“Life Strategy and Goals”
Clay Christensen in “How will you Measure your Life?” says that creating a life strategy follows many of the same principles in making a business strategy. Key parts include:
Consider how the business theories in the book can impact life outcomes:
What are the values that guide you
Set goals and priorities that are meaningful
Plan to grow career and life happiness
How will you measure your life?
The big difference in making a ‘life strategy’ is that it’s all about you. You get to decide what you want to do, how you’ll do it, and how to measure success. It starts with a your personal goals and a plan to meet them. This gives you something to track and reassess every year; decide when changes are needed, and how to track progress. As in all plans, unexpected things will happen along the way, life changes and adjustments are needed. The trick is to keep your eye on the goal and what’s important to you.
The paper has two parts:
1. Describe 3+ takeaways from the book. These may be something that caused you to stop and think, or a particular example or theory that caught your attention. Include one takeaway from each of the 3 sections of the book. Where possible, describe the theory and the implications to life. An example is the theory that people often do the things that gives them short term satisfaction, but which comes at the expense of long term happiness.
2) Create a personal ‘Life Strategy and Goals’ Apply the concepts from the book. Discuss your goals and how you plan to meet them. Start in the near term, next 1-3 years, and if you want extent your plan into longer term. Explain what and why, and add comments to clarify your key points and direction. [It will help you to remember what you were thinking when you come back in a year or so to review and update it.
Format: Give the paper a title, date and your name; no cover page is necessary. Single spaced writing and add at least 2 references to show that you thought about it. A mixed writing mode of sentences and bullets organized in paragraphs or sections can work, though add enough thought and comments to clearly explain what you mean.
Rubric: a well organized, well written, interesting paper about 2-3 pages long, single-spaced that 1) captures your 3 takeaways from the book and 2) expresses your life strategy and goals. Show understanding of the key concepts from Christensen’s book by citing it as a reference or incorporating it into your plan and rationale. Use in-text citations for each references.