Customer Reviews

Just Enough: Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson published an article that is adapted from their book, in the February issue of the Harvard Business Review (go to http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu, and search for "Success that lasts"). If you are time-constrained, for $6 it is a very good way to get an idea of what the book covers. And you can download the article too.
This is a review of the article but of course the concepts are the same.

Success can be so elusive. The authors compare it to an Escher drawing of a staircase! They propose an interesting framework to help us capture our own definition of success. After all we are the ones living our lives. Why let anyone else decide for us?

In their view success comes from 4 irreducible components:
happiness (feelings of pleasure or contentment about your life); achievement (accomplishments that compare favorably against similar goals others have strived for); significance (the sense that you've made a positive impact on people you care about); and legacy (a way to establish your values or accomplishments so as to help others find future success).

But they note that unfortunately, "you cannot neatly categorize the realms of your life, assigning happiness to self, achievement to work, significance to family, legacy to community."

So, "no matter how noble, one goal can't satisfy all of a person's complex needs and desires." Actually, they say that since we have limited time and energy, we need to find a balance, something along the lines of less (in any one category) is more (overall).

To capture this, the authors have developed an interesting metaphor: The Kaleidoscope Strategy. It combines the four components with the realms of life: self, work, family, community. It brings structure to our exploration of what success means to us. The Kaleidoscope comes with a set of questions, to help us shed light on our findings.

Highly recommended.

I don't know. I want to like this book. But it is just so long-winded! The brief stories about how others have found balance are inspiring, but are few and far between. Their concept is good, compelling, even motivating, yet it is overwhelmed by gads of unnecessary and distracting jabs at people who base their success on the "wrong" things (aren't these folks their audience?), as well as at the media for touting these people as successes. Skim it at the bookstore -- you'll get the overall (good) idea without wading through hours of self-grandizing text.

Title: Just Enough

Authors: Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson

Published: NJ: John Wiley, 2004

This is a welcome book on defining and explaining success through a refined paradigm of living a life of 'enough.' The authors a framework that incorporates 4 commonly used benchmarks in order to restate what true success means.

- Happiness is both in the 'here and now.'

- Achievement must be directly related to one's 'desired goals.'

- Significance is done via making a 'difference' in the lives of others.

- Legacy means leaving something behind that will contribute to the success of others.

MAIN POINT - The authors felt a need to contrast the world's notion of success being 'infinitely more' versus a framework of 'just enough.' Their core message is that "success is not about one thing nor an infinite number of things; it is about 'just enough." (x)

It is the authors' conviction that understanding authentic success is the key to unlocking impediments to overcoming difficulties in today's business environment. When these goals of happiness, achievement, significance and legacy are achieved, one will feel satisfied and will be able to say 'just enough.' These four categories will help one to ANTICIPATE, SET LIMITS, LEARN what shapes the goals, and how to DIRECT the right resources toward each goal.

THINGS TO APPLAUD

I especially appreciate the clarity Nash and Stevenson brings toward the understanding of success. People have used the word 'success' so loosely that we often needs to be refreshed on the need to understand its true meaning. Firstly, the work is realistic as it is based on a study of more than 150 business case studies at the Harvard Business School. Secondly, the study is broad, and aims to achieve multiple goals. Thirdly, it is pragmatic as it recognizes that many business goals are like moving targets in a fast changing world. Fourthly, it is written in layman's language and ought to appeal to a wide audience, not only business executives. The use of bold letters to stress their main points are helpful. Moreover, the use of stories and examples in the book make for enjoyable reading. Fifthly, their use of memnomics are helpful from a pedagogical standpoint:

Happiness = Enduring

Achievements = Winning

Significance = Counting (to others)

Legacy = Extending

WHAT IS LACKING

The second part of the book is quite an effort to go through. That alone will discourage some readers. The authors tried hard to link the four categories into one model. I think they tried too hard to the point if there are any natural cohesiveness, they become lost in the spaghetti of information. Despite the use of models and efforts to link their framework together as one, I still feel a little disconnected, like the 4 categories are 'forced into' a mold in order to project the philosophy of 'just enough.' I am not sure how non-business school trained individuals will take to it. The framework when drawn to detailed analysis can risk one into entering the trap of 'analysis-unto-paralysis.' the work is long on general examples and explanations but short on specific detail. There is also a risk of confusing the reader with the multiple diagrams of the four categories. It leaves me a feeling of too-much-to-handle at one time. In a nutshell, the first part of the book lays a strong case against the notion of 'more-is-better.' However, the second case is a feeble counterpart to a strong beginning. It is a good effort to present a framework. What it really lacks is the example of whether it works.

