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A review by anilkbhat
How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
5.0
A very simple read, but very insightful. Found answers to some of the profound questions that I personally have been pondering over for a long time.
The first insight was into what makes someone motivated at work. The author gives the example of the hardest working people being employed in nonprofits and charitable organizations and the military. Another example is US Marines, who achieve a deep sense of attachment to the organization, peers and their country. The job almost kills them and they sacrifice so much for the corps. But you can see "Semper Fi" (always faithful) bumper stickers on cars all over the US. It is not because the work was easy, they feel this way because they gave so much of themselves for this cause. Probably answers why some people stay longer with a particular organization.
Few nuggets from the book to cherish-
"You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in way that is consistent with your strategy."
"When a company is faced with making an investment in future innovation, it usually crunches numbers to decide what to do from the perspective of its existing operations. It may decide to forego the investment if the marginal upside is not worth the marginal cost of undertaking the investment. That is the trap of marginal thinking. You can see the immediate costs of investing, but it is really hard to accurately see the costs of not investing. But the company that makes all its decisions through this marginal-cost lens will, eventually, pay the price. "
The first insight was into what makes someone motivated at work. The author gives the example of the hardest working people being employed in nonprofits and charitable organizations and the military. Another example is US Marines, who achieve a deep sense of attachment to the organization, peers and their country. The job almost kills them and they sacrifice so much for the corps. But you can see "Semper Fi" (always faithful) bumper stickers on cars all over the US. It is not because the work was easy, they feel this way because they gave so much of themselves for this cause. Probably answers why some people stay longer with a particular organization.
Few nuggets from the book to cherish-
"You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in way that is consistent with your strategy."
"When a company is faced with making an investment in future innovation, it usually crunches numbers to decide what to do from the perspective of its existing operations. It may decide to forego the investment if the marginal upside is not worth the marginal cost of undertaking the investment. That is the trap of marginal thinking. You can see the immediate costs of investing, but it is really hard to accurately see the costs of not investing. But the company that makes all its decisions through this marginal-cost lens will, eventually, pay the price. "