How Will You Measure Your Life?

by Clayton M Christensen, James Allworth, Karen Dillon

Overview

From the world’s leading thinker on innovation and New York Times bestselling author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen, comes an unconventional book of inspiration and wisdom for achieving a fulfilling life. Christensen’s The Innovator’s Dilemma, notably the only business book that Apple’s Steve Jobs said “deeply influenced” him, is widely recognized as one of the most significant business books ever published. Now, in the tradition of Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture and Anna Quindlen’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Christensen’s How Will You Measure Your Life is with a book of lucid observations and penetrating insights designed to help any reader—student or teacher, mid-career professional or retiree, parent or child—forge their own paths to fulfillment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062102416
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/15/2012
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	196,841
Product dimensions:	5.88(w) x 8.36(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

CLAYTON M. CHRISTENSEN (1952–2020) was the Kim B. Clark Professor at Harvard Business School, the author of nine books, a five-time recipient of the McKinsey Award for Harvard Business Review’s best article, and the cofounder of four companies, including the innovation consulting firm Innosight. In 2011 and 2013 he was named the world’s most influential business thinker in a biennial ranking conducted by Thinkers50.

A native of Australia, JAMES ALLWORTH is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, where he was named a Baker Scholar, and the Australian National University. He previously worked at Booz & Company and Apple.

KAREN DILLON is the former editor of the Harvard Business Review and coauthor of the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life? She is a graduate of Cornell University and Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. In 2011 she was named by Ashoka as one of the world’s most influential and inspiring women.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1

1 Just Because You Have Feathers... 9

Section I Finding Happiness in Your Career 19

2 What Makes Us Tick 25

3 The Balance of Calculation and Serendipity 42

4 Your Strategy Is Not What You Say It Is 62

Section II Finding Happiness in Your Relationships 77

5 The Ticking Clock 84

6 What Job Did You Hire That Milkshake For? 99

7 Sailing Your Kids on Theseus's Ship 120

8 The Schools of Experience 140

9 The Invisible Hand Inside Your Family 158

Section III Staying Out of Jail 175

10 Just This Once... 178

Epilogue 193

Acknowledgments 207

Editorial Reviews

Based on a 2010 speech to the Harvard Business School graduating class, innovation expert and HBS professor Christensen (The Innovator’s Dilemma) tackles the question of how to live a happy, meaningful, purpose-filled life. Even before his stroke and cancer diagnosis, Christensen routinely questioned his students not just about their career ambitions but about what they hoped for their lives. He extends that conversation in this highly engaging and intensely revealing work, distilling lessons learned from studying businesses over the course of a multidecade academic career and spinning them into deeply personal wisdom. He draws on examples from companies like Intel, Disney, and Iridium to illustrate how we can align our actions, time, and resources with our priorities, manage relationships, and even improve parenting. He interweaves personal stories into these lessons, including his early, never realized desire to be the editor of the Wall Street Journal, being fired from a CEO job, his passion for teaching, and his own parenting experiences. Spiritual without being preachy, this work is especially relevant for young people embarking on their career, but also useful for anyone who wants to live a more meaningful life in accordance with their values. Agent: Danny Stern, Stern Associates. (May)

Publishers Weekly

[A] highly engaging and intensely revealing work….Spiritual without being preachy, this work is especially relevant for young people embarking on their career, but also useful for anyone who wants to live a more meaningful life in accordance with their values.” — Publishers Weekly

“The book encapsulates Christensen’s best advice to keep high achievers from being disrupted in their own lives....[P]rovocative but reassuring: Peter Drucker meets Mitch Albom.” — Bloomberg BusinessWeek

“[M]ore genuinely a self-help book than the genre it disparages. Instead of force-feeding readers with orders on how to improve, it aims to give them the tools to set their own course” — Financial Times

“[W]ell researched and thought through material. — Forbes

“…a gripping personal story with lessons from business mixed in.” — Bloomberg BusinessWeek

“…Clayton Christensen’s new book has the business world buzzing.” — Deseret News

“Recommend the book to friends and family who have no connection to the business world. They will thank you for it.” — Harvard Business Review

‘’A Business Student’s New Required Reading’’ — Huffington Post

“[R]evealing and profound.” — Inc. Magazine

“I wish this book was around when I started my carreer. I bought copies for my kids and other young adults I know. $16 is not a lot to spend to get them thinking about their future and how to live responsible, ethical and successful lives.” — Small Business Labs

From the Publisher

[W]ell researched and thought through material.

Forbes

[R]evealing and profound.

Inc. Magazine

Recommend the book to friends and family who have no connection to the business world. They will thank you for it.

Harvard Business Review

I wish this book was around when I started my carreer. I bought copies for my kids and other young adults I know. $16 is not a lot to spend to get them thinking about their future and how to live responsible, ethical and successful lives.

Small Business Labs

[M]ore genuinely a self-help book than the genre it disparages. Instead of force-feeding readers with orders on how to improve, it aims to give them the tools to set their own course

Financial Times

‘’A Business Student’s New Required Reading’’

Huffington Post

The book encapsulates Christensen’s best advice to keep high achievers from being disrupted in their own lives....[P]rovocative but reassuring: Peter Drucker meets Mitch Albom.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

…Clayton Christensen’s new book has the business world buzzing.

Deseret News

[M]ore genuinely a self-help book than the genre it disparages. Instead of force-feeding readers with orders on how to improve, it aims to give them the tools to set their own course

Financial Times

The book encapsulates Christensen’s best advice to keep high achievers from being disrupted in their own lives....[P]rovocative but reassuring: Peter Drucker meets Mitch Albom.

Bloomberg Businessweek