiness is an attitude. It's how we choose to view ourselves and our lives in the here and now regardless of any achievement.

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Laura Mrmak 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

clio44 here:

I just wanted to say thanks Mitch for the insightful response. I have linked to your comment (I hope you don't mind), so anyone with a similar question might be able to read it. I have been following the comments through my e-mail updates and so just now realized I hadn't actually been responding (just in my head!).
Anyway, that's an interesting thought about wasting time waiting. I must say I feel in strong agreement with Hannah about her decision to live each day as fully as possible. I decided a long time ago that I hate the feeling of regret, so I try to live in a way that if something were to happen to me, the people I care about, or my circumstances, that I wouldn't wish that I'd spent more time with them, or shown them I care more often, or anything of the sort. Life is short, but might be shorten than we even think it will be, so I figure, why not be prepared? Why wait to get the big job, big break, if it means you will spend less time with the things that mean most to you (for me it's the people and nature)? Why even strive for that, if all it will provide is anxiety that if something were to happen to a loved one, you wouldn't be there, or you wouldn't have spent enough time with them? I know we can't all spend time with all our loved ones all the time, but there is a balance, and you hear so many people saying, "I should really visit my parents more often" or "I have a cottage and never get to use it" or "I work so much overtime, my spouse and I rarely get to spend an evening together". I don't want that life, that's all I know. All of those things are choices, you can't blame your work, because you chose your work. You are choosing to spend your time working, not with people you care about. You are putting loved ones aside. You are not planning to take the trip to the cottage and sticking to the plan. I have decided that for me, time is the greatest gift you can give someone. Nearly everything else will fade, but a memory, an impression, a loving comfort are priceless and irreplaceable.

Do I belong in the corporate world with such hippie-sounding notions in my head? Maybe not, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing to have someone fighting for everyone else's sake that they not have regrets either. Take that vacation. Don't take your work home tonight. Spend time with your family, relax, recharge. I don't want people burnt out because they work 12 hours a day or more when they are paid to work 8. I've heard other cultures take the recharging idea seriously, and mandate 6 weeks of vacation a year (Sweden, I believe), encouraging workers to take trips, spend that time with family. I really don't think this is indicative of a lazy culture, as many might. I think the expectation that we devote 8+ hours -- which doesn't include the hours devoted to getting ready and travelling to and from work -- of 5 out of 7 days of every week until we retire is indicative of a work-focused culture. I'm sorry, maybe again I seem like a hippie or lazy or something, but honestly, that is such a large portion of my limited time in life..... this is why it is so stressful for me to find a job that I can really care about, because I would feel like a complete hypocrite to follow the masses and just go for the job that pays the most, despite the boring and possibly irrelevant function it may entail.

In summary, I have no idea what I want to do. I want to help others; I want to have time to spend with loved ones; I want to enjoy my life. It's the only one I have!
(Edited by author 5 months ago)



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Mitch McCrimmon 5 months ago in reply to Laura Mrmak

Thanks Laura, I am pleased that you want to link to my comment. By all means of course!

In reply to your point about not knowing what you want to do, I think we can live in line with certain values or priorities as you seem to do without having a grand purpose. Some people like or need a lot of variety and change in their lives. They like doing new and different things, thus perhaps changing career direction regularly without any single purpose. Many are opportunistic and simply enjoy responding to new challenges as they arise. For some reason, however, many people are bothered by the thought that they don't know what they want to do with their lives. Living in the present is one solution, trying new things until you find what you want to do is another. Some can define their purpose out of thin air. My main point is that this is not so easy to do or common so there is no need to feel bad if you can't do it. Life is a bit like a banquet of unfamiliar food where we can't decide what we like until we taste it. We don't need to feel bad if we can't decide in advance which foods we like and don't like.

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Laura Mrmak 5 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

That's what I am hoping. However, with books touting 10,000 hours to becoming specialized in something, makes you feel like if you're not dedicated to something yet, you're wasting time. You're right though -- I do prefer a buffet for the variety it offers, and if I dedicated my life to one single purpose, I might be prone to wondering if I'd missed out on something else. So maybe you're right in saying it's attitudinal to have one single purpose or not. Maybe some of us have 20 purposes.

Actually, one of my favourite quotes about this topic comes from Forrest Gump, when he says, "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time." It was a sweet but insightful way of thinking outside the box.

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aelizabetht 5 months ago in reply to Laura Mrmak

Maybe people are confusing purpose with specialization. I think that humans are naturally drawn to a variety of tasks that fulfill a variety of needs we have. The first factories that were built had to "force" people to work there, because anyone who tried it hated the repetitiveness so much. They were used to working on family farms where each day there were a multitude of different tasks that required different skills, from digging dirt to repairing tools to managing time and predicting weather patterns. Intuitively, I feel we shouldn't feel bad about having so many interests!

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Patrick Grasso 6 months ago in reply to clio44

Mitch should have added point # 9:
You cannot do whatever you want nor become anything you want to be in life.
It is a false expectation preached by educators that is built on the premise of entitlements.
Number nine is a reality niether positive or negative. It also does not limit your passions. What is does allow, when you accept number nine, is the redefining of how you put that passion into a life. Not to make it too elementary but maybe I want to be a professional baseball player. The odds of me being fast enough or being able to hit the curve ball consistently is remote. However, I can channel that passion into areas of athletics, by professional choice, that will provide me with the passion and purpose. Applying the Stockdale Paradox is good advice; address the reality as it is, reflect and act.

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TRYING TO HELP 6 months ago in reply to clio44

clio44, try a Myers-Briggs assessment or read a book called Strengths Finder.

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Laura Mrmak 5 months ago in reply to TRYING TO HELP

clio44 here:

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have tried those. My strengths span from creative to details-oriented to people-oriented to stubborn. Unfortunately, telling me my strengths doesn't help me find a job I care about. I might be willing to work hard at something if I really cared about it, after all. And then I'd be building my strengths!

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Kush_sharma111 7 months ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon

i completely agree with you.

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Banks95 6 months ago

All that Proferssor Christensen professes is absolutely true...... I have seen it in my life:

About 23 years ago, I made a conscious decision to stop chasing money and, instead, invest as much of my life as possible in my family.......particularly my children. I have not made the money that I could have, but the character of my children is my return on my investment. Both were homeschooled, both went to top notch undergrad and grad schools......U.Penn, Harvard, U.Chicago, Georgetown and Cambridge.........BUT.....it is not the knowledge thay have obtained that is of greatest value to them........it is their character. They are a true blessing.

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aelizabetht 5 months ago in reply to Banks95

I've recently realized that a person's children is the first and best place to invest their time and resources. I have two children, and if I had more time/money/resources, they would be the first to have them. I can't believe how many people who are better off than I am(in this country, a lot of them) are so unneccesarily stingy with their kids, as if they fear giving too much would hurt them. As it is, even the small amount I can give my kids seems to pay off very well, as they are for the most part very patient and understanding people.

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Jeff Cohen 7 months ago

I read this article in the HBR (paper) magazine and wanted to pass it on to friends, but they needed to pay $7 to read the entire article. I believe that this type of article should be free to everyone. A friend died very early in life because of the work habits alluded to by Christensen. My friend's life might have been extended if he read AND had adhered to the precepts in this article. These ideas need wider distribution and I think HBR would be doing a great service (plus great PR for the magazine) if it promoted the contents of the article.

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Tim 7 months ago in reply to Jeff Cohen

I agree. Clayton even alludes to his recent battle with Cancer and a further realization that this kind of thought will likely have one end life significantly more fulfilled. Let's get it out to the world. Consider it Community Service and write it off HBR!

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Raja 6 months ago

I thought I'd never see the day that HBR would publish an article like this, and believe in its value to the point of making it free. Values and relationships are what ultimately matter, and if we do not pursue a legacy we would have gone into business and management in vain. Thank you Clayton!

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Aymen 7 months ago

Yes, It is easier to hold on to your principles a 100 percent of the time, but whether or not THAT is the right/better thing to do - must be subject to the scrutiny of your principle. After all, its our moral frigidity that creates conflict, prevents co-existence and tolerance and brews superiority and judgement

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DisqusIMO 7 months ago in reply to Aymen

I think Clayton would agree in the sense of the basketball example he gave. He discussed the conflict with his team and then took time to reflect on what decision he should make. Prayer was his method of scrutiny. He does follow the higher principle of helping someone in need on Sunday or dealing with an emergency (an ox in the mire in the Biblical sense). Also, the principle of humility to learn from others helps avoid frigidity as you make a situational judgment.

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clio44 6 months ago in reply to DisqusIMO

I'm curious if his basketball team lost. The reason I wonder this is because I wonder if that would create any sense of guilt for having potentially disappointed a whole team because of his moral stance. If so, would the guilt be justified?

(I am by no means disagreeing with his choice, I'm just purely curious.)

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DisqusIMO 6 months ago in reply to clio44

Good question. I think there would be disappointment, but not guilt.

My joking answer would be that my father taught me it is not whether you win or lose, but how you bet against the spread.

