How Will You Measure Your Life?

How Will You Measure Your Life? is a 2012 nonfiction book written by Clayton M. Christensen and co-authored by James Allworth and Karen Dillon. Christensen was a renowned professor at Harvard and also an experienced businessman in his own right. The book offers self-help guidance informed by business theory and uses case studies to provide insight for how best to find lasting happiness and personal satisfaction in life.

This guide is based on the Kindle edition published in 2012.

Summary

How Will You Measure Your Life? begins with the Prologue in which Clayton M. Christensen describes his purpose for writing the book. A graduate of Harvard, Christensen discusses how he noticed a gradual shift in the atmosphere of his class reunions as the optimism of his five-year reunion was soon replaced by the sense that many of his fellow graduates’ lives had taken turns for the worse. He mentions that among these classmates was Jeffrey Skilling, who was once CEO of Enron and whose actions contributed to the collapse of the company, the loss of jobs, and the destruction of employees’ retirement savings. Christensen uses Skilling’s example as a cautionary tale and suggests that readers should carefully consider how best to avoid the same decisions that led Skilling’s life astray.

Christensen reveals that in 2010, he was diagnosed with a cancer similar to the one that killed his father. The same year, Christensen was asked to speak at Harvard’s graduation. In the audience was James Allworth and Karen Dillon, both of whom were inspired by his speech and eventually offered to help him finish the book when he later suffered an ischemic stroke that compromised his ability to articulate his ideas.

The book is divided into three sections, each focusing on a specific aspect of how best to find lasting happiness in life. Christensen uses a similar structure for each section. He frames each discussion by explaining a case study from the world of business. He analyzes the anecdote from a theoretical perspective and then provides an application of theoretical principles to life in general, which includes job-family balance and maintaining relationships.

The first section, titled “Finding Happiness in Your Career,” begins with an explanation of how employees are best motivated. Christensen argues that incentives and other forms of extrinsic rewards are not true motivators. Instead, the best kind of motivators include opportunities for employees to feel as though their work means something. Christensen argues that the best motivators are ones that help people experience personal growth, and while he recognizes that financial incentives can be useful, these should not be the only things that people base career decisions on.

Christensen also discusses how best to balance deliberate planning with the unpredictability of life. Finding a proper balance between intentional strategy and flexibility is an important skill to master. Christensen points to examples from the world of business, specifically the story of Honda’s entry into the US motorcycle market. Honda’s story models how to carefully assess original plans and make necessary changes when these plans fall short.

The second section, titled “Finding Happiness in Your Relationships,” examines how to effectively manage relationships, specifically with loved ones. Christensen argues that a common problem many face is the tendency to take relationships for granted and sacrifice them in favor of professional pursuits. He uses resource allocation in business as an analogy and suggests that for individual lives, the same principle applies. How people use their resources, which include time and energy, reveals their priorities.

Christensen also argues that just because one feels relatively satisfied with their personal life, they should not rest easy; when times are good, people should be fully invested in their relationships. He discusses the tendency of many professionals to sequence their lives. For example, a person starting off their career may think they can fully invest in it and then, as they become more successful, reinvest in their relationships. Christensen warns against this thinking, suggesting it only seems easy to do. He urges the reader to keep their priorities in order; if family is one’s highest value, then it should always be.

Finally, the third section, titled “Staying Out of Jail,” returns to the idea from the beginning of the book and takes a deeper look into what could cause an otherwise respectable, successful person to compromise their ethical principles. As a case study, Christensen discusses the story of Nick Leeson, whose deceitful practices contributed to the collapse of the British merchant bank Barings. Leeson’s deceit started with a decision to cover up a small mistake; this deceit compounded itself. Eventually, he landed in prison for fraud. Christensen argues that what ultimately led to Leeson’s downfall was a crucial decision to deviate from his own sense of integrity. Like with Skilling’s story, Christensen uses Lesson’s story as a cautionary tale, suggesting that people should never compromise their ethical principles no matter how tempting it may be.

In the Epilogue, Christensen urges readers to find purpose. He asserts that this process involves three different aspects—likeness, commitment, and metrics. Likeness involves determining what you stand for and what you want to be. As an example, he describes his own version of likeness, which includes being kind, generous, and a follower of God. He then describes the ways in which he commits to this likeness. As for metrics, Christensen suggests this is not an easy task, as oftentimes, it is difficult for people to determine if they are actually living according to their purpose. As it applies to his own purpose, he insists that the only way to measure his life is by how many people he helps.