Use Strategic Thinking to Create the Life You Want

Seven questions can clarify what really matters to you and help you build your own life strategy, according to BCG’s Rainer Strack.
00:00 Summarizing a life strategy on a single page
00:20 Where did this idea come from?
00:54 What is a life strategy?
02:41 How do I define a great life?
04:15 How do I assess my life portfolio?
07:40 What portfolio choices can I make?
09:20 Where do I go from here?
For more details on all seven questions and designing your own life strategy, read the HBR article: hbr.org/2023/12/use-strategic...
In corporate strategy projects, executive leadership teams work through a series of questions to determine how their businesses can succeed. Individuals can use a similar process to figure out how to live a meaningful life. It starts with defining what makes a great life for you and then outlining your purpose and vision. You must also look at your current “portfolio” - the areas in which you spend your time and energy - to see if you’re investing the best of yourself in the activities most important to you. You should consider what research says about how people tend to find meaning and joy in life. Finally, you’ll want to identify areas where you need to make changes, and then ensure you follow through with objectives and key results. This program, Strategize Your Life, has been tested with more than 500 people around the world. With a few hours of work, you can develop a personal life strategy and summarize it on a single page.
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[@afshanbaig2461]

At 69 and newly retired I am excited to see this video to get the most out of the next phase of my life journey.

[@lmnneath]

I thought it would require high concentration to watch this video, but turned out it's very engaging, entertaining, and upbeat. love it. thanks, professor!

[@Businessvidsofficial]

@monineathlay3673 couldn't agree more 💯

[@fatimoholorunseyisalaudeen1890]

L,

[@sneakerbabeful]

This is life defined as business jargon. What a terrible way to live.

[@Wassertivo]

It's their job to keep us glued to this shit, self improvement is masturbation

[@Wassertivo]

Tho I love the video

[@captaingenyus843]

Actually thats far better than expected. You are summarizing a lot of important advise that i have gotten throughout my life in just 10 minutes! Respect!

[@jimgrant1776]

Great video. I love the 2x2 bubble chart. As a senior citizen, I look back over my life and see that the SLUs that were "important" to me changed 4-5 times over the decades. So, the process should include a periodic review of the bubble chart.

[@alekseybenitez7453]

Before watching this video I've divided my life goals into 5 facets: (a) Business & Career, (b) Finance & Investment, (c) Health & Wellness, (d) Physical Assets & Belongings, and (e) Relationships & Intimacy. It's great to see your version professor in a form of 16 SLUs. I think I'll benchmark yours. Thanks!

[@chumaudogu]

I really like your 5 facets. it's quite easy to break down. great job!

[@sneakerbabeful]

You sound like a damn tool.

[@hemangshrimali6308]

even i had done something similar -> Work , Personal (All Relationships) , Health , Finance & Investments. I had counted assests and belonging in finance

[@tscafrica]

Thank you for sharing, Sir. This model is absolutely amazing. In terms of overlaying methods from one context to another, we are exploring that in terms of overlaying concepts used by corporates to very small businesses. We are getting exposed to PERMAV for the first time through this video. Thank you! The SLUs and SLAs are also ingenious. KEY: In life, the unit of spending is TIME as it is what we spend on out SLUs.

[@StoicGore]

Thanks for the video. I leaned a lot about the structure of life. You’re a great Professor.

[@aronfuji5674]

This video is unironically hilarious and the perfect case study for where contemporary culture is at. The whole notion of corporate strategy is based upon the guiding principles of religion and philosophy - the institutions of a culture. Questions like - how do I live a good life, what does good mean, what is my purpose, why does these things matter - were all answered by religious institutions and philosophical study, and permeated through out via intellectuals/elite class and the structures of a society. These same questions and ideas were then applied to business because they are precisely the questions and answers you need to be able to manage and steer a company toward success. Contemporarily, it seems we now have to turn toward the creation - the corporate world - the byproduct of our bygone institutions, to even know what questions. How funny TLDR; corporate strategy came from what we previously applied to our lives on a civilizational and individual level. Now we have to turn toward corporate strategy to find what was lost

[@user-jf5fn4vr9b]

As a young consultant my self, I was deeply touched by this! Well presented!