The serious answer is that guilt would only be justified if you had originally committed to do something against your values and then backed out. But there the guilt is for not originally being true to your values, particularly if the team had no way of knowing your values.

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Sarah Farnsworth 7 months ago

What a thoughtful and insightful piece. Having gotten on the hamster wheel for awhile once in my life and having gotten off with great misgivings at the time, I have not wanted to get back on. I realized what I had missed, I thought being 'present' for the big events, showing up for the family get togethers or the college reunions or the school play was a sign of unselfishness and participation-- I was present and accounted for. But having taken time off, I took time to reflect, to experience the day to day with friends and families and realized when I move to the next world, it won't be the number of projects I won, or the brilliant memos I wrote that will matter. It will be whether I was a loving and supportive spouse, a present (both physically and mentally) and attentive parent and a reliable and caring friend. I thought my job defined me -- it is really my decision now whether or not it will.

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R T narendra 7 months ago in reply to Sarah Farnsworth

How to measure your life is for everyone,not only MBA students. I connected with the article
because as a HR professional I am touching lives. This is the metric,not dollars. In my HR class I have stressed the importance of purpose of life and meaning of life. I paid Rs 1200
and bought HBR in Chennai only for this article. Thank you Professor! Regards, Narendra

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Emmanuel David 7 months ago

An insightful piece of writing which has a soul and would live for many decades.
The Purpose of Life is a discovery each one has to make for herself / himself.
The real measure of success of such writings, is how much we are willing to take a real look at our selves honestly make that first step to Live our Lives Fully.
A quote from John W Gardener on " Meaning" is very apt.

Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of the things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that unique pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success or failure is of less account. John W. Gardner

Thank you Prof Christensen

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Jim Volp 7 months ago

Thanks to my MBA studies I was able to read the whole article (through EBSCO). I really want to thank you as I think it's one of the most fundamental and contributing articles I've ever read as it helps to identify what is really most important in life. How strange it is that indeed the more ambitious people are, the more they tend to focus on what they later find to be the wrong thing... Fascinating! If there are more HBR articles like this... Is there any classification of relevant HBR (old) content that links with this article? Any crowdsourcing of personal favorites? Perhaps a suggestion? I think HBR could do a better job in more easily offering relevant (similar) articles (not too many clicks away!), don't you agree? All the best, Jim

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Kwesisena 6 months ago

For me this a great article not only because of the truth it teaches, but also how it applied theory to our day to day life. All too often, we crave for higher education not because we want to become better people and help society, but in order to earn more money. I believe that true education is when what we learn in our great universities have direct impact on our own lives and the lives of others. Thank you Clayton.

But Clayton, tell me one thing, how does ones enviroment help shape these three important decisions you raised in this article? And how do we ensure that no matter the enviroment within which we find ourselves we will be able to make these choices?

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Dragoslav 6 months ago

OK, this is my third and final attempt to post a comment even if my opinion is against the grain. This is kind of articles we've needed five years ago. It summarizes a lot of my thoughts about the general corporate culture.

On the other had i can't help noticing how such paradigm shifts occur AFTER an economic crisis. What i observe beyond this article is a tendency to educate people to focus on personal lives since growth and opportunities expected BEFORE the crisis will never materialize.

It reminds me of an anecdote where a journalist spoke in front of a crowd of Chinese students explaining the importance of ecology, recycling and being humble towards Mother Earth. And one of the students complained how that is being taught after the Western Civilization spent all the resources.

With a stretch i could say how banks and mismanagement caused the world economic crisis and we, the aspiring managers, should now explain to ourselves and our reports how to be humble and satisfied with what we've got.

Thanks for reading.

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Ng Sok Eng 6 months ago in reply to Dragoslav

I agree with your points. On further thoughts, I would say that this kind of wisdom has been there all along. We all know innately what should be the right way to live. Just that when the majority of the population choose to ignore it in their pursuit, the minority fell silent for the lack of an audience. Perhaps only when the time is right, when people may finally pause to listen and reflect, will we see such articles.

Clayton M. Christensen lived his whole life by his values. He didn't start 5 years ago.


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Evie Taylor 7 months ago

This carefully crafted outline of "How to Measure Success" transcends across culture and academic backgrounds. True wisdom from real experience. Thank you for sharing your enlightenment.

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Iz 7 months ago

"But once you’ve finished at Harvard Business School or any other top academic institution, the vast majority of people you’ll interact with on a day-to-day basis may not be smarter than you."

Very humble indeed.

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George Cloward 7 months ago in reply to Iz

The article clearly advocated being open to leaning things from everyone. Interesting that this little snipe was the only comment he could share.

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Chris 7 months ago

Absolutely beautiful article by Clayton Christensen. Cuts through so much of the clutter and discusses issues of great importance to anyone seeking to integrate work with life--and maintain integrity relative to one's value system. That more of the academia would find ways to bridge some of the theory and practice that Clayton does with this insightful and thoughtful piece.

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Ravindra Edirisooriya 7 months ago

It was a very interesting article! However, Professor Christensen has had a "captured" population of comments and some of them seem to agree either because they truly did not have a clue to begin with or they were politically or religiously motivated to say that it was great! What would be the response if we sent this article to the four corners of the world?

How Will You Measure Your Life?

In the distant past, I wonder if people thought of careers. Everybody did what they were good at (specialization of labor) and made a living out of the best skills they had. People improved their skills (materials and methods), invented new skills (Eureka moments!) and taught their skills (write a tablet!) to the next generation and hopefully it made them happy. Dose it not apply anymore?

In the distant past, people were polygamous. They raised multiple families depending on how much they could provide for the offspring. Now people are locked into monogamous relationships by the society, perhaps a sign of a mature society. Now you hopefully love your spouse (after all the years of arguing or tolerance) and love your kids' upbringing and progress and love to see them become good citizens which should make you happy.

Is staying out of jail the only motivation to do no wrong? Being just within the law by the skin of your teeth could be as harmful to the society as you have broken the law (when you go to jail). I am pretty sure some of those financiers in Wall Street did it recently with grave consequences.




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Greenlite 6 months ago

One of the commentators, Pillai, really lambasts the author. I don't know much about the author but I do know that HBS (and corporate America) is all about money. But you don't expect them to blatantly say that, do you? Of course some good PR is in order - preach values, family, giving back, etc that most people already know about and practise in their lives. I also get what the guest said about the very first comment on this thread: "Dr. Warren seems to emphasize his status as a Cardiologist and his children’s Harvard degrees." It seems as if one has to highlight one's credentials as a "high achiever" to be part of the club and be taken seriously. Even the Hindu philosopher, Jiddu Krishnamurti, that Dr. Warren sanctifies (and justifiably so), lived and died in California. There are other Hindus (Deepak Chopra comes to mind) who preach the simple life but live in the oppulent West and reap all the material rewards. So, materialism isn't just a Western phenomenon. In fact, many Indians are more materialistic and status-conscious than their Western counterparts. All this preaching is meant for educated, affluent professionals. The millions of people trying to acquire a cell phone or TV or scooter in India and China will have no clue what this is all about.

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Clineco 7 months ago

A man or woman is no more than what he or she is inside. Thank you for getting us to examine what is inside. You are asking us to set the thermostat of of our lives, not live by thermometers.

I am also glad that this article was written because it shows by all the comments that we are all yearning for something more than the name recognition, the big paycheck. And finally I am hoping that by all the comments the workplace can be transformed from the win at all cost mentality to a truly "spiritual" (not religious) space of collaboration and cooperation.

Elizabeth Cline

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Atul Prabhakar 7 months ago

good article. Ironically, a man realizes the true meaning of his life only after the stark realization of its transcience. If more people follow the path of their heart rather than the crowd mentality of commercial success, the world would be different. Of course, they may have to tread a thorny path many a time without giving up on their goodness - that takes a lot

Atul Prabhakar

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Ken 7 months ago

A wonderful article and should made be free and be able to be read as many MBA students across the globe as possible. Its sad that most of us are good at setting strategies and tactics for organizations but yet often fail to do so in our very own lives. HBR please do make this article free, and perhaps future managers will stand better ethics and values

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Parthasarathy Madhu 7 months ago

Prof Clayton,
Very thoughtful one. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
I agree that 98% is lot tougher than 100% compliance and I can personally vouch for that.
best regards,
madhu


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sparkwisdom 7 months ago

What a wonderful, peaceful, insightful article. To sum it all up, we should live our lives on purpose with purpose. Simply beautiful. Thank you HBR!

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MCKT 7 months ago

Great article. I value the knowledge I have gained through my MBA studies, but as someone once said, "What profits a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul?"

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FishieFishies 7 months ago

Thank you, Clayton Christensen, for reminding me once again why I will move heaven and earth to hear you speak anytime I have the opportunity. And thank you, HBR, for making the article free. Everyone: Retweet! Retweet!

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Maxman 6 months ago

One's Purpose In Life?

May I suggest that there are two Purposes in Life?

