How Will You Measure Your Life? - Clayton M. Christensen
How Will You Measure Your Life? - Harvard Business Review
Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz
Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz | The American Scholar
I can't really disagree with anything in these two articles. It's just very encouraging to see that on two important platforms for society's leaders, Harvard and West Point, these reflective arguments are being shared, and hopefully discussed.
Of course, I think an extended war on terror and economic recession do make these new classes of potential leaders and their teachers more open to this type of thinking. As the economy picks up and a fast buck becomes easier to make, we will have to speak these points louder and more forcefully. It's also true that in a competitive and aggressive world, those one competes with may make it look more effective to take the more forceful route to the buck.
I do worry myself over the 'hoops' we have to jump through, as described by Deresiewicz, but Christensen himself gives his own example of setting aside an hour a day for his own reflection, and how that, many years later, is the source of his value to leadership and impact.
What is very hard to judge and action is the balance of the bureaucracy between enabling operational order and squashing creativity and progress. It is sometimes not very clear at all when one needs to revolt against the machine, versus 'get on the bus'. I find this especially true to American companies where there is more emphasis on being the cheerleader. I would say that in American companies one must prove one is a fervent believer before one can try to bring in criticism (and perhaps even more true in Asian companies), whilst in European companies one is almost expected to start critical and then it is for managers and leaders to bring them round to why they should believe. But in either example, I think it is still very hard to recognize when it is time to change. Ironically, considering the track record of entrepreneurship, it seems that the Americans have been the best at doing this.
So how do we know when? Solitude and knowing what you yourself are measuring against are two sides of the coin to be able to do this. In a stormy environment, one's own compass may be the key tool to ground ourself and make the judgement of the situation, then have the confidence to act.
How Will You Measure Your Life? - Harvard Business Review
Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz
Solitude and Leadership: an article by William Deresiewicz | The American Scholar
I can't really disagree with anything in these two articles. It's just very encouraging to see that on two important platforms for society's leaders, Harvard and West Point, these reflective arguments are being shared, and hopefully discussed.
Of course, I think an extended war on terror and economic recession do make these new classes of potential leaders and their teachers more open to this type of thinking. As the economy picks up and a fast buck becomes easier to make, we will have to speak these points louder and more forcefully. It's also true that in a competitive and aggressive world, those one competes with may make it look more effective to take the more forceful route to the buck.
I do worry myself over the 'hoops' we have to jump through, as described by Deresiewicz, but Christensen himself gives his own example of setting aside an hour a day for his own reflection, and how that, many years later, is the source of his value to leadership and impact.
What is very hard to judge and action is the balance of the bureaucracy between enabling operational order and squashing creativity and progress. It is sometimes not very clear at all when one needs to revolt against the machine, versus 'get on the bus'. I find this especially true to American companies where there is more emphasis on being the cheerleader. I would say that in American companies one must prove one is a fervent believer before one can try to bring in criticism (and perhaps even more true in Asian companies), whilst in European companies one is almost expected to start critical and then it is for managers and leaders to bring them round to why they should believe. But in either example, I think it is still very hard to recognize when it is time to change. Ironically, considering the track record of entrepreneurship, it seems that the Americans have been the best at doing this.
So how do we know when? Solitude and knowing what you yourself are measuring against are two sides of the coin to be able to do this. In a stormy environment, one's own compass may be the key tool to ground ourself and make the judgement of the situation, then have the confidence to act.
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