An inspirational Ted Talk: Clayton Christensen – Measuring your life

By Alec Hogg

I first came across Harvard Prof Clay Christensen more than a decade back when a friend pointed me towards his groundbreaking book "The Innovator's Dilemma". He went quiet because of a fight against cancer, but rebounded last year when voted top of the annual Thinkers50.com list which rates the world's best business minds.

Given my recent experiences, another friend suggested I download a copy of Clay's new book "How will you measure your life?" (less than R100 on Amazon's Kindle Store). Although only a few chapters in, it's easy to understand why he was so positive. It's a masterpiece, not just for those of us pushed into a career crossroad, but for everyone who thinks past tomorrow.

Clay, a man of deep faith and incredible humility, is also one of the main reasons I'm so excited about going to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos next month. There are dozens of videos of him on Youtube, but the one below is my favourite. It's of manageable length (under 20 minutes), focuses on the thinking behind the new boom and ends with the kind of God-influenced sharing that high profile people are far too reticent about.

Spend your next 20 minutes watching this Ted Talk. I'll wager that it will the best investment you make this year.