We decided that humility was defined not by self-deprecating behavior or attitudes but by the esteem with which you regard others... Generally, you can be humble only if you feel really good about yourself - and you want to help those around you feel really good about themselves, too.

Clayton Christensen

Categorized in : Attitude Humble Humility

Breaking an old business model is always going to require leaders to follow their instinct. There will always be persuasive reasons not to take a risk. But if you only do what worked in the past, you will wake up one day and find that you’ve been passed by.

Clayton Christensen

risk leader past

The path I am trying so hard to follow is in fact the one that God my Father and His Son Jesus Christ want me to pursue. It has brought me deep happiness.

Clayton Christensen

father son jesus

Businesses want to think in terms of categories. Consumers want us to think in terms of their needs.

Clayton Christensen

want needs thinking

I've concluded that the metric by which God will assess my life isn't dollars, but the individual people whose lives I've touched. I think that's the way it will work for us all. Don't worry about the level of individual prominence you have achieved; worry about the individuals you have helped become better people.

Clayton Christensen

worry people thinking

An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they're already doing in their lives done better.

Clayton Christensen

innovation done people

You can't find returns in investments you haven't made.

Clayton Christensen

investment return made

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.

Clayton Christensen

team responsibility motivational

One of the factors that make great companies so great is that they have processes that allow them to solve difficult problems again and again. These processes have developed over time as teams have successfully wrestled with a certain type of challenge. Eventually, people begin to say, "This is just how we do something around here." The problem develops when that team then has to solve a very different set of challenges. The processes that are such strengths can be crushing liabilities.

Clayton Christensen

crush team people

Think about the metric by which your life will be judged, and make a resolution to live every day so that in the end, your life will be judged a success.

Clayton Christensen

metrics resolution thinking

Because if the decisions you make about where you invest your blood, sweat, and tears are not consistent with the person you aspire to be, you’ll never become that person.

Clayton Christensen

decisions-you-make sweat blood

How can you make sense of the future when you only have data about the past?

Clayton Christensen

data make-sense past

Core competence, as it is used by many managers, is a dangerously inward-looking notion. Competitiveness is far more about doing what customers value than doing what you think you're good at.

Clayton Christensen

inward used thinking

The mistake managers often make is defining their industry too narrowly. Digital's market share in the minicomputer market stayed very robust even as it fell off the cliff. Disruption seems to come out of nowhere, but if you know what to look for, you can spot important developments well before the market does.

Clayton Christensen

important share mistake

Decide what you stand for. And then stand for it all the time.

Clayton Christensen

business

Motivation is the catalyzing ingredient for every successful innovation. The same is true for learning.

Clayton Christensen

innovation motivation successful

By the time it becomes obvious that a technology will have truly disruptive impact, it is often too late to take action. This is one reason why we are such advocates of using theory to try to analyze industry change. Conclusive evidence that proves that a company needs to take action almost never exists. In fact, the data can fool management, lulling them into a false sense of security.

Clayton Christensen

fool technology trying

Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven't asked the question, the answer has nowhere to go. It hits your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question - you have to want to know - in order to open up the space for the answer to fit.

Clayton Christensen

space mind order

If you defer investing your time and energy until you see that you need to, chances are it will already be too late.

Clayton Christensen

investing-your-time energy needs

You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in a way that is consistent with your strategy. In the end, a strategy is nothing but good intentions unless it's effectively implemented.

Clayton Christensen

investing purpose mean

Steve Jobs and Apple taught us that profit is not the ultimate goal, but rather a consequence of something greater.

Clayton Christensen

taught-us apples jobs