1st - The Basic Purpose in Life that is common to us all, and established by a greater power than ourselves, which involves a search for eternal truth .

2nd - One's own Purpose in Life that is unique and common to one's talents, abilities, interests, priorities, beliefs and values; to be established by our our own introspection and agency.

I know what the first truth is, for I have found it. It is profound, simple, grand, and glorious!
However, rather than tell you what it is, I know that in order for you to find and recognize it, I must use the same teaching strategy Professor Christensen used in Silicon Valley, and let you find it for yourself.

I will tell you, as the Professor did, how others found it.

I know of a group of military men who desired to know the truth. They prayed for guidance and enlightenment and went where they were led -- to various meetings, to books which they read, and they listed the things they felt would be required in finding the truth. They came up with a list of 17 items they all agreed would be necessary.

They separated after being discharged from the military, going their various ways and did not keep in touch, but each continued the search. They reunited years later, and to their surprise they had all found the same answer.

My own case is much the same: prayer; searched where I was led to look; and acted upon the promptings I received -- I found the same Purpose in Life the veterans had found; however, I didn't learn of their search until after I had found the truth and entered into the same organization and circle of eternal love, friendship, and increase they now enjoy and celebrate!

So the answer is: Believe there is a higher power; prayerfully enlist that power to lead you in your search; TRUST the promptings that come to you, and follow them.

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Andy C. 6 months ago

A worthwhile read, but even the wisest of counsel can be lost on fools.
1. Living a life of integrity and staying out of jail are in no way equivalent. In fact, I wonder how many executives today tell themselves that because they are not doing anything illegal, they are living good lives. I think integrity comes from not hurting your fellow man/woman and not simply, not hurting them, but helping where you can. The way Prof CC formulates it here is akin to saying that the role of a doctor is to 'do no harm.' No, this is a guide, but it is not a doctor's purpose. Likewise, the purpose of an HBS grad -- whatever their vocation -- should not be to 'stay out of jail.' If it is, the bar is set disgracefully low.

2. I like the point about being true to your beliefs in large matters and in small ones. When i went through orientation as a consulting analyst, I was shocked by the number of fellow consultants who cheated even when playing the a meaningless game (that was supposed to teach us basic concepts), even when the outcome of the game had no significance. If you're willing to cheat when the stakes are laughably low, how would I trust you not to cheat when they're is money, real money, on the line?

3. I have to agree with Dragoslav about the modification in behavior after the economic crisis. I see the same thing in human beings. When their own life is hit with a major crisis (death, illness, divorce, job loss), they all of a sudden find religion and change their ways. I'm not saying Mr. Christensen has never thought this way, but the change in voice for many once-arrogant leaders is quite dramatic. That said, I'd rather it take a crisis to trigger a new behavior than to never have the new behavior at all. Human beings are fickle creatures.

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Young 6 months ago

Life is choice. The choice comes by you. We live just one time not two. Happiness is in you, but you know that happiness comes from outside of you because you never notice that you've born within happiness in this world. You can give your happiness for others who just forgot their happiness.

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Mohamed Saloudeen 6 months ago

An excellent essay on values. But Prof. Clayton Christensen's view is uni-dimensional putting one-self (very American) at the center stage and where life's situations are either black or white or atleast the solutions are.

A very good counter-point to this view is presented by David Brooks in his Op-Ed in NY Times on August 2nd, 2010, where he posits the concept of Summoned Life against Prof. Christensen's concept of Well-planned life.

Mr. Brooks emphasises the context of life's situations and tries to find answers to questions like "what are these circumstances summoning me to do? what is needed in this place? what is the most useful social role before me?"

For those who care to read the other point of view, you can follow the link given below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08...

Thanks

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Tom Pilla 6 months ago

I see little in the Christensen HBS article that any "commonsense bearing" person would
not already know in overall content in the large sense.

Rather, it struck me as "morally superficial."
Despite the "topic," the style and content written contradicts what is actually being
said. Kind of an "I know better than you" piece.

For example:
The opening page about Andrew Grove, Chairman of Intel was
1. Name dropping, and
2. A poor example that was glib and difficult to understand.
Here and throughout the article Christensen seems to be trying to use as many
"Tech-speak" words in as possible, which really contradicts the “message.” In other words,
if the thesis is that you are faulting the "business-only" mentality, don't undermine that approach with
a lot of words dedicated to just that - "applied econometrics," "problems
of autocorrolation in regression analysis," "marginal cost mistakes," etc.

Some other thoughts:

Christensen inadvertently damns HBS and himself by mentioning that Jeffrey Skilling
of Enron was a classmate of his - Skilling turning out to be one of the biggest swindlers
of all time. Christensen says, "These were 'good guys'...but something sent them
off in the wrong direction." ???? That is quite an understatement. And what institution
taught them?



More “insight” from Christensen:

"Growing in responsibility increases self-esteem. Feeling underappreciated
and demeaned lowers self esteem." In turn those feelings affect ability to
parent. Really?

"Management is the most noble of professions...because no other occupation
offers as many ways to help others learn and grow...etc." Is he kidding,
or does he have his head in a bowl?

"HBS draws 900 students a year from the world’s best." The world's best
what? Not egalitarians, surely. No wonder he goes on to say that so many
of them have a life "strategy" that consists almost exclusively of making
money.

Then we learn that this "self-actualized man" was a Rhodes Scholar in a
very demanding program which meant cramming an extra year's work into his
time at Oxford. That's all! Mr Humble.

He spent every night "reading, thinking and praying" about "why God put me
on this earth." Did he figure out "the Meaning of Life" at the same time?

I am all for God, but this guy uses religion exactly like the religious
right does - to justify his own opinions.

He advises, "Take the time to figure out life's purpose"??? Again, is he
kidding?

And: "The problems of life are the same as the problems of a corporation."
What a nice tidy package – correlates so easily.

I could go on and on.

But that last example about not playing in his undefeated basketball team's
championship game (he even tells us he was the center - the most important
guy on the team) because he was deeply religious??? He screwed his
teammates in the name of God? Don't join a team if you don't want to run
the race to the finish. How can he possibly justify his actions.
That's the example he gives for "holding to your principles."??? This guy
fails Logic and Reason 101.

I think Christ would have said, "Go play your ass off and do everything you
can to help your teammates."

His words on Humility lack sincerity -are banal at best – devoid of insight.

And "God judges our lives by metrics."?? Does this guy ever get off his
Harvard Business School high horse?

(By the way, are you aware that HBS is the single most profitable piece of
Harvard? It is the golden goose - whose end justifies the means. Harvard
Business School generates about $60 Million dollars per year income to Harvard.)

Christensen is incredibly self-righteous.

Webster: Convinced of one's own righteousness especially
in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others: narrow-mindedly moralistic.

Christensen reads more like a demagogue than a humanist.

EXACTLY what is the "raison d'etre" of Harvard Business School:
Materialism conveniently wrapped in bogus idealism.

This is a treatise on the pseudo justification of Christensen’s job. Nothing more.



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George Sutton 3 months ago in reply to Tom Pilla

But what about the author's ideas? How do your thoughts on the same subject relate? I especially appreciate Mr. Christensen's insights from his own personal life experiences. He dares to put his own life "on the line", opening up some very precious and personal experiences, putting them out there for us all to consider - or to criticize. For me, that's the mark of a very good and honest man.

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Piiparin 5 months ago in reply to Tom Pilla

You missed the boat, Mr. Pilla. Mr. Christensen is right on the mark.--Garry Piiparinen

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Meghan Ennes, HBR.org 6 months ago in reply to Tom Pilla

Dear Mr. Pilla,
Thanks for your comments -- it's always a treat to hear an alternate point of view. Although as comment moderator for this forum, I have to remind you to please limit your criticisms to the ideas expressed in the article, rather than the author himself.

Thanks, and keep reading,
Meghan

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adsrinivasan 7 months ago

Sir
Excellent one indeed. Having been through one such tough incident in my life, I can say that ur article is very nice. I was like what every one wishes to be. I wanted sucess without humility. But one particular incident threw me out into deep waters. At that time i read Rickwarren's "Purposse driven life" which changed my focus. Now i am happy and very much peaceful, the peace which no million dollers can provide. The confidence that Jesus is there for me and no degree can give that confidence to face the problem

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Pete Dennis 7 months ago

Without doubt this article brought a renewed perspective to my professional and personal life. Everyday we all deal with individual problems and sometimes this transcends to helping others deal with theirs.

My passion is seeing the job get done to the best standards possible and after reading then re-reading this article it fully dawned on me that what I thrive on most is seeing others succeed, ideas come together as a collective enterprise and seeing the pleasure of this radiate from my teams.

