Business Quote by Larissa MacFarquhar
![“[Clayton] Christensen had seen dozens of companies falter by going for immediate payoffs rather than long-term growth, and he saw people do the same thing. In three hours at work, you could get something substantial accomplished, and if you failed to accomplish it you felt the pain right away. If…” quote by Larissa MacFarquhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/90a/larissa-macfarquhar-170421_business_clayton-christensen-had-seen-dozens-of-c_1967671.jpg)
““[Clayton] Christensen had seen dozens of companies falter by going for immediate payoffs rather than long-term growth, and he saw people do the same thing. In three hours at work, you could get something substantial accomplished, and if you failed to accomplish it you felt the pain right away. If you spent three hours at home with your family, it felt like you hadn't done a thing, and if you skipped it nothing happened. So you spent more and more time at the office, on high-margin, quick-yield tasks, and you even believed that you were staying away from home for the sake of your family. He had seen many people tell themselves that they could divide their lives into stages, spending the first part pushing forward their careers, and imagining that at some future point they would spend time with their families--only to find that by then their families were gone.””
About This Quote
Short‑term gains dominate work, while family time feels unproductive, leading to misplaced priorities and regrets.
In simple terms: Quick wins at work outweigh family moments, causing imbalance.
Key Takeaway
Balance immediate tasks with long‑term relationships.
Themes
work
family
short‑term
long‑term
balance
Mood
reflective
urgent
Type
practical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- career planning
- family gatherings
- personal growth
Key Concepts
time management
life priorities
Questions to Reflect On
- What tasks can you delegate?
- How can you protect family time?
A Different Perspective
Immediate rewards can eclipse deeper fulfillment.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)
