Clayton Christensen on Religion, Markets, and Investors

On his passing, a look at the business and religious leader’s legacy of innovation and insight

Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

On January 23, 2020, the investor, Harvard Business School professor, and religious leader Clayton Christensen passed away. I was and am an enormous fan of Clayton Christensen and his work. He had a clarity of thought and a way of storytelling which made not only compelling listening but helped spark insight.

Here is a great, lesser-known example of his wisdom which has often led me to pause and think:

Here, Christensen makes two provocative and interesting points:

1. He argues that without an instinct for following the rules (which have often come from Western religious traditions) and honesty, then capitalism simply doesn’t work.
2. He then goes on to argue that economists have done a “great disservice to capitalism” by promoting the notion that management is responsible for maximizing shareholder value.