Without doubt I will be re-visiting this again and again, to remind me what I now know my own meaning of life is, my "4 F's" - my faith, my family, my fitness and having fun across everything I do

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kunal 6 months ago

Really thanks a million for this article again
"Money is not everything' and this could be one example to enlighten human thinking
the article is master piece as i liked the most was the 1 hour session for individual every day which everyone should practice once in the life time (give yourself time) and the another is "marginal benefit" this could be the main reason people are unable to quit smoking or drug all the bad habits each and every word can be put into practice for a better life as you can see most richest man are not the most happiest man in earth work for mankind work for your family

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Tom Pilla 6 months ago

There is little in Christensen’s HBS article that any thinking person
Would not already know in overall content in the large sense.
Rather, this piece reflects morally superficiality.
The style of the piece contradicts what is actually being said.
For example:
The opening page about Andrew Grove, Chairman of Intel was
1. Name dropping, and
2. A poor example that was difficult to understand as relates to the rest.
In that and throughout the article Christensen seemed to be trying to get in
as many "Tech-speak" words as possible. If the thesis is that you are
faulting the "business-only" mentality, don't undermine that approach with
a lot of words dedicated to just that - "applied econometrics," "problems
of autocorrolation in regression analysis," "marginal cost mistakes," etc.
Some other thoughts:
Christensen uses a poor choice by mentioning that Jeffrey Skilling of
Enron was a classmate of his - Skilling being one of the most notorious swindlers
of all time. Christensen says, "These were 'good guys'...but something sent them
off in the wrong direction." That is quite an understatement. And an equivocation.
Is this insight?:
A. "Growing in responsibility increases self-esteem. Feeling underappreciated
and demeaned lowers self esteem... in turn those feelings affect ability to
parent.”
B. "Management is the most noble of professions...because no other occupation
offers as many ways to help others learn and grow...etc." Many would question that statement.
C. "HBS draws 900 students a year from the worlds best." The world's best
what exactly? Not egalitarians, surely. It is no wonder he goes on to say that so many
of them have a life "strategy" that consists almost exclusively of making money.

Christensen was a Rhodes Scholar in a “very demanding program which meant cramming an extra year's work into his time at Oxford.” Humility?
He spent every night "reading, thinking and praying" about "why God put me
on this earth." If he can figure this question out, he is the first.
Christensen uses religion to justify his statements.
He advises, "Take the time to figure out life's purpose.” Is that possible?
And: "The problems of life are the same as the problems of a corporation."
In Christensen’s opinion alone.

That last example about not playing in his undefeated basketball team's
championship game (he even tells us he was the center - the most important
position on the team) because he was deeply religious. He sacrificed all that his
teammates worked for in the name of God? Ecclesiastes: “Run the Race to the Finish.
That's the example Christensen gives for "holding to your principles." A failure of
“Logic and Reason 101.”
Christ would have said, "Go and do everything you
can to help your teammates."
Christensen’s words on Humility are banal and lacking any insight.
"God judges our lives by metrics.” Doubtful.
Christensen is narrow-mindedly moralistic.
He reads more like a cultist than a humanist.
Harvard Business School generates approximately $60 Million dollars per year in income.
Therefore, exactly what IS the "raison d'etre" of Harvard Business School?
Is Christensen trying to muddy the water?
What insight does he offer that thinking people have not countenanced for years?

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Harold 1 month ago in reply to Tom Pilla

You let me know what your perspective on life is after you have a bout with cancer and wash it down with a stroke cocktail. If so many "thinking people" already know this is, why do so few actually practice it or should I say live it. Life is short, hug your kids, kiss your wife and stop over analyzing a commencement speech given to a group of college kids about to graduate from one of the most prestigious business schools in the world. You write your own speech when you figured out your purpose in life. Until then I will gladly read and enjoy Clay's.

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Cliff 6 months ago

There are no "sure" answers in an imperfect world poulated by imperfect people, but faith, family, friends, education (including travel, reading, experience, etc.), challenging and meaningful work and serving others are among the most likely and meaningful methods to measure one's life. Balance sounds good doesn't it? But often it is focus which brings recognition. Some of us prefer to live a balanced life, others, one of focus. Would we have ever heard of Jimi Hendrix or Vince Lombardi had they not been so focused and led otherwise imbalanced lives? Would we, or they, have wanted it different? No sure answers.

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Maxim Basilad 6 months ago

This is such a beautidul article. A brave dissertation on what is truly the essence of life.

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Dragoslav 6 months ago

The article is truly great and confirms what i've been reading in more "esoteric" works on corporate culture.

On the other hand and with all due respect, i can't help noticing how such paradigm shifts occur AFTER an economic crisis. What i observe beyond this article is a tendency to educate people to focus on personal lives since growth and opportunities expected BEFORE the crisis will never materialize.

It reminds me of an anecdote where a journalist spoke in front of a crowd of Chinese students explaining the importance of ecology, recycling and being humble towards Mother Earth. And one of the students complained how that is being taught after the Western Civilization spent all the resources.

With a stretch i could say how banks and mismanagement caused the world economic crisis and we, the aspiring managers, should now explain to ourselves and our reports how to be humble and satisfied with what we've got.

Thanks for reading.

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Hiroo Teraichi 7 months ago

It is very important 'how can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail?'.
In the case of Japan, many retired high-ranking bureaucrat make money off the crime 'Amakudari'. They move to private company, and they get the jobs (contracts) from the government office in where they used to work.
The lessons 'how can I be sure I’ll stay out of jail?' must be mandatory in any schools.

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Learn Accounting 7 months ago in reply to Hiroo Teraichi

Hiroo,

This happens in most countries. Not just Japan!

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Milan Kc 7 months ago

wow ! everyone should read this.

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Susan_ott 7 months ago

This article is a phemonemal insightful piece. It is so imperative to life today and how greatly this type of self-reflection is needed. The article has key points that are so connected to my life. Everyday I ask myself and have for the past year, what I can do today to be a successful partner in my relationship? Literally, everyday I think this. Having a strategy for these things means you are inputting effort and energy that will produce successful results and happiness. The article is just beautiful and thank you for writing this as to educate all on how to be a successful person that we can measure in more than earnings or net worth. bravo!

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Prasad Kaipa 7 months ago

Thank you very much for sharing some of your authentic dilemmas and allowing readers to dig into their own authenticity as well. As I read your article, i remembered principles my spiritual teacher talks about -- Refection on what is meaningful as a source for guiding action, practicing what I am preaching so that I have authority and credibility to advice others (i am a teacher and coach myself), being part of a community that focuses on things that are meaningful over longer time -- in that respect more strategic than tangible and finally allowing myself to let go of the feeling that I am the one who made myself successful and give credit to others on my team (family, work team, community and spiritual guidance).
thank for sharing yourself and my prayers are with your continued recovery
Prasad Kaipa
Kaipagroup.com
Indian School of Business

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DeepakAlse 7 months ago

A Classic.. My comments are extensive and cant fit this box-http://exploreamaze.wordpr.../

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Narasimhan40 7 months ago

Dr P L Narasimhan
Excellent and thought provoking.The need of the hour is the inbuilt mental strength for right purpose to lead a fullfilled life.The incident about "Break the rule just this one time" is touching.It require enormous mental strength to stand up to one' conviction.
My appreaction to Dr Clayton M Christensen for sharing his thougts.
narasimhan

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Ozlem Tekay 7 months ago

Thank you Clayton for reminding us in such a brilliant and clear way that life is multidimentional; and for bringing sense to it.

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Jason (HeeLye) Park 7 months ago

Thank you, Prof Christensen, for providing a dose of sense into my life.

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Madhukar Tanna 7 months ago

Author has touched upon very fundamental issued involved in our day to day professional and personal lives. Barring his references about God and Faith...rest of the matter is very convincing and useful

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Jayaram Krishnan Parlikad 6 months ago

Dr. Christensen's article in HBR is refreshingly great. Congratulations to HBR thug giving importance for Human Values. End of Education is Character. (not knowledge storage!!).
Politics without Principles
Education without Character
Science without Humaniy
Business without Morality
are NOT ONLY USELESS but ALSO dangerous!!!
I wish true education in great institutions like HBS re-orient themselves soon.Dr. Christensen has through his article opened up a new path. I wish the new graduates from HBR soon be a better lot who will not chase money but will serve the humanity better! Parlikad K Jayaram

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Tom Pilla 6 months ago

I have never read more bull than on your site

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Emmanuel Matuco 6 months ago

A very moving article Prof. Christensen. Respectfully allow me to express my gratitude by sharing a story also.

About 800 years ago, in ancient Japan there lived a samurai who, by the medical standards of his time, is a skilled physician, and by his martial exploits, a master swordsman. Owner of the skills of life and death. However, it was not these attributes that made his life a “lighthouse” to me. It was the principles he struggled and fought for and how he served the mentors and loved ones he treasured. (Sincere apologies for the lengthy comment. It won't always be like this).

One of these struggles began when his Lord, upon the machinations of their enemies, was influenced to force his retainer to choose between his fief or… his faith. Fatal. Without one’s faith, can one still live with honor and dignity? Without a fief, how would he feed his family? A life of begging awaits them. A crucible.

“Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole..”(1)

He chooses faith…., thus they went down that dark, dark blackness of hardship.

