Christensen makes some very clever statements about how one should look at the way we as people and as professionals or companies measure success.
Depending on how you will measure, you will naturally, either willingly or unwillingly, adapt your strategy. I find the examples he makes about business and life to be very impressive.
Business
As the expert on disruptive change, his example for business strategy includes two companies. The first being very successful and established while the second has an inferior product and is new to the market. The latter keeps struggling and eventually overtakes the established player in the market. The formerly successful company did not willingly decide to “die” but rather followed the metrics set up by their management which would put short-term success over long-term gains. This is pretty much in line with preaching of Finance professors in business schools all over the world, so why would you blame them? Although Christensen does not go into such line of questioning, I would like to add that short sightedness is an effect of laziness. If you are in a comfortable position with your company, do not get cozy! Keep looking out for new innovations and the next competitor. Because although you might have lost your appetite, the new guys on the block are starving and looking to gain market share.
Life
It is difficult to build the same conclusions for the aspect of measuring success in life as for the business example above. Christensen describes the experiences he had when his MBA class would meet every five years for their reunion. Initially his peers returned very happy, full of excitement and joy, as their careers were progressing, wealth was built and many were married. By that measure of career, status and money everybody was very successful and therefore happy at the time. Only later, for their 10 or 15 year reunions the picture changed. People were still successful and rich but miserable and lonely. Many were divorced and were not raising their own children. Christensen hits the nail on the head when he said that business and career provide you the most immediate and tangible achievement, while raising kids is something you will only be able to enjoy after a long time, when you look back on what you achieved and what an amazing individual you raised.
RichStrategy 