How Will You Measure Your Life?

As How Will You Measure Your Life? begins, Clayton M. Christensen describes his Harvard reunions after five years and beyond. He claims that his five-year reunion was filled with optimism, that most of his classmates were full of promise. However, at the 10-year reunion, Christensen noticed a change: “Despite such professional accomplishments, however, many of them were clearly unhappy” (2). Many classmates’ optimism had been replaced with dissatisfaction and stress. Christensen suggests this unhappiness stems from misplaced priorities and values. Instead of valuing the things that truly matter in life, such as healthy relationships with family and friends, people began prioritizing financial success and social status over healthy relationships and the like.

Christensen argues that compromising one’s values can take on a life of its own. He uses the story of former trader Nick Leeson to illustrate how a single unethical decision can lead to normalization, as Leeson’s actions landed him in prison and left many friends jobless. The same descent applies to Jeffrey Skilling of Enron, whose scandal-turned-bankruptcy led to the loss of retirement savings for Enron’s employees. Christensen argues that affording lapses in judgment and neglecting principles leads to disaster for all parties involved, even if lies, shortcuts, and temporary solutions seem tempting at the time.