Thank You, Professor Christensen
At some point last year, I changed the opening of my social media profile to read:
I think the world is better with the theories of Dr. Clay Christensen, Human-Centered Design and Improv.
This statement reflects a True North for me as I journey more deeply into my fifties. Over the past several years, I’ve been transformed through my learning and my experiences in these three domains.
Despite being a strategic planner since the mid-1990’s, I did not become well-acquainted with Clay’s work until 2016, due to my wonderful friends and colleagues Will Behrmann and Ann Somers Hogg. I’m eternally grateful to them for this. The theory of Disruptive Innovation has been incredibly enlightening and useful to me — the theory of Jobs To Be Done has quite simply rocked my world.
In September 2017, my good friend and teammate Ben Tingey and I went to the Mayo Transform conference in Rochester, MN, and had an experience that neither of us will forget. We sat front row for Clay’s presentation and discussion of Disruptive Innovation in healthcare. Total fanboys. If it would have been appropriate, we would have done The Wave.
What happened after his talk was even more memorable, since this conference afforded attendees the opportunity to meet with speakers. Ben and I had the opportunity to meet Clay and talk to him for a few minutes. I dearly wish that I could remember every word of that conversation. What I do remember is having the opportunity to tell Clay about his impact on our Innovation Engine team, and how we applied his theories in our day-to-day work. I showed him our one-pager, with his visage denoting our commitment to Business Model Innovation.
I will never forget how his face lit up. It was more than a smile. It was genuine joy at hearing how his work had impacted the lives of others. Of course, we had to look up a bit to see this — Clay was extremely tall! But there has been no more humble a giant.
After talking with Clay, and yielding him to the remainder of a long line of admirers, Ben and I had the added bonus of talking with his wonderful wife, Christine. In fact, we spent more time with her, and that was an incredible treat.
Last fall, I had the good fortune to attend a book event in Lexington, MA. During the event, three of Clay’s exceptional colleagues from the Christensen Institute — Michael Horn, Efosa Ojomo, and Julia Freeland Fisher — spoke on a panel about their respective works. At one point, the conversation turned to the impact that Clay had on their lives. There was authenticity, emotion, and love. It was a moment in which Clay’s much-beloved book How Will You Measure Your Life? came to life. And it was so powerful and moving. These are really smart, talented people, taught and inspired by a great man to do great things to improve the world. They and others will be carrying on Clay’s legacy, making the world better through not only great theory, but great empathy and caring for others.
If you have not read How Will You Measure Your Life? I strongly encourage you to pause and order it now. At its conclusion, Clay explains that “…the only metrics that will truly matter to my life are the individuals whom I have been able to help, one by one, to become better people.”
Clay’s enduring legacy is that he has helped make people better through his direct personal relationships — and by inspiring many more of us through not only his work, but how he has delivered it — with humility, caring and grace. His expansive, questioning mind was exceeded only by the size of his heart. You didn’t have to know him well to feel this — he projected it at scale to the world.
His impact on me is to help me recognize that the impact I can have — the dent I can leave in the universe (thank you Bob Moesta for this notion) — can happen one by one. Help inspire a person to take an improv class and become a better listener and communicator. Help inspire a person to get intrigued by Jobs To Be Done theory and have an insightful new lens through which to view the world. One by one.
Thank you, Professor Christensen.
On Twitter: @JayGerhart