[@mindful_knight669]

BCG growth-share matrix is really exciting. Rather than living randomly strategize it !!!

[@jonr6680]

Oh yes, perfect timing, I will be implementing this at the weekend. Thanks!

[@saschapauss2826]

I love the transformation from business consulting to life consulting, gread job, gread content!

[@shankarganeshk3367]

Never thought of plotting my life satisfaction on a BCG Matrix! Guess I am going to nerd out on this over a weekend. Thanks for sharing!

[@vietchinhquach2740]

It's a great presentation, thank Mr. Rainer for your sharing!

[@margaretapersson7022]

The Seneca quote is very important because if you dont know your lifes direction, what you want to do during your 40 year career your life wont be easy. 15 year olds should spend some hours every day figuring out what they pay attention to and what interests them to decide their education and future work life. They can do low level internships during high school every summer in various fields to explore what feels a suitable area.

[@aliyachirapant1963]

I could not agree more on this

[@waqaryousfi6504]

Love the concepts and insights that HBR use to share with the world. 👍

[@minhangthituyet1729]

I reached out this video during Lunar New Year and yass that is so so wonderful & beautiful video I've ever seen. Thank you so much professor for well-delivering knowledge.

[@Businessvidsofficial]

Fantastic insight on defining what constitutes a meaningful life, outlining personal purpose and vision, and assessing where we invest our time and energy.

[@PAPIDAKI]

Thank you professor.Great video !

[@user-bw4tu1qm2m]

So powerful and simple! Thank you for sharing.

[@eisabainyo]

What a great explanation. It’s similar to my own approach with wheels of life assessment. I like that you call those key areas of one’s life strategic life unit and use consultant language.

[@josiahmarr6059]

Awesome advice and great personality. Thank you for making this video!

[@wadecason227]

Great video, with a very well explained analogy of corporate strategy, life strategy and their synergies!

[@SmrtSocial]

This lays it out perfectly! I love the simplicity here.

[@Scorpio-gb8ss]

Luck 🍀🤞 is when preparations meets opportunities...very well said 🙏👊🤝💪

[@awdheshkumarshukla]

One of the Best video for applying Corporate Strategies to Life

[@pctinyou]

Đây là một video tuyệt vời, tôi ước mình biết sớm hơn nữa. Cảm ơn chân thành đến HBR

[@KarlaKolumna123]

like it! I am also from the strategic management and was working at well-known consulting firms, and was just curious about the methods. I use several tools for myself in my private life - and yes, instead of using apps I am tracking myself in a very huge Excel 🤩

[@VS-kn9rc]

Can you please share the excel file in public interest?

[@iFrozenSkull]

@@VS-kn9rc +1 It would be great if @KarlaKolumna123 could share the sheet :)

[@carlosr4687]

X2

[@pb25789]

Would love your email so we can talk about your excel

[@ecoleduconsultant5740]

Please, could you share it?

[@thanhvanle3024]

I appreciate your effort on this research, Mr Strack. As a logical person, I find it impossible to sketch my life immediately. I appreciate that you provide me with a step-by-step guide, just like when I do so with my clients, and it really helps. Excellent video :>

[@aswand1989]

A fairly excellent insight at the beginning of the year to improve your life. Appreciate for making this video on KZbin

[@joachimguth6226]

Excellent, content and presentation and after all the idea and concept of the video.

[@petersuvara]

Wow. This is a great and wonderful approach to the very age old problem of living the good life. It reflects the same kind of result as you have in religious and philosophy texts. It seems the result is always common sense. - Health - Gratitude - Family

[@maianh-digitallearningdesi1046]

Thanks a lot for your explanation Professeur, I do love your insights and your smile accompanied all along the video ❤😊

[@wghost1]

It's been a while since i've seen a true valuable content on a subject from HBR A great life is a happy life and only contentment can bring satisfaction Also i couldn't agree more with Seneca on those two philosophies Thank you for sharing HBR

[@mojalogy]

I have implemented the suggested approach, and it has provided me with lucid insights.

[@ajayramanaidu1]

To live a great life 1-define 2- my life purpose 3- vision 4- how to assess life portfolio 5-benchmark 6- WT portfolio choices can I make 7- ensure sucessful sustained life change

[@dancu9271]

A lot of thanks for making and sharing your video!!

