How Will You Measure Your Life?-Harvard Business Review 10/5/105:10PM fame was a classmate of mine at HBS.These were good guys-but something in their lives sent them off in the wrong direction. The Class of 2010 (Located at the end of this article) As the students discuss the answers to these questions,I open my own life to them as a case study of sorts,to illustrate how they can use the theories from our course to guide their life decisions. One of the theories that gives great insight on the first question-how to be sure we find happiness in our careers-is from Frederick Herzberg,who asserts that the powerful motivator in our lives isn't money;it's the opportunity to learn,grow in responsibilities,contribute to others,and be recognized for achievements.I tell the students about a vision of sorts I had while I was running the company I founded before becoming an academic.In my mind's eye I saw one of my managers leave for work one morning with a relatively strong level of self-esteem.Then I pictured her driving home to her family 10 hours later,feeling unappreciated,frustrated,underutilized,and demeaned.I imagined how profoundly her lowered self-esteem affected the way she interacted with her children.The vision in my mind then fast-forwarded to another day,when she drove home with greater self-esteem-feeling that she had learned a lot,been recognized for achieving valuable things,and played a significant role in the success of some important initiatives.I then imagined how positively that affected her as a spouse and a parent.My conclusion:Management is the most noble of professions if it's practiced well.No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow,take responsibility and be recognized for achievement,and contribute to the success of a team. More and more MBA students come to school thinking that a career in business means buying,selling,and investing in companies.That's unfortunate.Doing deals doesn't yield the deep rewards that come from building up people. I want students to leave my classroom knowing that. Create a Strategy for Your Life A theory that is helpful in answering the second question-How can I ensure that my relationship with my family proves to be an enduring source of happiness?-concerns how strategy is defined and implemented.Its primary insight is that a company's strategy is determined by the types of initiatives that management invests in.If a company's resource allocation process is not managed masterfully,what emerges from it can be very different from what management intended.Because companies' decision-making systems are designed to steer investments to initiatives that offer the most tangible and immediate returns, companies shortchange investments in initiatives that are crucial to their long-term strategies. Over the years I've watched the fates of my HBS classmates from 1979 unfold;I've seen more and more of them come to reunions unhappy,divorced,and alienated from their children.I can guarantee you that not a single one of them graduated with the deliberate strategy of getting divorced and raising children who would become estranged from them.And yet a shocking number of them implemented that strategy.The reason?They didn't keep the purpose of their lives front and center as they decided how to spend their time,talents,and energy. It's quite startling that a significant fraction of the 900 students that HBS draws each year from the world's best have given little thought to the purpose of their lives.I tell the students that HBS might be one of their last chances to reflect deeply on that question.If they think that they'll have more time and energy to reflect later,they're nuts,because life only gets more demanding:You take on a mortgage;you're working 70 hours a week;you have a spouse and children. For me,having a clear purpose in my life has been essential.But it was something I had to think long and hard about before I understood it.When I was a Rhodes scholar,I was in a very demanding academic program,trying to cram an extra year's worth of work into my time at Oxford.I decided to spend an hour every night reading,thinking,and praying about why God put me on this earth.That was a very challenging commitment to keep,because every hour I spent doing that,I wasn't studying applied econometrics.I was conflicted about whether I could really afford to take that time away from my studies,but I stuck with it-and ultimately figured out the purpose of my life. Had I instead spent that hour each day learning the latest techniques for mastering the problems of autocorrelation in http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/pr Page 2 of 6How Will You Measure Your Life? - Harvard Business Review 10/5/10 5:10 PM http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/pr Page 2 of 6 fame was a classmate of mine at HBS. These were good guys—but something in their lives sent them off in the wrong direction. The Class of 2010 (Located at the end of this article) As the students discuss the answers to these questions, I open my own life to them as a case study of sorts, to illustrate how they can use the theories from our course to guide their life decisions. One of the theories that gives great insight on the first question—how to be sure we find happiness in our careers—is from Frederick Herzberg, who asserts that the powerful motivator in our lives isnʼt money; itʼs the opportunity to learn, grow in responsibilities, contribute to others, and be recognized for achievements. I tell the students about a vision of sorts I had while I was running the company I founded before becoming an academic. In my mindʼs eye I saw one of my managers leave for work one morning with a relatively strong level of self-esteem. Then I pictured her driving home to her family 10 hours later, feeling unappreciated, frustrated, underutilized, and demeaned. I imagined how profoundly her lowered self-esteem affected the way she interacted with her children. The vision in my mind then fast-forwarded to another day, when she drove home with greater self-esteem—feeling that she had learned a lot, been recognized for achieving valuable things, and played a significant role in the success of some important initiatives. I then imagined how positively that affected her as a spouse and a parent. My conclusion: Management is the most noble of professions if itʼs practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team. More and more MBA students come to school thinking that a career in business means buying, selling, and investing in companies. Thatʼs unfortunate. Doing deals doesnʼt yield the deep rewards that come from building up people. I want students to leave my classroom knowing that. Create a Strategy for Your Life A theory that is helpful in answering the second question—How can I ensure that my relationship with my family proves to be an enduring source of happiness?—concerns how strategy is defined and implemented. Its primary insight is that a companyʼs strategy is determined by the types of initiatives that management invests in. If a companyʼs resource allocation process is not managed masterfully, what emerges from it can be very different from what management intended. Because companiesʼ decision-making systems are designed to steer investments to initiatives that offer the most tangible and immediate returns, companies shortchange investments in initiatives that are crucial to their long-term strategies. Over the years Iʼve watched the fates of my HBS classmates from 1979 unfold; Iʼve seen more and more of them come to reunions unhappy, divorced, and alienated from their children. I can guarantee you that not a single one of them graduated with the deliberate strategy of getting divorced and raising children who would become estranged from them. And yet a shocking number of them implemented that strategy. The reason? They didnʼt keep the purpose of their lives front and center as they decided how to spend their time, talents, and energy. Itʼs quite startling that a significant fraction of the 900 students that HBS draws each year from the worldʼs best have given little thought to the purpose of their lives. I tell the students that HBS might be one of their last chances to reflect deeply on that question. If they think that theyʼll have more time and energy to reflect later, theyʼre nuts, because life only gets more demanding: You take on a mortgage; youʼre working 70 hours a week; you have a spouse and children. For me, having a clear purpose in my life has been essential. But it was something I had to think long and hard about before I understood it. When I was a Rhodes scholar, I was in a very demanding academic program, trying to cram an extra yearʼs worth of work into my time at Oxford. I decided to spend an hour every night reading, thinking, and praying about why God put me on this earth. That was a very challenging commitment to keep, because every hour I spent doing that, I wasnʼt studying applied econometrics. I was conflicted about whether I could really afford to take that time away from my studies, but I stuck with it—and ultimately figured out the purpose of my life. Had I instead spent that hour each day learning the latest techniques for mastering the problems of autocorrelation in