Reflecting on the future possibilities of 2025, I am reminded of the words of the late Clayton M. Christensen, an outstanding Harvard Business School professor.
‘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 believe this can go both ways. There are those, as an individual and a leader, whom I have positively impacted. There are also those whom I have hurt.
It is not a zero-sum concept. This can be easy to overlook, especially if you work in a non-profit or ministry that aims to do good. We can become blinded by the belief that everything you do is good just because you are trying to do good.
Professor Christensen, in his final TedTalk ‘How Will you Measure Your Life?’ (which he gave after he had a stroke), puts it in business terms: ‘God is not an aggregator.’ (of metrics) He will focus on the situations with individual people you were placed in. How did you invest?
This makes sense. Scripture talks about being faithful with the small things and going after the one. Are we faithful with the small one to one relationships, or do we look to the big numbers to make ourselves feel good?
My top focus for the coming year is to invest in and care for relationships. It’s crucial not only to live peacefully with others but also to make a meaningful impact on the lives of many, particularly those I live and work closely with.
In fact, close proximity makes this most potent, authentic, and real. It is easy to love and serve those outside my closest circles or who live at a distance. Start with those you know the best and the ones you know that you know you need to put your relationship right with, then work your way out.
Want to read more? Check out this tribute to the timeless legacy of Professor Christensen’s life:
He got it right. By God’s grace, many great programmatic and organisational goals will be achieved in 2025, but ultimately, I hope to maintain this view on my most critical metric.
Happy New Year everyone!
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