Book: Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
Author: Arianna Huffington
Review by Martin Richenhagen, Chairman, President & CEO, AGCO Corporation
“Thrive” by Arianna Huffington takes an in-depth look at what equals success in today’s world and why it needs to be redefined.
Arianna’s personal introspective happened after she had a broken cheekbone and gash over her eye due to a bad fall caused by exhaustion and lack of sleep. She had several thorough medical tests run to see if there were any other health issues and began to contemplate what success really felt and looked like.
Arianna suggests that our society’s drive for success is measured by money and power — the importance of getting a promotion, gaining the corner office, earning a higher salary, etc. Our constant chase for money and power has led to a society of people who are stressed, burnt out and have a nonexistent quality of life outside of work when it comes to our personal relationships. She concludes that we must ask ourselves is it really worth it when you sit and take stock of everything. This is why she proposes a third measure of success, including our well-being, our wisdom, our sense of wonder and our giving.
This book was a very good read. Being the head of a successful company also, I too struggle with managing my work-life balance and finding ways to prioritize my career demands and personal life. However, it is important, because we all want to enjoy all the spoils of what we have built so we can experience success at all its levels — money, power and the most important level: our well-being, our wisdom, our sense of wonder and our giving.