University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
How Will You Measure Your Life?
Book

How Will You Measure Your Life?

Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon
HarperBusiness, 2012
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Editorial Rating

8

Recommendation

In a time characterized by instant meals, instant messages and instant gratification, it might seem odd to ask if you’re making instant choices you could come to regret. Yet that’s what innovative business experts Clayton M. Christensen, James Allworth and Karen Dillon want you to explore. Their sobering, enlightening analysis applies causal business theory not just to improve your prospects for a business, but also your personal and professional life. They explain why causation matters more than correlation, and they deftly show how to use the “if-then” principle in work and life. Christensen concludes this extraordinary book – quite a departure from his seminal writing on innovation – with a personal account of his challenges in practicing its principles. getAbstract warmly recommends this tightly-written, thoughtful guide to making better life choices.

Summary

“Just Because You Have Feathers”

For centuries, humans have wanted to fly like birds. Early would-be aviators strapped on feathered contraptions and – flapping wildly – often fell to their deaths. Then, in 1738, mathematician Daniel Bernoulli published a book on fluid mechanics explaining the concept of lift as applied to flight. It turns out that the correlation between flight and wings means little compared to the causality of flight. Birds don’t fly because they have wings. Birds fly because they instinctively use the “if-then” theory: If they flap their wings in a certain way, then their bodies lift upward and they fly.

The concept of analyzing issues in if-then terms is a solid business theory that can work in your personal life as well. To prove that you can trust it, a theory must explain “what causes things to happen – and why.” Business theories are valid if they work consistently and apply universally. Firms can use the if-then approach to define issues and opportunities, anticipate future challenges and predict the specific actions they will need to take to handle problems as they arise. Individuals can apply this process to assess and manage personal and...

About the Authors

Harvard Business School professor Clayton M. Christensen wrote The Innovator’s Dilemma. James Allworth is a fellow at the Forum for Growth and Innovation. Karen Dillon edited the Harvard Business Review and American Lawyer.

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