SUMMARY

Like many software versions, "Just Enough" is version 1.0 and will need more work to test out the framework in order to overcome initial bugs and crashes. The redefinitions of the meaning of success is commendable. The review of the current confusion over what success means is admirable. The solution to it all via the Kaleidoscope strategy seems reasonable on paper, but I am not sure if it is tenable (framework) in practice. Perhaps, a follow up (with results from use of the framework) will be useful.

c

Kudos to Howard Stevenson and Laura Nash for writing about such an important topic. This book challenges our conventional understandings of success, and most importantly it gives us a blue print for finding happiness and peace of mind. I like that the book explores both the business and personal aspects of creating enduring success. This is one of those books that you read over and over, and each time you do you get even more out of it.

This book is a most thoughtful and thorough look at that elusive feeling called fulfillment. It helped me find peace with decisions that I have made in the past, and will be a resource for the decisions I make in the future. I wish I had read it as a younger man as I was struggling with being pulled in so many directions. I gave a copy to my daughter and son-in-law who just had their first baby hoping it will guide them parent my first grandchild. The information is presented in an analytical style that I enjoyed very much. It is the most helpful guide I know for self-reflection and I strongly recommend it to almost everyone I care about.

Honorable Robert H. Bohn
Massachusetts Superior Court

Everyone wants to succeed. But in a world where corporate CEOs carve out multimillion dollar contracts and Britney Spears is front-page news, society's view of success is entirely skewed. Authors and Harvard faculty members Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson take a hard look at idealized celebrity success and adopt a view that is the opposite of the popular attitude that promotes going for the maximum. Instead, they advocate learning how to be satisfied with "just enough." Through careful self-examination and structured fulfillment exercises, the authors explain how to obtain success in four main areas of your personal and professional life: happiness, achievement, satisfaction and legacy. Ironically, for a book titled `Just Enough,' it supplies way too much verbiage and analysis. But we find the topic timely and well researched. Those who are striving for balance and just the right amount of success will find this self-help book extremely useful, although those who deeply want it all may be tougher to dissuade.

Authors have an excellent framework for considering these issues.

They seem to address the book to the "power and money mad" reader.

They ignore considerable research demonstrating that those who value intrinsic motivators live longer, are happier, and are more healthy.

This is THE book for the power and money hungry who need to see the world in more balanced terms.

Even as we are constantly being pulled in several directions due to competing responsibilities, we all struggle to achieve balance in our lives. Some people seek quiet time to keep things in perspective- they read spiritual books, some meditate while others engage in an enduring hobby- there is a sense that we need to do something more than just our daily jobs in the best possible way or earning the highest possible bonus!

This book acknowledges the challenges of everyday life- about conventional notions of success in terms of achievement and money and seeks to suggest a way- a lens to help us navigate through our struggles at different stages of our lives. The kaleidescope is a very realistic metaphor to look at different responsibilities we have at different times not as competing but in some way complementing each other to add to the richness of our experience. The authors contend that enduring success is all about keeping four levers in balance- happiness, achievement, significance and legacy. Too often, we concentrate only on the first two and find our success having a 'hollow' ring to it!

After a long time, I have come across a book that is not overtly 'preachy' but addresses the challenges of everyday life in a pragmatic manner. Good work!

In March 2004, Laura Nash and Howard Stevenson wrote Just Enough: Tools for Creating Success in Your Work and Life, a Harvard Business School publication that provides a kaleidoscope strategy across four domains: happiness, achievement, significance, and legacy. The four domains appeal to me because they are fluid and they align with my values. They are not four equal quadrants; they are flexible parts that change constantly as our life stages evolve and develop. With a clear understanding of our values, we make better choices during times of transition.

I own two copies of Just Enough: one hardcover in my library, the other on my Kindle. Whenever I feel out of balance, I reach for this volume, which helps me reevaluate my values and reassess my life choices.

Nash and Stevenson suggest us a nice wisdom that all of us can apply in our lives. Especially, this book reminds us how to balance our lives between materialistic value and eternal legacies. As a current MBA student, I recommend this book to all other MBA students who want to balance their lives.