I took a day off from posting yesterday because I was just too tired. In the past when I have tried to keep a blog the biggest reason for failure was a lack of conviction about the value of my writing for readers at large. That and running out of meaningful or impactful topics.
This time around I started writing partly because I told myself I would see it through; it was part of an accountability exercise with a friend who is working on her own goals. We are both part of a physicians group made up of people who want to explore entrepreneurship. The other reason I am optimistic about keeping this going is that this time I am willing to write just for myself and not worry about who may or may not read. Once you free yourself from impossible expectations, it becomes a lot easier, and much more fun, to write.
With that we come to tonight’s topic. Having enjoyed much prose recently, I am shifting to a new topic. It’s time for another book mention.
Clayton Christensen was a world-renowned business professor at Harvard Business School. He was most known for his notion of 'disruptive innovation'. He was also a man of strong faith, and lived his life as a devout Mormon. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with lymphoma, was treated, and was in remission. After that, he also suffered as stroke, and by all accounts recovered well. Somewhere after lymphoma and before the stroke he wrote an article for Harvard Business Review, which was so well received that he expanded it into a book. The book has been a best seller, and is another attempt by a living person (unlike Morrie this one is written from a first person perspective) on what might really matter in life. This book has been a bestseller and is highly recommended.
Prof Christensen passed away at the beginning of this year. Having survived much he succumbed to leukemia. While his most famous book by all accounts is ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’, tonight the book to highlight is the expansion of this Harvard Business Review article by the same name - How will you measure you life?
While it is a reasonable criticism to say that as to a hammer everything is a nail Prof Christensen tried to expand the influence of disruptive innovation to perhaps more than was reasonable. Still read this book if you get a chance so you too can appreciate what it takes to be excellent in thoughts and deeds.