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Dear <<First Name>>,
RIP Kobe Bryant. I've tried for the past few hours to write something about his tragic death, but it's been hard to piece it all together in a meaningful way. I thought I'd share this link to the last couple minutes of NBA basketball that Kobe ever played – a game in which he brought his team back from behind for the win and scored 60 points. His will to win and excel are are on full display, a truly legendary way to go out.
Last week's newsletter got a 48.4% open rate and the most-clicked link was my post about lessons learned from Getting Things Done. I really do hope more people try GTD out. The most-clicked link not by me was Your Life is Driven by Network Effects, an excellent blog post that I still continue to think about.
Consumed
How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen (HBR essay)
Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen passed away last week at the age of 67. He was the force behind "disruptive innovation" and Jobs to Be Done (JTBD). I've been a huge fan of his work and been an ardent proselytizer of the JTBD approach in understanding competitive landscapes and finding ways to market products. This essay by Professor Christensen is a really touching one where he reflects on lessons he's learned throughout his illustrious career and what he found to be the most important things in life.
I tell the students about a vision of sorts I had while I was running the company I founded before becoming an academic. In my mind’s eye I saw one of my managers leave for work one morning with a relatively strong level of self-esteem. Then I pictured her driving home to her family 10 hours later, feeling unappreciated, frustrated, underutilized, and demeaned. I imagined how profoundly her lowered self-esteem affected the way she interacted with her children. The vision in my mind then fast-forwarded to another day, when she drove home with greater self-esteem—feeling that she had learned a lot, been recognized for achieving valuable things, and played a significant role in the success of some important initiatives. I then imagined how positively that affected her as a spouse and a parent. My conclusion: Management is the most noble of professions if it’s practiced well. No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement, and contribute to the success of a team.
What Are Your Rules for Life? These 11 Expressions (from Ancient History) Might Help by Ryan Holiday (blog post)
Such a timely post filled with wonderful lessons. The final one on this list was really on my mind:
Memento Mori (Remember Death)
A person who wraps up each day as if it were the end of their life, who meditates on their mortality in the evening, Seneca believed, has a super power when they wake up.
“When a man has said, ‘I have lived!’” Seneca wrote, then “every morning he arises is a bonus.”
Created
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now by Gordon Livingston (Quotes & Thoughts)
I wrote this blog post almost 3 years ago but this book came to mind today. Livingston, a psychiatrist, reflects on various lessons learned from his time with patients and also from the ups and downs of his own life. Having lived through tremendous tragedy (he mentions the deaths of his two sons over a 13-month period, one to suicide and the other to leukemia), Livingston writes beautifully about the struggles and joys of life we all must face. In re-reading my commentary, I could see that my priorities and outlook on life have evolved some over the past few years, but the excerpts I picked are still all worth reading and reflecting upon.
Cheers,
Peter
P.S. You can check out my list of books read right here. My hope is to get a good mix of challenging reads with some that are entertaining, inspiring, and instructive.
If you like what you've read, please share with your friends. They can sign up for the list here. Also, I always welcome recommendations of any kind–books, podcasts, movies, etc.
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