Book Review: How Will You Measure Your Life?

How Will You Measure Your Life? is a New York Times Bestselling book by author, businessman, and professor, Clayton Christensen, along with James Allworth and Karen Dillon. In it, Christensen relates business theories and case studies to personal life to create a paradigmatic framework for how to live a successful life.

Favorite Parts:

• Theory. The use of broad theories and case studies to teach principles causes you to critically examine the ideas he proposes and to look for application to your own life instead of feeling disconnected because of ill-fitted advice.
• Balance. Life doesn't always work out how we planned. Christensen discusses how we can find the balance between making a plan for our life and following the serendipitous opportunities that present themselves.
• Strategy. We learn that what is truly important to use shows in how we allocate our resources (time, energy, etc.) and not what we merely say matters to us.
• Outsourcing. The reader is reminded that while outsourcing can be an effective business model, we loose opportunities to connect in the home when we outsource family responsibilities.
• Needs. Just as businesses must provide products that fulfill customer needs, it is not solely important that we serve others, we must ensure that what we provide to others is meeting their needs. This is how family relationships can be truly fulfilling.
• Experience. We see from the book how our experiences--both successes and failures--help qualify us for the future roles and responsibilities we will fill. 
• Integrity. Christensen not only explains why integrity is important, but shows the reader how to live a life of integrity.

Questions I am still pondering:

• How can I apply Christensen's advice about family to myself as a single person?
• What can I do today to prepare myself to have a happy and fulfilling family life in the future?
• How can I better assess the needs of others so that I can more fully meet those needs? How can I learn the needs of those who are not aware of their own needs or who struggle to clearly communicate their needs?
• How have my experiences--both of success and failure--uniquely prepared me for the future?

Excerpts:

"...how I have pursued my purpose has evolved, step by step. Sometimes unanticipated crises and opportunities have felt like a wind at my back as I have worked toward my purpose. At other times they have felt like a numbing wind in my face. I'm glad that I wasn't too rigid in how I would achieve my purpose."

"It's easier to hold to your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold to them 98 percent of the time."

"If you defer investing your time and energy until you see that you need to, chances are it will already be too late."

To learn more about the book, visit the website: http://www.measureyourlife.com/