[@chrisdshaw]

This is exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you!

[@marcocapozzi7321]

very, very, very interesting. Thank you for posting!

[@lpatrick2173]

Amazing to see how to apply business strategy to personal life development.

[@asdad9715]

thanks for making this video HBR team!

[@monikakress3867]

totally was expecting this guy to tell us he is going to pump us up.

[@mindful_knight669]

very thoughtful to upload this here

[@user-ko6xo1jz2v]

Excellent. Thank you very much!

[@kamblegaurav]

Very informative! Thank you for sharing.

[@donaamelia1915]

thank you so much Prof. I will craft my Strategic Life Units

[@Celestialkarma]

Really enjoyed Appreciate for sharing God bless

[@bcbitchkkv]

2:35 THE 7 STEPS OF THE STRATEGY 4:00 PERMAV FRAMEWORK 5:30 THE 16 "STRATEGIC LIFE UNITS" 6:00 THE 3 STEPS BEFORE PLOTTING THE "LIFE MATRIX" 6:30 LIFE PORTFOLIO MATRIX

[@xiaoxiaowu9509]

I like so much the video, very insightful, very helpful, thank you！

[@R080770]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🌐 *Introduction to Strategize Your Life* - Life strategy applies principles of corporate strategy to individual life. - Seven-step program for developing a life strategy. - Birth of Strategize Your Life through applying strategic thinking to personal life. 01:24 📊 *Steps of Life Strategy Development* - Overview of the seven steps in corporate strategy projects. - Each step's translation to individual life components. - Definition and alignment of personal success, purpose, vision, life portfolio, and choices for a great life. 02:47 🧠 *Understanding the Symmetry of a Great Life* - Critique of common misconceptions about a great life. - Introduction to positive psychology's PERMA-V model. - Exploration of six dimensions: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Achievement, and Vitality. 04:41 🔄 *Applying Business Concepts to Life* - Introduction of the BCG portfolio matrix in corporate portfolio management. - Proposal of strategic life units as equivalent to business units. - Explanation of investing time, money, and energy in 16 strategic life units within 6 strategic life areas. 06:35 📊 *Creating Your Strategic Life Portfolio* - Explanation of creating a strategic life portfolio using importance, satisfaction, and time investment. - Illustration with an example of Tony, an engineer, and his strategic life units. - Encouragement to go through the exercise, assessing satisfaction, importance, and time investment in each strategic life unit. 08:00 📈 *Adjusting Your Strategic Life Portfolio* - Insight into adjusting parameters of importance, satisfaction, and time investment in strategic life units. - Identifying areas of dissatisfaction or inadequate time investment. - Practical examples of quick wins and adjustments to achieve a more balanced life portfolio. 09:25 🧭 *Crafting Your Life Strategy* - Emphasis on aligning life strategy with dimensions of a great life. - Introduction to the concept of a right portfolio. - Acknowledgment that life strategy is an ongoing process and one step in a seven-step journey.

[@austinjoseph2881]

HARPA AI

[@chiquita683]

Stay blessed

[@roroll4492]

Very helpful and inspiring. Thanks for this idea!

[@zubairahmedsiddiqui5057]

Never thought, can plot my life on BCG matrix 🙂 great!

[@alexcody2079]

I was looking for this the whole time!!! It really gives u a clear structure about your life. Love it!!!

[@popcycleism]

This was very well presented and engaging

[@user-me6mb5nn3u]

I think it is the most useful video I have seen for a long time…thanks

[@islamamanov7136]

It's a brilliant technique to illustrate the states of SLU, thanks

[@johnpepperdine3348]

Must admit, thought it would be too dry, clinical, and just lack any meaning. I was wrong. I think Strack did a great job of coupling logic with meaning and purpose. Thank you, Rainer!

[@KGPAPPIE]

Love this. So simply explained

[@vladimirberlizev216]

Life Strategy is an integrated set of choices that positions a person to win - That's a very good topic. I would appreciate more content like this! :)

[@sneakerbabeful]

A lot of people do not care about winning.

[@astarinip5470]

Thanks for this Sir!