“I thank whatever Gods maybe,
For my unconquerable soul.”(1)

As a family man myself, I can only imagine the depths of his lament…“What would happen to us now, …I have failed my wife and our beloved children.” Yet… he didn’t complain. Nor sought survival by being a ronin. Karma is karma.

“In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.”(1)

“Really what is true hell or heaven in this life?” Seeing him in what seems to be a pitiful state, his friends, and his religious mentor petitioned his Lord for forgiveness. “Who is nobler? The one who forgives; the one who suffers by upholding one’s principles; or those who suffer for others?”

“Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade..”(1)

One day his Lord became sick. Very sick. Death was inevitable perhaps. Summoned, reportedly he rushed to his mentor’s side. With a heart devoid of bitterness, he sincerely offered his services. Perhaps, despite the hardships they’ve embraced, he and his family choose to remember only all his master goodness. Duty. “Giri”.

In today’s society, do let’s explore the moral meaning of rationality. “Isn’t this Lord, the root of all his suffering? Why not just let him die? Death comes to us all anyway. More than that, surely he must realize that should his Lord die under his care, his death may even be blamed on him!” “No!” He served his sick Lord perseveringly. Perhaps if he did fail, he too would have wanted to die by his lord’s side. Loyalty. Honor. Skills and the Arts. All these reach their heights when they serve eternal values.

“And yet the menace of the years,
Finds, and shall find me unafraid.”(1)

“What constitutes a fulfilling life? What is true happiness? Is it found in some lofty realm of intellectual utopia; in the comfort of one’s fief; or victory in bloody combat?” In this samurai’s life, he found it by nourishing the bond between mentor and disciple; between comrades and family. He found it by repaying debts of gratitude.

Happiness is a life condition, a choice, not a mere event between bouts of sorrows. After a prolonged struggle, his mentor recovered. They restored their bond and it endured forever.

The choices he made; the suffering and lament; the renewal, all grand testaments to the nobility of the human spirit. He is Shijo Kingo.…. Shijo Nakatsukasa Saburo Saemon-no-jo Yoritomo. The swordsman and doctor who embraced his fate using compassion to defeat the hate; for above all, he is Nichiren Daishonin’s disciple.

“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”(1)

(1)from the poem “Invictus” written by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903).Wikipedia.

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Namita Tiwari 6 months ago

Wow. This is the most insightful writing on the way to real happiness in life... which is through contentment. We are content only when we are at peace... and we can be at peace only when we have clarity of purpose, direction and drive ourselves towards it... with faith in ourselves... and belief in our principles... with the knowledge that we will be successful... in adding meaning to life... our own and that of others.
if we work with this clarity... life would be blissful.
and we must always remember... that each time someone puts us down... we must see it as an acknowledgment of our superiority over them... as no one wastes time over anything insignificant. So... at such times... be humble... and smile graciously... after all... you are getting a compliment.
Thank you for an affirmation of my thinking.
I think this article would impact the lives of many... many more than you can imagine.
Thank you for this article... a real eye opener.
Happy Living.

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shuvo 6 months ago

Great article. thanks you sir!

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Shashi Sigdel 6 months ago

No wonder, it's a phenomenal article with a moving wisdom. I thank the professor for sharing his wisdom. I believe that life is far easier when viewed in retrospection, rather than in prospective approach. It's a wonder that the professor was convicted to moral standards early from the beginning and he was always on to it. The gist of this article is clear " people run too fast over the materialistic world to be happy until they realize that happiness is an an metaphysical component as well, that encompasses humility, love, virtue and endurance"

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Daniel Theobald 6 months ago

For those who enjoyed this article, you might also consider reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. Viktor was a concentration camp survivor and his experience led him to some useful insights on life and purpose.

Modern business seems to destroy lives and societies at an alarming rate. In many ways it is an invisible problem since the cumulative effect often isn't obvious until it is too late. Any economy based on greed as its driving principal is doomed to eventual collapse. If we don't build individuals and businesses that put the goal of creating a better society above individual greed, I fear for the future of our country and world. I applaud Clay and HBS for recognizing this and working to reverse the trend.

Clay sits on the Board of Advisors at Vecna Technologies, and his insights have helped us to build a company based on real values that stand the test of time and help to make the world a better place for everyone. Thank you Clay for sharing your time, experiences and insights with the rest of us.

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lightyears 6 months ago

I will NOT measure my life by working for Corporate America. I am convinced the memes of Corporate America are by far the most dangerous memes in our society. They take you down. They crush your spirit. Its bad for your health to be a part of this. So glad I left...
(Edited by a moderator)



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Jim John 6 months ago

I dont read much books nor good writer of my thoughts. But this time, I cant stop myself penning down few letters. When I read frontiers of management, Built to last, Business@Speed of thought etc, I thought I was growing my knowledge base some where. After reading this article, I felt, this is at a level beyond any frontiers, beyond any speed, and beyond any type of build. The greatness of humility woven with purpose of life sans the tangible assets, nothing can beat it. Prof Clayton you proved, quite a good majority of the silent readers, there exists greatest reward of all. If happiness in Family, kids and friends can be measured, you will be at the highest. You got lots of good friends. Count me in, though profile wise i might be lowest.
Thanks Again for the great article
Jim John

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Manuel Infante 6 months ago

Excelente artículo!!... reflexiona sobre lo importante que, en la vida de las personas, es priorizar lo INTERIOR a lo EXTERIOR.
Soy Coach Personal y Organizacional y trabajo en desarrollar talentos en las personas. Lo más apasionante es descubrir (y re-descubrir) que lo TRASCENDENTE está más allá de tener dinero suficiente para vivir 'bien'.
El dinero ayuda; pero no es suficiente para ser felices.
Que un profesor de Harvard haga estas reflexiones me hace pensar que la crisis dejó enseñanzas en muchas personas en USA.
Felicitaciones al profesor Clayton!!

Manuel Infante Arata
Coach Personal y Organizacional
minfante@transformaccion.com.pe
www.transformaccion.com.pe

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Adityakawatra 6 months ago

A good article that applies to any young person trying to build a professional and personal/familial foundation..a good manager is one who can successfully manage his own life to begin with. It is though very difficult to ensure that finally you can answer these three questions with conviction. For one, you could start out doing something that you think makes you happy, but you could be hit by external shocks, priority changes with age, loss of interest or zest with time etc. I suppose you need to re-evaluate yourself every year or so on the question of work bringing happiness..
The second question is so much dependent on the spouse because, literally speaking, it takes two to tango in any relationship. You cannot guarantee that your spouse will work as hard you do towards building a positive and fruitful life together, even though you might think you are giving your best in the relationship and transforming it into an asset. How can you be sure of something that is outside your own control? Sometimes you cannot be in control of your own actions (in times of extreme stress or excitement for example), how can you be surer for someone else's?
The third questions boil down to ethics..and I really don't think as many people have been punished with jail time as should be. Many CEOs and business leaders do still look at the easy (which is usually the wrong) way out in times of distress or even simply out of greed for personal wealth; in a few cases they are caught, in fewer they are convicted, many go scot-free. I am not making a case for the futility of business/professional ethics, I am just saying that our society is not able to make a good example of punishing those with malicious intentions..

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pfreet 6 months ago

This is a brilliant and moving article. And it has really touched a nerve. I need to absolutely rethink how my day-to-day decisions affect my family. Thank you for this.

But I am troubled by one thing - the comparison between "breaking the law" and "playing basketball on Sunday". One is clearly an illegal, and harmful act. The other is playing a game and supporting the "best friends I’ve ever had in my life". I find it absurd to equate the two. You are either trivializing lawbreaking, or have a belief system that I simply cannot fathom. Please help me to understand how this is rational.

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Aloysius Miller 6 months ago in reply to pfreet

The comparison is very apt. Make personal decisions about your principles and have the integrity to be true to them. It could mean that you won't smoke cigarettes, (legal) drink alcohol (legal) or seduce teenagers (illegal). It is the best way to live a life: by your own God informed scorecard, not the scorecard of society.

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Guest 6 months ago

"I taught him how to think"?

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Dr.Krishnaja A.P. 6 months ago

I came across this article - thanks to Priya Vaidya. An insightful article, beautifully stated, a must read for all hard core professionals, young and old alike. I had always believed in the fact that relationships are the most important thing in life and the best gift one human being can give another is his / her time. Raising children into responsible sensitive individuls is at times more important than writing one more research paper, which may be of obituary value. Ultimately what matters is the lives you have touched. Humilty and great self esteem go together. Arrogant behaviour is truly a lack of self esteem. Thanks Dr. Christensen for such a thought provoking article.

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Jim Volp 6 months ago

TED has a few good talks on this very topic too:

Rick Warren on a life of purpose:
http://www.ted.com/talks/rick_...

Jeff Bezos on What matters more than your talents:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_...

