Strategize Your Life: Applying Strategic Thinking to Personal Life

Introduction

• Concept: Apply corporate strategy principles to personal life.
• Objective: Develop a personal life strategy using a seven-step program.
• Background: Experience from the Boston Consulting Group and studies in physics and management.

Definition of Life Strategy

• Life strategy is an integrated set of choices that positions a person to live a great life.
• Distinction from corporate strategy: Life is about living a great life, not just "winning."

Seven Steps to Develop a Life Strategy

1. Define Success
   • Translate to personal context: How do I define a great life?
2. Determine Purpose
   • What is my life purpose?
3. Create Vision
   • What is my life vision?
4. Assess Life Portfolio
   • What is a life portfolio, and how do I assess it?
5. Learn from Benchmarks
   • Learn from best practices.
6. Make Portfolio Choices
   • Central step: Define integrated choices for a great life.
7. Ensure Sustained Change
   • Implement strategies for continuous improvement.

PERMA-V Framework

• PERMA-V: Positive Psychology model for well-being.
  • P: Positive Emotions
  • E: Engagement
  • R: Relationships
  • M: Meaning
  • A: Achievement
  • V: Vitality

Application: Strategic Life Units

• Concept of strategic life units: Invest time, money, and energy (168 hours/week).
• Identified 16 strategic life units grouped into 6 areas.

Process for Evaluating Life Portfolio

1. Time Allocation
   • Divide time among 16 strategic life units.
2. Rate Importance
   • Scale: 0 to 10.
3. Satisfaction Level
   • Scale: 0 to 10 for each unit.

Strategic Life Portfolio Matrix

• Plot importance vs. satisfaction.
• Size of the bubble indicates time invested.
• Example: Tony the engineer's strategic life units.

Key Insights

• Importance, satisfaction, and time allocation are adjustable.
• Address high importance, low satisfaction areas first.
• Reconnect with old friends or reduce time on social media for improvement.

Optimal Portfolio

• Align portfolio with dimensions of a great life, purpose, and vision.
• Aim for balance between importance and satisfaction.

Conclusion

• Life strategy is a guide to navigate life even in uncertain times.
• Embrace opportunities and adapt as needed.
• Seneca's Wisdom: Preparation meets opportunity; strategizing helps in preparation.