[@FithriyaaniRashidi]

The SLU strategy help me to understand where i am currently at in my life , and i can assess where the areas of improvement i can make to achieve a great life i desire 🎉

[@cuba_rj]

This is a very interesting approach on personal life management.

[@mossbanksy]

That was very interesting; I'm excited to do the whole exercise.

[@Gabriel-ch2sv]

Thank you professor!

[@user-fb1px1vv5w]

Great video! Thanks for sharing

[@danielvianna1596]

Very nice video. And the consultant is very good. :)

[@sibanganidube2482]

Absolutely brilliant

[@lgnd-lm6ug]

Great video, the guy reminded of Christoph Waltz

[@SalawuIbrahim]

This video is PACKED!!! What?! Thank you

[@gustavorubio5112]

Thank you, very useful!

[@yohanesliong4818]

Amazing. Thank you

[@christothomas7095]

Wow, this really helps to structure and define what you want out of life !

[@dafeels3085]

The hardest part is the strategizing to get where you want be.

[@unathindhlovu3280]

Thank you❤️

[@01BSBH]

I think the way you defined a life strategy would do well if applied to corporate strategy. To ‘win’ in corporate is something I disagree with, even more so after reading The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek. I’d rather have a great company than one trying to win at all costs.

[@bobverber8969]

excellent approach

[@marksto6581]

Thanks for sharing a great technique! For me this one looks much like a "Wheel of Life (Balance)" technique with custom-selected contexts, but ON STEROIDS. For those who find this one problematic to implement (at all or consistently), opt out for that one instead.

[@seekian8979]

Love this content. Love from Philippines 🇵🇭🏳️‍🌈

[@PabloZarbo]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 💡 *Estrategia personal es clave.* 01:51 🤔 *Evaluar el propósito de vida.* 03:17 🌟 *Modelo PERMA-V en vida.* 04:41 📈 *Unidades Estratégicas de Vida.* 05:37 ⏳ *Evaluar importancia y satisfacción.* 06:35 📊 *Crear un portfolio de vida.* 08:05 🔄 *Ajustar y mejorar constantemente.* 09:33 🛳️ *Tener una dirección clara.* Made with HARPA AI

[@mpactlane504]

This tool is perfect for a new project we are starting for university students. Thanks for sharing

[@cloudnsec]

What an amazing video!

[@lifeonearth9261]

It was interesting to see the Boston Consulting Group overlap in thinking with 'Star Principle' by Richard Koch. (Which makes sense, considering Koch worked at Boston Consulting Group.)

[@najoo7osam]

This video is a must for people with ADHD like myself

[@richardsolaro461]

Thanks ! A template of this matrix would be very appreciated.

[@Tita_jackie]

Wow! Perfect timing!

[@nganha3456]

so love this video ❤

[@mykk_views9007]

nice one, thanks.

[@pabloenriqueponcecardenas6544]

Muy buen video!

[@Devingel]

00:01 Strategize Your Life applies business strategy principles to personal life 01:29 Strategic thinking aligns personal goals with organizational strategy 02:47 Strategic thinking leads to a fulfilling life beyond material gains. 03:55 Strategic life units help in allocating time, money, and energy effectively. 05:11 Identify 16 strategic life units and create a strategic life portfolio 06:26 Utilize strategic thinking to prioritize and allocate time. 07:47 Strategic life units satisfaction and time allocation are in your control. 08:54 Create a portfolio aligned with your life's dimensions

[@marzenababij5148]

Thanks!😊

[@hemangshrimali6308]

Wow, pretty strategic video haan :)

[@NikkoTanGoogle]

eye rolling this whole video

[@GroundWork-se8my]

Why?

[@abhinavsingh-je7zu]

nicely explain

[@VishalAnam]

has anyone built an excel template for this?

[@hoangkimkhanhle5126]

This video is wonderful

[@re-ct7ke]

Very nice, thanks:)

[@tspmcfarlane]

Really, really useful.

[@Max-zi7um]

Thanks for the great Video, you really helped a Lot Your accent Sounds very German to me 😂 Have a great new year everyone M

[@saqibmango]

This was a great video❤️

[@ciccio0448]

Wonderful teaching