Enjoy!

greetings from Azerbaijan,

Jim Volp

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Jack 7 months ago

This is a wonderful article, and there are very important (and often overlooked) principles regarding life philosophy and behavior. However, in the interest of critical discussion on this article (rather than unconditional, effusive praise), I have to ask how the professor reconciles his decision to sit out of the championship basketball game with his notion of valuing "his impacts on others' lives and his relationships." His motivation for sitting out of the game, while based on religious piety, is an inherently selfish decision. What about how his teammates felt about his decision? What about their sense of disappointment? I find it peculiar that there is no mention of the result of the game...I presume that Prof. Christensen was a leader on the team, the low-post presence, and that his decision, while grounded in his own personal values and morality, nevertheless is an act of a leader choosing not to lead in a critical moment where his leadership is most necessary. We cannot ignore the inherent paradox of Prof. Christensen's message that even nobility and principled, individual focus can be beneficial to the self while ultimately detrimental to the group.

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James 7 months ago in reply to Jack

The team won without him.

In his own words of self-effacing humor, "It showed I wasn't that important after all"---he says with a big grin when recounting this story to students.

Far from being an example of selfishness, this basketball story illustrates his point well. He argues we must stand our ground on moral principles or convictions in the face of social pressure or opportunities for personal gain. He had volunteered to play on the team---but no one had thought ahead to the championship game given the slim likelihood of the team qualifying. It's the same in life---we can't always foresee what choices we will have to make; but we can decide early on what principles we will stand on, and then have backbone enough to live them 100% of the time. Would that Jeff Skilling et al had such principles and backbone!

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Den 7 months ago

Many a times in life, we do not learn until we reach our very last days, unfortunately. Brilliant words of wisdom!

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Andydg5 7 months ago

amazing and a very insightful reading especially to young professionals.

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Ravi Mehta 7 months ago

excellent article and very apt in today's world where young professionals out of B Schools are only weary about the hefty pay packages. Really gives an insight to somebody if read and understood early in life and can make an impact.

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Anzdlie 3 weeks ago

I will measure my life by how many lives I am able to fit into it. Over the past four years, I've gone from being a consultant with an office overlooking the Eiffle Tower in Paris to bartending in Hollywood to being a Southern stay-at-home mom and spiritual teacher. Humility makes you a ninja. If you have no ego to bump up against, you are free to move about your world.

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vina melody 1 month ago

Great article I read few months ago and popped out at the first day of this year. It's also inspiring since I'm just an ordinary new grad. God heals Prof. Clayton.

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Mittal 2 months ago

In the last para, your "recommendation" undoes the gem of wisdom in the immediately preceding sentence!!
[Don’t worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people. This is my final recommendation: Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.]
“JUDGING”??? Who is going to do the judging? Other people? World-at-large? The concept we call God? Other people and world at large, the majority of them, already have a wrong metric, precisely the one we are trying to discard. Moreover, are we to make our actions get driven by our constant concern with “judgments” by agents external to ourselves. And scoring well on that judgment—isn’t that precisely not an synonym for “prominence.” (The locus of prominence is judgment by others. )
Shouldn't "how many lives we have improved" (hereafter HMLWHI) be in itself an intrinsic source of infinite joy and inner content, and using our own internal template (assuming it is an enlightened template, which it would be if we will have embraced the wisdom of HMLWHI), shouldn’t that internal template be the only measure of personal success.
Respectfully yours,
Banwari Mittal, Ph.D.



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Ss 3 months ago

Greed is Good.

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Palan 4 months ago

I understand from HBR Chris's article is free to download until end of this month, how do I get to it.

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Lu 4 months ago

I agreed wuth the point "Remember the Importance of Humility ", every time we should be ready to learn from other people who is smarter or not than us. In my country, there is a proverb "There must be my teacher among three people."

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Navodita upadhyay 4 months ago

I am from Nepal studying MBA and being a student of MBA this article has definitely helped me. But I am surprise from Professor Christensen because he himself has opened his life as a book and explain his students about management theories. I am totally stunned because in my entire life I have never seen such dedicated professor who teaches about management but more than management he have taught how to live a perfect life.
Navodita Upadhyay

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Gokulnaik 4 months ago

Nice article with a great purpose. Need wide publication and must read for gen X. who are more materialistic and mad with the race of money and fame.

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Tom Haupt 4 months ago

Good article and insights. Never expected this context from the HBR. If more people earlier in life took time to to be reflective about the "why" of their life, we'd have less unhappy people.
I am a facilitator of personal development seminars around the world and it's usually in my weekend seminars that people take a time out and give themselves permission to dream again and to understand their purpose in life. I've always thought 'all business development is personal' anyway.
I believe through the thousands of people I've met, when one is whole, healthy and complete in body, mind and spirit, there is no ego. As such, they can go out into the business world and be better people, managers, executives and leaders.
Continued success in your endeavors in life! Tom Haupt

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B_informatics_vp 4 months ago

This is almost embarrassing and confirms my belief that HBR is moving in the direction of People Magazine..

First, Christensen recounts his role in with Celeron processor strategy. I don't believe this story could be true since Intel's strategy from the early 1980's has been to undercut the original RISC chips (e.g., MIPS) with the successfully more powerful 8086, 80286, 80386, 80486, Pentium. The Celeron processor strategy follows this general strategy.

Second, Christensen recounts a story about his principles and playing basketball on Sunday. This is just Hank Greenberg not playing during the Detroit Tiger's pennant run and Sandy Koufax not pitching game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.

I can summarize the entire article as the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.
In the end, the

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Chicago Professional 4 months ago

I enjoyed the article. I was hoping for more of a methodical way to measure life than the narrative path this article took. It rings the commonly heard "do what makes you happy" phrase along with being honest and money isn't the measure of happiness. This article more supported my values than challenging them and forcing me to refine my approach to life.

It is reassuring that I'm not missing a big piece in my pursuit of happiness.

In regards to the final recommendation: "Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success." Mine is asking myself what I did to advance renewable energy from a regional alternative to a global standard.

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Avthamburaj 5 months ago

Well written, sure to be appreciated by those in twilight years

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Josh Pctech Twin 5 months ago

This was really long but worth every minute spent reading it

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Dan F 5 months ago

Poignant article. Nice one Clay. As we're all invincible in our youth, the notion of a more meaningful purpose may not take the highest priority. Has anyone had success instilling the perspective that we get later (say late 30's, 40's or later) to those in the early stages of his/her career?

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Laura Mrmak 5 months ago in reply to Dan F

Good question Dan, but keep in mind not all youth are lacking perspective for want of trying (depending on what you are meaning specifically by perspective). Even as a 27-year-old, I have always asked the big questions, but that doesn't necessarily mean I will ever be able to answer them all..... The thing is, I don't mind not having the answers. Once people come up with the 'answers', it seems they become closed-minded to other possibilities, and I'd rather not go that route! It seems to me if Einstein didn't have all the answers, I'll just enjoy the investigational journey. I like the saying, "A stupid person feels they know everything there is to know; a smart person feels they know nothing."

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P chandrasekhar 5 months ago

it is really inspiring. it is true that money is not everything in life. willingness to learn is very important. it has taught me great lesson in my life.

p chandrasekhar

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ama agyemang-duah 6 months ago

This has been very insightful. Most lessons in life can be related to a lot of principles and algorithms in academics. Sadly some of us tend to dissociate our professional lives from our personal friendships or marriages. Though its subjective, i think marginally if you tend to fail in your friendships/ marriages then you have to review your management notes again.

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Satishraju T 6 months ago

Very Enlightening Lecture..A lot to learn for Especially B-School Grads,Whose Achievement is blindly calculated by their Starting Packages @Placements.Thank You Prof. Christensen for your Valuable insights.

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Hetal 6 months ago

It is nice to have smart and capable friends. It is also important to be able to deal with people of all ages, religions and races, at least here in the US. Sometimes other people manage you, and sometimes you manage others. This applies to personal relationships too. It is good to have a list of personal goals. It is great if you have people who want to help you achieve your personal goals.

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Saira Samee 6 months ago

Great post.It is eventually the number and quality of lives one ends up upgrading in the positive way that would count for a truly fulfilled and successful life.However the journey must go through 4 integrated and dynamic bases of human existence:
1.Developing an optimal mindset out of universal values 2.Taking consistent action that brings you to your wholeness 3.Communicating your message with authenticity 4.Persevering with Patience.This is a holistic model of self empowerment- WALASR takes mankind from success to significance swapping the minutes of our lives with true profit spending life otherwise results in loss and unfulfilment

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JesseG 6 months ago

Professor Christensen, thank you for a great and inspiring article. Given the amount of time many of us spend at work and focused on the work-related challenges in our immediate view, it's really easy to lose perspective.

The following line in your conclusion resonated most with me: "worry about the individuals you have helped become better people." Applied to the workplace, two themes from the article stand out: culture and recognition.

I think that delivering on this promise means creating an open culture where people feel comfortable sharing ideas and feedback with each other - including across hierarchical boundaries. It also means creating an environment in which recognition is a priority - financial incentives play a role, but more important is helping one's colleagues achieve their goals and feel appreciated for so doing. In my opinion, that's one of the most noble and fulfilling aspects of management.

(Edited by a moderator)

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Phetogo 6 months ago

Very good article and coments,I just have been going through the same thing,where you have just grown up with nothing now you went to vasity and working now,but you still find that same feeling you had when you were at the townships with nothing,a feeling of there has to be more to life.In south africa there is a lot of perception about hapiness.some people think just going to church will make you happy,or going to school,getting married but they are not.There are a lot of things that can make people happy the problem is when we follow certain groups or people who think they know how to be happy,or follow trends.

On a daily basis now I do what I want to do,I am 24 years old,I go to galleries,I read a lot,I drink sometimes but people around me want me to do what they do,some question why I dont go to church and still happy while they do and they are not happy,All I know is I am happy because I do me ,people should be themselves,stop following,you sometimes follow someone who does not know where they are going

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Ben 6 months ago

May the joy of the Lord be your strength. Thank you for your thoughtful, even pastoral guidance. The wisdom of your years and spirit shines clearly with humility.

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Guest 6 months ago

First, Great article Mr. Clayton. It reminds me of a saying from one of my professors "Education Nourishes Culture". In my view everything is interlinked.

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cherie 6 months ago

We can survive, be successful or be significant.....choose

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Lisa Breytspraak 6 months ago

I love this... and the David Brooks follow up. I love the questions Christensen poses but have to agree with Brooks that some of the answers can only come through more life experience than most MBA grads will have!

I wrote a blog on this here ...
http://www.lisabreytspraak.com...

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Lena 6 months ago

Dear professor, thank you for the great article.

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Wes Balda 6 months ago

This article was an arresting moment - so much so that I had to explore the implications: http://managing-turbulence.org.../

This dialogue should continue...

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Sharon Zeilstra 6 months ago

Purpose is perhaps the single most critical thing to understand about yourself. Alas, it is often discerned very late in our journey. And every person has their own unique journey, which is cumulative. I firmly believe that some of us learn our Purpose later in life for a reason. And that our Purpose is innate, not determined by us but simply discovered by us.

Thank you HBR for making this available to non-subscribers. Thanks most of all to Professor Christensen for sharing his wisdom, insight and common sense! And good luck to all who have grown from reading this.

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Rohit Bhat 6 months ago

Thanks for posting such a wonderful article
Regards
Rohit Bhat

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Derek Capo 6 months ago

I really enjoyed this article. There is someone else out there talks about mental models and being able to train your brain to use them when situations come up and being able to adapt to certain situations so that you don't have to question something or ask for someone's advice. Read up on Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

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Derek Capo 6 months ago

I really like this article but there is a guy who talked about mental models his name was Charlie Munger, I am sure this and Munger's are a compilation of many influences to get to their final idea. Nevertheless, the essay was awesome!

Derek Capo

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Derek Capo 6 months ago

I really like this article but there is a guy who talked about mental models his name was Charlie Munger, I am sure this and Munger's are a compilation of many influences to get to their final idea. Nevertheless, the essay was awesome!

Derek Capo

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Ramesh Yeramsetti 6 months ago

It is a truly revealing article from HBR and comes at an appropriate time in the economic turmoil. The key thing to note is that everyone has that innate thirst in ourselves to realize who we are and what we want to achieve. However there is a bar for achievement that current society seems to expect and most people would go to any lengths to achieve it. Have we thought about the long term impacts of our actions - there are more social issues today than there were say 30 years ago. Ancient eastern philosophy from the Bhagavad Gita (http://vedabase.net) talks about the duty of one's life in Karma, Knowledge and devotion. There are several interesting things one can learn from such study - something universities can consider including in their curriculum.

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Milind Dhobe 6 months ago

Steve Jobs after successfully fighting the cancer said the same think as Clayton M. Christensen said in his last paragraph: "Death is very likely the single best invention in life. All external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death,leaving what is truly important".

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Milind Dhobe 6 months ago in reply to Milind Dhobe

Adding to it, I am really grateful to Mr. Christensen for sharing this life changing Wisdom.

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Dragoslav 6 months ago

The article is truly great and confirms what i've been reading in more "esoteric" works on corporate culture.

On the other hand and with all due respect, i can't help noticing how such paradigm shifts occur AFTER an economic crisis or a personal hardship such as author's. Publishing this five years ago would have probably been inappropriate if not impossible.

What i observe beyond this article is a tendency to educate people to focus on personal lives since growth and opportunities expected BEFORE the crisis will never materilize. It reminds me of an anecdote where a journalist spoke in front of a crowd of Chinese students explaining the importance of ecology, recycling and being humble towards Mother Earth. And one of the students complained how that is being taught after the Western Civilization spent all the resources. With a stretch i could say how banks and mismanagement caused the world economic crisis and we, the aspiring managers, should now explain to ourselves and our reports how to be humble and satisfied with what we've got.

Thanks for reading.

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Janatique2005 6 months ago

Very fine and meaningful article.Thanks for Professor and Editor for posting this article,

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Neha 6 months ago

Good read

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Amnawas 6 months ago


This a robust set of knowledge from Professor Christensen specially in this era.

I agree knowledge and humanity are top most important areas to be practiced more and more if anyone need peace,victory,healthy,many other. 100%

GOD BLESS you Professor Christensen.

Regards,
Mohamed Nawas A

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David Benavides 6 months ago

Excellent Article. It really makes you think about life's value

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Vikrant Rana 6 months ago

There are times in one's life when a thought shared, just take roots in your mind because its so transformational. For a student currently pursuing my management degree from FMS Delhi (India), this article definitely is inspirational and nothing less.
My first year in the grad-school has thought so many things including the hazy idea of exactly what you are talking about in this article.
Thanks Prof. Christensen for sharing these thoughts and putting them clearly in so many words. I am sure 15 years down the line, I would look back and say, this was one piece that changed something important in my life.

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Melissa_llarena 6 months ago

Fabulous article that should be passed along to the masses. It is amazing how often we forget that we are here for a temporary period of time only.

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Dave Cunningham 6 months ago

Thank you for writing this.

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Dave Cunningham 6 months ago

Thank you for writing this.

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Satish Padmanabhan 6 months ago

When it comes to choosing and fulfilling purpose of life I believe its essential to have/develop passion for a field/cause and then going deep and deeper with imagination coupled with knowledge future outcomes, which enriches the person that in effect makes the difference between an effective contribution or lack of it.
How incredible it would have been if we all have known the purpose of life from our early years, but certainly this is not how it works, which in no ways stop us from ruminate and go for our unique callings and make our unique contributions.

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Kalyan 6 months ago

In the late 1970s, one my greatest joys was teaching "Introduction to Business" to the Freshman class. During our first class together, I would pose the question, "Why do you want to study business?" Almost everyone, every year would say something to the effect, "To make money, of course! Why else?!" Towards the end of that first class, I would ask, "Do you know anyone who has gone into business to lose money?" Following a period of silence, we would open the discussion with teh words, "Surely, there are other reasons why people want to go into business..." and discuss the merits of a host of significant reasons why people go into business. By the end of the term, each student would have articulate their own "mission statement", why they wanted to study, and hopefully one day, be in business.

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Fernando Alvarez 6 months ago

Muy recomendable para leer, un poco largo, pero al final aprendes. My good deed of the day.

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irarch 6 months ago

Hmmmm....and how many of his students went and joined Investment Banking?

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Matthew Cornell 6 months ago

I love the insights - thank you. I see a parallels to our Think, Try, Learn work. If I may, my response is here: http://www.matthewcornell.org/...

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nevo hadas 6 months ago

great article

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Fatima Roman 6 months ago

"FASCINATING ARTICLE"

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Frank Young 6 months ago

What a great read from Dr. Christensen. How will you measure your life http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-wil...

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Gopal 6 months ago

Great article. Thanks Clayton.

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Dr.Priya M Vaidya 7 months ago

Hello Prof.Christensen,
Thanks for sharing a very enlightening article. The artilce reflects on the holistic perspective of life. It gives a glimpse of an intense dialogue between pleasure and happiness.In many ways- a journey from Self management to management of business
Regards,
Dr.Priya M Vaidya

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FriedrichTakeChargeConsultants 7 months ago

Yes, it is important to invest in taking stock and anchoring our lives. Too often, here in the third chapter of life, I find in discussion with my friends and colleagues we have missed too many opportunties to do that.

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Pfriedrich 7 months ago

Now in the third chapter of a full life I find I engage in discussions with long time friends and colleagues about success and the overlapping waves of life. Discussions about "what if" and "why" are always important and, like the author, those who have had stronger, more anchored purposes in life (and purpose changes over time) are happier now and about all that has been.

P. Friedrich
Take Charge Consultants

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Pedram 7 months ago

I do agree, absolutly true. Thanks for sharing this view and experience. Let's live based on meaning of life.
All the best

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Junita Riany 7 months ago

Thank you!

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Guest 7 months ago

This is a great article. Very insightful

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Johno 7 months ago

Thank you.

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abhiukil 7 months ago

An intriguing article, but I feel two disagreements:

1. The article does not discuss about influence of the dynamics of environment we work or live in. It discusses more from a forward path (just ourselves), without analyzing the feedback effect of our world. We can have a good strategy to measure our life, but imagine we're living in the world war II scenario, how would that forcibly influence our strategy? Imagine any natural/envrionmental/socio-political turmoil causes havoc in our company. Whether we're CEO or lowest-level worker, those disturbing events would influence relative priorities of our lives. Depending on the intensity and duration of such 'disturbances', all the strategies, yard-sticks of our lives are bound to get influenced, maybe even altered. I agree, we need some guidelines, but we also need to be aware that those guidelines need to be flexible and adaptive depending on our world, which is not deterministic at all. Keeping an equilibrium is the challenge which is not just solvable by keeping a logbook of our own. Unfortunately todays world socio-politically-economically is complex enough to inject such disturbance factors with increasing magnitude and variety.

2. Religious paths/methods as sometimes hinted in the article, in my opinion, should not be a good tool to use for personal management. With the growing evidences of religous faith-based disharmony worldwide, probably we would get confined to specific looking glasses if we try to see the religious dictionary. In the modern world of multi-cultural working place and living, it could be then very hard to come out of the shell to apprehend people coming from other beliefs or point-of-views.

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Guest 7 months ago in reply to abhiukil

1. I believe what Prof Christensen is saying is that a person's life focus rests entirely on their shoulders - i.e. no one decides how you choose to live but you. Environmental factors may make it harder for us to conform, but ultimately it is still up to us.

2. The article seems more spiritually based than religious based. Prof Christensen uses his religious background in the article to illustrate how he came to the conclusions he did. So although there are religious overtures, we can safely gather useful conclusions and put them to work in our own lives.

My 2 cents... Thanks for reading!

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Ben 6 months ago in reply to abhiukil

If religious people really believed in a God of Justice, there would not be religiously fueled violence because they would trust that God will manage in His time. There are also growing evidences of politically and financially based disharmony worldwide-if we argue for the dissolution of politics or currency, we only choose anarchy by default. To say that religious people should suppress their worldviews because they're divisive and controversial is itself a divisive and controversial stance. Secular humanism is a faith position-an attitude just like many religions-many say it isn't and is therefore superior. Is that constructive?

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Senith @ Graduate Tutor 7 months ago

As MBA tutors we often get to advise a number of our students on various life decisions. We enjoy and value this opportunity as it impacts our students lives far more than their ability to understand NPV or cash flow statements (which by itself is a valuable skill). This article will go a long way in helping this. We have blogged this here http://bit.ly/9XAICR and will spread the word as much as we can! Thank you HBR and thank you Clayton again.

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ki 7 months ago

Good insightful thoughts.Finding success while maintaining ethical principles is simple if you focus on the positive outcome without emphasis on the monetary gain (or greed).

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Suneer Manal 7 months ago

wonderful article by Dr. Clayton Christensen....really thought provoking... a must read for all MBA graduates and professionals...

Suneer Manal

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Drdankan 7 months ago

The article was compassionate and while addresed to graduating stuients the principles espoused here apply to any person at any stage in their career. ALthough I don't subscribe to the use of religious principles mentioned I do believe that many of the analogies the author uses can be madfe if one is a christian or a secular humanist as I am.

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Saintalm 7 months ago

interresting article.
though some cases won't let them approach in a systemic/mece approach.
I like your books because you switch from a business to economic (larger) perspective. but the rules in faith and values have to struggle with uncertainty, much more than management does. and following the same pattern doesn't mean you're putting a case or making a rule: can be wrong & just following your life's strategy may not cope well. and so much for though and belief: we'll never get the answer, even if we conform.
anyway I really appreciate to see such an holistic mind recognizes guidelines are to put apart sometimes, just because we know this is the right way to do, whatever the output.

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Kush_sharma111 7 months ago

Agree on most of the things except for the part where he took the decision to sit out of the match.I would have played for sure.My team mates needed so it would have been selfish of me not to play and in addition to that , i love playing.

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whatdoiknow 6 months ago in reply to Kush_sharma111

Also, what if on a Sunday, Dr Christensen, were he a surgeon, confronted a question to perform a life-saving operation or were he an Air Force pilot and was asked to go out and intercept an impending enemy raid?

The questions of morality and right conduct can be very tricky indeed.

However, I am sure in Dr Christensen case he would not have pondered at length about above two contingencies as he did the basketball match question, and done the right thing.

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Andrew McCann 7 months ago

Clayton...your a legend sir.

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Cschiffman 7 months ago

Beautifully written. Wonderful and important advice no matter what the person's stage of life. Thank you.

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Prasad Ananya 7 months ago

I am glad that I got to read this article. With our everyday hectic work schedule we never realise where actually we are heading as we never get any time to question ourselves. Thanks for this article which has evoked many question inside me to be answered and lead to a better and a more meaningful life then now.

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daniel 7 months ago

PROF CHRISTENSEN THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU FOR YOUR GREAT PRESENTATION.
DANIEL ( FINAL YEAR STUDENT)
WWW.CENTRALUNIVERSITY.ORG

BSC. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

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Jim Volp 7 months ago

To all, I recommend to also see Steve Jobs Stanford University
graduation address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

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Arijeet 7 months ago

Amazing and enriching article. Thanks.Prof Christensen & HBR

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Kellohitty 7 months ago

Thank you for sharing so honestly. We all need to hear these type of truths. It's encouraging to hear there are people out there taking a stand.

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PIE 7 months ago

kudos!

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Pkhamadi 7 months ago

At last the real essence of life is finding its way back into the MBA and business worlds!!!!... Thanks Clayton for this 360 look at what counts in life. Your paper is very reflective of what we all need and what is central is long-term relations are to last in the business world too.
Thanks Patrick Khamadi

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Mike Sullivan 7 months ago

Your students are very fortunate, indeed.

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Kckely 7 months ago

This is quite thought provoking.Life without Christ is doomed.This is why HBS is thick!

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Elissa Ashwood 7 months ago

When you know you are doing what matters most to you, you are not only happier, you are far more effective. Take what matters to you seriously and enjoy the rewards, as Clayton M. Christensen points out.

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MEG 7 months ago

COMPELLING! As part of my professional annual performance review cycle and personal mission to define my purpose, I'm doing some self-study on what matters to me in life, at work, at home, on the road - in the shower for that matter. I could read this 100 times and gain something new from the insight each time.

Thank you for sharing the anecdotal examples too which really stir the emotions.

Phenomenal read!

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Pchun 7 months ago

Professor Christensen's Lecture to the Graduating Class of 2010 reminded all of us that there's a lot we can bring from business and apply to our own lives, and that many (perhaps all) fail at doing so effectively. I love the point about that effective strategies reflect on iterating outcomes. How often we fail to adjust our actions to really align to our strategy for happiness.

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André Guerra Paiva 7 months ago

Thank you.

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ashok handigol 7 months ago

Prof. Christensen, The article is very sincere and makes one do soul searching...

Thank you

ashok handigol

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D Schlotzhauer 7 months ago

Like the piece on humility. Follows other teachings:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others.” Philippians 2: 3-4

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Mauri Ahlberg 7 months ago

An excellent paper. Thanks. Plenty to think of and share.

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Satya Dash 7 months ago

Excellent post and I would say that a lot of thoughts will find in sync with Gandhi's book.
If you have time, read the My Experiments with Truth.

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Atul Prabhakar 7 months ago

Atul Prabhakar:
Good article. Ironically, a man realizes the true meaning of his life only after the stark realization of its transcience. If more people follow the path of their heart rather than the crowd mentality of commercial success, the world would be different. Of course, they may have to tread a thorny path many a time without giving up on their goodness - that takes a lot.

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Rahul 7 months ago

A very good read .. i liked the economic sense given to most of things we,as a student generally ignore at b-schools .

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Henry 7 months ago

"Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success."

--> But isn't *what it takes* to get there come from authentically engaging each and every moment, low OR high self-esteemed? and not pursuing a desired result "in the end"? If we think of the metric everyday as we are reminded of "the end", it really might just give us cancer. Do we really need to "judge" our lives based on anything so certain as we'll be favorably judged by our desire to be positive? Or do we get our certainty from what our heart feels true, regardless of positive or negative? Isn't that how the "positive" or "esteemed" arise?

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Subodh1945 7 months ago

yes mr. christenson .true JUST THIS ONCE iscause of many problemsof life.THANK YOU.

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kenechukwu 7 months ago

Strong closing statements. Three fundamental questions to cruise you into a successful career and a healthy living.
Great.

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Gajendra Kumar Seervi 7 months ago

Really true.
Thanks Clayton

Gajendra K Seervi

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Larry M KIMANI 7 months ago

A very insightful article that has taught me more about management than all my six semesters in business school and most likely my entire professional life as a pharmacist

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Suelawino 7 months ago

WOW! Zang!!! Such a Zang article. Thank you HBR.

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Brij 6 months ago in reply to Suelawino

We, who do not have access to HBR, should thank David Brooks of NY Times. He referred this in his essay this week.
Brij

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